As happens each year at this time, Spring brings a fresh flood of college graduates ready to conquer the world. The unfortunate reality is that most are unprepared to ‘wow’ prospective employers due to a lack of practical experience and marketable skills.
If you’ve recently wrapped-up your studies in a digital business (marketing, media, analytics) or technology discipline (software engineering, mobile application development, UXD, cybersecurity), the great news is that these skills are in high demand.
QUICK SNAPSHOT: DIGITAL CAREERS IN 2018 & BEYOND
- By 2020, at least 150,000 digital jobs are expected to be available, along with a huge gap in digital talent to accommodate them. By year’s end, demand for digital marketing professionals will rise by 38%.
- According to Conductor’s 2018 Digital Marketing Jobs Report, SEO jobs are up 43 percent year over year and content marketing jobs are up 33 percent year over year. There is no sign of a slowdown, either.
- PepsiCo, a historically non-traditional eCommerce player has spent the past two years building a 200-person eCommerce team in NY and is now on track to hit $1 billion in eCommerce sales. All industries are immersed in one form of digital transformation or another and related talent is in high demand.
- According to TechCrunch, in 2018 there are 14 jobs for every 1 person with blockchain expertise. As the nascent technology finds ever more uses beyond digital currencies, demand for blockchain engineers is soaring.
- According Adobe’s 2017 survey, those hiring UX designers report they’re “as much a priority to their organization as software engineers.” Demand will only increase over the next five years. Some 63 percent of polled managers say their companies have hired five or more UX designers in the past 12 months, with 40 percent saying they’ll hire twice as many UX designers in the next 12 months.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR MARKETABILITY
As noted earlier, practical experience is absolutely critical. For some, their academic programs included a hands-on practicum. Better still, others will have obtained relevant, practical experience through one or more internships. These candidates will often receive priority consideration, and for good reason. In 2018, very few companies are willing to invest in a build from the ground up project. They want new hires who can add value right out of the gate.
Reality Check: In response to a question about the realities of talent in today’s marketplace, a hiring executive recently said, “If I get a CV from somebody who hasn’t got a record of relevant work I don’t care how good their grades and qualifications are, I won’t look at them.”
So, how do you improve your marketability if you weren’t able to participate in a practicum or internship prior to graduation?
Set Your Ego Aside: Before we look at some options to improve your marketability, be prepared to set your ego aside during the process. Based on your academic performance, you may consider yourself a hot commodity but it’s very likely that the marketplace won’t share that opinion. You have to understand that the professional world owes you nothing and you must be willing to prove yourself time and again.
Networking: Who you know is often as important as what you know. Don’t be afraid to ask those in your social and professional networks for an introduction or recommendation – even if that includes mom and dad. For most, getting your foot in the door is the most difficult step. Once in, it’ll be up to you to showcase your potential and impress a hiring manager.
Internships, Freelance or FREE-lance: If you are unable to secure a perm opportunity due to lack of relevant experience, actively pursue temp, full-time or part-time freelance or internship opportunities that will allow you to develop those much needed practical skills and add a valuable entry to your resume under the heading ‘work experience’.
While it’s never ideal as a college graduate with bills to pay, you should seriously consider an unpaid internship or freelance gig, as long as the experience that you’ll gain has legitimate value for your future career.
Do-It-Yourself: If you’re not afforded the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a structured, professional environment, it’s time to take matters into your own hands by launching your own business. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme but rather an opportunity to understand the many elements involved in operating a business.
Perhaps you can start a dropship eCommerce company by building a site using Shopify and Oberlo. When it’s your money on the line, you’ll quickly learn how to make cost-effective marketing and media buying decisions in order to engage and drive qualified customers to your site, how to design a storefront UI and merchandising schema that drives sales conversions, how set pricing in order to enjoy a profit, and how to set-up a CRM program with Constant Contact that allows you to turn that one-time customer into low-cost repeat business.
Remember, it’s all about moving away from theory and earning practical experience by getting your hands dirty.
Get Certified: We include this only as a means by which to gain some additional “theoretical” training and as a way to bolster your resume. That said, most professional certifications in the digital business space have become low-hurdle and ubiquitous – like belly buttons, everyone seems to have an Inbound Marketing, AdWords and/or Google Analytics certification.
That said, the value of a certification will increase incrementally if you earn it while actively applying its concepts in a practical setting – even in operating your own digital business. That’s the real cheesecake, baby! Some options to consider include:
- Google AdWords
- Google Analytics
- Facebook Blueprint (Social Advertising)
- HubSpot Academy: Inbound Marketing & More
- Hootsuite Social Marketing
- MarketMotive | simplilearn: Digital Marketing Courses and Certifications
- Coursera: Courses and Multi-Course Specializations from Respected Universities
ONE MORE THOUGHT…
On behalf of the Digital Talent Recruiters team, I wish you all the best as you embark on your post-graduation professional journey. We all face challenges in our careers, but it’s our passion for our respective professions that pushes us past the obstacles and on to great successes. Go get ‘em!
