There is currently a skills gap in digital marketing and not enough professionals to fill the jobs that are available.

This means there is already some advantage for those looking to start a career in digital marketing. Here are seven top tips on how to land that first job: 

1. Choose the digital marketing career that suits you

It's crucial to establish what directions in digital marketing appeal to you and play into your strengths. So ask yourself some of the following questions:
  • What do I actually like doing, and what am I particularly good at?
  • Do I like working with other people, or do I prefer to get on with things on my own?
  • Am I a creative, intuitive person, or do I have a more analytical mind? 
Having these insights will help you make better choices of what jobs to go for. Should you go for jobs in web design and development, or would social media marketing suit you better? 

2. Develop, hone and polish your digital marketing skills

The best way to get a job is to have the skills for it, and then appear confident about those skills and your ability to do the work. 

Here are some of the tools you should master to equip yourself for getting your first job in digital marketing:
  • social media marketing: Biteable, MeetEdgar
  • content marketing: WordPress, Yoast SEO plug-in
  • search engine optimisation: Moz, Ahrefs, Google Search Console, SEMrush 
  • paid search: Google AdWords, Bing Ads
  • conversion rate optimisation: Craft, Optimizely, Google Tag Manager, and
  • email marketing: Mailchimp, AWeber, Constant Contact 

3. Develop your 'soft' digital marketing skills

Having the hard skills necessary for a digital marketing job is vital, but the so-called soft skills are just as important. These are the skills employers look at to make sure you'll fit into the organisation and get on well with coworkers. These skills include: 
  • the ability to communicate and do active listening
  • having insights into others and tolerance for different views, values and opinions
  • empathy — being able to see things from somebody else's perspective
  • being supportive of colleagues 
  • the ability to think critically and solve problems
  • the ability to see connections between complex issues and ideas, and
  • being able to pass on your knowledge and insights to others effectively.

4. Do lots of digital marketing research

Learn from the expertise of industry leaders on social media — read their blogs, posts and articles — and subscribe to their marketing newsletters.  

This will also help you to define target employers, companies and the specific marketing fields that appeal to you. Showing recruiters in your interview that you are knowledgeable about marketplace trends will put you in good stead and single you out from the other applicants.

5. Learn everything you can, and never stop learning! 

The digital marketing industry is built on knowledge and information and is subject to constant change. Staying on top of it requires full-time commitment and dedication — what worked one week may not work the following week. So, master the tools of your trade.

Learn from marketing leaders. Dedicate time to taking online courses to hone your skills.

6. Offer to take a low-paying trainee position, or even work for free 

This can be extremely useful. It is an excellent way to learn and practise the skills you need and can build out your resumé. If you do good work, you might get an important recommendation out of it. You may meet people you can learn a lot from and who can help you start building a network of connections within the digital marketing industry. 

It might also be worth looking for learnerships or internships at media companies or within marketing departments at larger organisations. This will help you to start building up your commercial experience and networks.    

7. Be proactive about applying for jobs 

Look at all the relevant websites (i.e. Indeed, LinkedIn, etc.) that advertise jobs. Make sure your resumé is available on these websites so that potential recruiters can see it. 

And even if you don't think a job is tailor-made for you, apply for it. You will gain valuable interview experience, which will be useful in your next interview. Always include a personalised cover letter that highlights your qualifications, skills, relevant experience and why you are interested in the job. 

And when you do land an interview, remember these few crucial 'don'ts' that can make all the difference to landing the job:
  • Never be late, sloppily or inappropriately dressed. 
  • Do not be argumentative or confrontational.
  • Never pretend to have expertise, qualifications, interest or experience that you don't have.
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