Looking ahead to the future can be daunting, especially when you’re trying to start your career. From making sure you are prepared for interviews to even acquiring the right experience and knowledge for the job, it can be an overwhelming time for soon-to-be and recent graduates.
But it doesn’t have to be that way! Here are some tips and tricks to make sure you’re staying ahead of your peers, from Dr. Huseman, head of the digital marketing program and AMA faculty sponsor at Liberty University:
1. Skills pay the bills, so the more you can scale up a discipline, the better your chance of securing the job or internship. Specific certifications are a great way to showcase interest and excellence above peers—and there are lots of flexibility from free to paid proctored certifications from industry-recognized organizations like Adobe, Meta, AMA, and HubSpot. You can have too many, so make sure that you are pursuing specific ones to amplify your skillset.
2. Take advantage of your own network as much as possible, whether through personal connections, LinkedIn, etc. Especially for creatives, maintaining some sort of digital portfolio is very important. LinkedIn can be powerful with networking and exposure—from thought leadership, to networks, to conversations you are having with other people.
3. Marketing is constantly evolving, so avoid thinking you know everything there is to know. Instead, find opportunities to learn and boost your skills continually. This demonstrates to others that you are willing to grow and allows you to be the best asset to your company that you can be.
All in all, business is personal, so make personal connections where you can. By staying flexible with your employment and industry, you may be able to find great opportunities to succeed. And while your first job may not be your ideal job, it can be a stepping stone to bigger and greater things—so strive to do your best in whatever job you may find yourself in.
Look at these suggested resources for more information:
Job postings: Finding common trends in the skills required for specific job postings are a good indicator of what skills you should focus on developing to become the ideal candidate in your field.
Different associations: Industry specific associations such as the Digital Marketing Institute and the American Marketing Association provide vast amounts of information through their knowledge bases, webinars, books, seminars, and conferences.
The LU Career Center: the Career Center offers one-on-one coaching specifically tailored to your major, and provides services such as resume and cover letter preparation, mock interviews, and more!