Professionals looking for business marketing jobs, direct marketing jobs or online marketing work can turn to a number of resources geared to marketing professionals. When looking for a job, you should have a good idea of how your education and professional experience stack up against the competition. You should also have a good handle on the precise type of marketing job best suits your skills.
These days, marketing is a highly fragmented field with any number of niches. More than ever, advertisers need to seek out consumers to reach them on their home turf. This means advertising through social networks and clever product placement, in addition to traditional outlets like print ads and television. In addition to job postings, marketing jobs news and trends include:
1. News headlines that affect the marketing and advertising jobs outlook.
2. Salary surveys that outline compensation for comparable jobs in business marketing.
3. Surveys that collect information on typical marketing industry practices that you can use as a benchmark against your own skills and experience.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Research precisely what marketing employment entails
When reading a job listing and tailoring your resume and cover letter, it helps to know what specific types of tasks different marketing jobs involve. For instance, how much of the job requires writing? Product development? Training? Jobs in marketing can vary greatly, depending on an organization's structure and culture.
I recommend: The
Bureau of Labor Statistics annual report on marketing outlines the qualifications and experience necessary to obtain a job in the industry, the types of jobs assigned to marketing professionals, and a growth outlook. The
CMO Council publishes its annual survey of marketing practices and priorities.
Pragmatic Marketing also puts out yearly statistics on the average marketing professional and marketing job responsibilities.
Read industry news while you browse for marketing jobs
There are a number of websites for marketing professionals that combine job postings with news, training opportunities, benchmarking and salary information, and more. As you look for a job, it's more important than ever to follow marketing trends. Often, news items point to which sectors of the marketing industry are likely to grow.
I recommend: MarketingCrossing has job search advice in addition to listing marketing job openings.
Marketing Pilgrim has a job board, and also has a team of bloggers who follow Internet marketing news and trends at companies like Yahoo! and Google. You can find marketing jobs at
MarketingSherpa, and read the site's blog.
Find out what marketing job opportunities are likely to pay
When looking for a job, navigating the salary question is tricky. Luckily, you can find out what your peers are making by researching a number of marketing salary surveys.
I recommend: AdvertisingAge publishes an annual survey of what employees make at advertising and marketing firms, and tracks marketing executive pay.
Folio breaks down average base pay, and suggests which segments of the industry are down and which are robust.