Getting ahead in the very competitive world of marketing will take guts, determination, and hard work. While some people may fall lucky and be in the right place at the right time, that kind of thing is never anything that can be banked on and it certainly should not even enter your career plan. 

Here are some tips for anyone who wants to achieve a successful career in marketing. 

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Have A Focused Career Plan

If you want to succeed, you need to know what success means to you. You cannot achieve your goals if you do not know what they are. Work out what you want to get from marketing. Do you want to be a campaign leader that handles big projects that influence the world? Are you someone who wants to use their creativity to drive impressions and interactions with brands? 

Set yourself a series of career goals. These may include the positions that you would like to be within the industry within 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, and a decade. Then, when you know how far you want to go, work backward and understand what will be expected of you in order to achieve these levels. What type of work will you need to produce? What type of clients will you need to engage with?

Include as many specifics into your planning as possible. Think about the types of brands and marketing companies that you would like to work with and for, and go out and get them. 

The first marketing project for you is to market yourself. 

Gaining Academic Experience

Having a degree or even a postgraduate qualification such as those available at the University of Alabama Birmingham is likely to demonstrate you have the capacity to push yourself to excel in your chosen field. Degrees take a lot of time and effort, and the level of hard work and commitment that you need in order to succeed will mean that you will be able to achieve your career goals. 

Whether you want to get your degree through full-time taught study, or if you would like to go back and do an online degree around your current job and in your spare time, is up to you. Online and distance learning qualifications hold as much weight these days as taught qualifications. You will get access to the same academic teaching team and you will enjoy all of the benefits of the university’s digital support infrastructure. 

Obtaining a degree is going to be tough though. Be sure you factor the level of stress and the workload you will need to contend with. It may put pressure on you in other aspects of your life such as your work life, home life, your relationship, as well as your mental and physical health. Go into your studies with your eyes wide open, create a routine and a study pattern early on and you will find that you will be able to manage your stress throughout the course of your studies. 

Gaining Experience

Experience is something that you will need in order to sell yourself. You need to be able to give cast-iron examples of things that you have done. How you achieved your goals, and then you need to learn from these experiences. 

Industry leaders and clients will be looking for this type of experience from you. But if you are just starting out, how do you gain experience? 

If you are able to offer your time to shadow people in the industry that you admire, apply to be an intern. You may not have the best financial stability during this time, so it is probably worth doing if you have someone who will be able to help you out a little. But this will throw you in at the deep end and allow you to gain lots of experience right there in the lion’s den. 

If you are not able to take an intern position, you may need to start from the bottom and work your way up. Look at entry-level marketing jobs, but once you have your foot in the door look at the upward progression opportunities within that company. Talking about your desire to progress and your willingness to develop your knowledge and skills during your interview may mean that you will get some support from it progressing to the next level. 

Create Your Own Opportunities 

There is nothing stopping you from creating your own opportunities. You can create a business website and start offering your services to local businesses or find clients online. You could do this alongside another job to get you going. You may reach a point where you have enough work to sustainably earn your living working on a freelance basis or you could set up your own company.

At the very least you will be obtaining experience that will jump out on your resume. The fact that you found the work off your own back will show that you are a go-getter with the drive and willingness to succeed. 

Don’t Get Beaten Down By Rejection

It is a very competitive world out there. Jobs often end up with hundreds of applicants, and out of those, there will still be a handful of people who are perfect for the role. You may be up against some very tough opponents and a rejection letter is no reflection on your skills and abilities. 

For every job, you get turned down for, dust yourself off and go and apply for another three or four jobs. The wider you cast your net, the more likely you are to catch something. 

If you assume that nobody wants you, then you will get nowhere. Approach every new application with a new sense of positivity. Use active language that really engages the hiring manager. Talk as though they have already given the job and always remember that you are looking to work in an industry that sets out to make brands stand out. To show that you have the ability to do that, treat yourself as one of the brands you would hope to sell.