How Being a Marketing Newbie Can Be an Advantage

Being light on marketing experience does not automatically mean you can’t land your dream job. Here’s a sure-fire way to change things – and it’s easier than you probably think!

Many marketing newbies see their lack of experience as a hindrance to landing their ideal job, and because of that try to cover it up as much as possible in an attempt to seem more seasoned than they actually are. 

They tend to fluff up their resumes with any kind of “experience” they can squeeze into it - that time you sat in a branding meeting with your university association? Branding Consultant! 

How about that time you promoted your group’s event for a few weeks using Facebook Ad Campaigns? Social Media Marketer. 

Most companies can see right through these pseudo-credentials, but fortunately, there is an alternative to hiding your experience.

In fact it’s a way to make your lack of experience actually work FOR you - and that is to embrace your rawness and brand yourself as the marketing freshie you are! 

It seems counterintuitive at first, but by embracing your inexperience, and then get in there and do some work (more on that in a minute!) you give yourself a solid platform to build a brand that is both genuine and has lots of opportunity for growth.  

To build your brand while embracing your inexperience, you have to produce content.

This can be done in any form, such as a blog or podcast, or even a video diary. And frankly, the sooner you get into it, the better.

If you’re stuck on what to talk about a good place to start is to write about anything marketing related you have learned or observed during the week and include some of your unique insights. 

This early content plants the seeds of your brand, and all you have to do is water it by consistently producing even more content.

Notice I said “consistently”.

This is the kicker. Because 98% of people can’t do it. This is where the opportunity is yours to stand out!

Producing content consistently is the bane of many a senior, seasoned marketer, so if you can show up diligently, you’re already a step ahead. 

Your content doesn’t have to be perfect either - no one expects revolutionary content from a marketing newbie! For now, just be “you”. 

Are you funny? Insightful? Analytical?

Ask yourself, or your peers, what they perceive your strongest characteristics are and think about what your values are, and let these shine through as you produce your content. 

Yes you’re going to feel vulnerable – at least the first 15-20 times, but I promise you after publishing 20 times, it WILL get easier. 

You just have to accept that your early content may not be great, but at least you’re starting somewhere, and that’s the most important part.

By producing content from the perspective of someone new to the industry, you show recruiters important values such as willingness to learn, curiosity, and initiative, all of which can make up for a lack of experience. 

It also helps you learn new skills, such as copywriting and website design (set up a free blog and figure out how to publish to it yourself), which will help you in your early days in the industry.

If you’re really eager, figure out how to plug in Google Analytics or one of the many free social media monitoring tools, and just start to build your reporting and analytical model by observing traffic to your page or blog or articles. 

Once you start consistently producing better and better content, your audience will see that you are learning quickly, and becoming more capable – and more experienced. 

Your fresh perspective, new skills, and a general relatability to your audience all comes together to help build your brand as a marketing newbie who is aware of their position, but isn’t shy to grow beyond themselves and create their own work experience. 

This will help you build your own network of connections from people who interact with your content. I can definitively tell you I have observed so many marketers who just started doing this, and the difference between those that progressed their quickly was their ability to do so consistently. 

And it doesn’t take an internship at a top agency or big brand to be able to do that. Just start right now, where you are. 

As you begin to publish regularly, you’ll be seen as more and more capable, and credible, you will notice people beginning to reach out to you for work and collaborations. 

All of a sudden, you are no longer just a marketing newbie, you are fast becoming a thought-leader in your peer group and an example for everyone else to look up to. 

At the end of the day, it’s all about turning an apparent disadvantage into something that works for you, which is an invaluable skill in and of itself.  

So make a quality decision today, don’t commit to every day because most likely it’s not going to happen, set yourself a realistic goal. Once a week is a good place to start, and if you can keep that up solidly for 3 months then re-evaluate.

But I promise you one thing. If you do it consistently, you won’t be the same marketer in 3 month’s time. You’ll be strides ahead.

And when that happens I’d love you to get in touch with me and tell me about your journey. And I’ll probably ask you to write a piece about it and publish it here in the community to inspire others.

Begin to shift your mindset from inexperience newbie to marketing-superstar-in-training. 

So how’s that for some motivation! Go out and do it.

The world is yours to explore and shape, young marketer!

Starting out and want to get ahead quicker? 

Grab a copy of my ebook 21 Things Successful Young Marketers Do Differently to get the Top Jobs. It’s a meaty 40-pages jam-packed with insights and top tips which will change the way you look at your career if you’re starting out. 

About the Author

Nina Christian is a passionate marketer and mentor to young marketers and entrepreneurs around the globe. 

Her marketing agency Braveda, founded in 2000, is a boutique marketing agency (est. 2000) that specialises in building brands through thought leadership and content creation, and was named Best Marketing Agency at the 2018 Australian Marketing Excellence Awards and Nina was named 2018 Certified Practicing Marketer of the Year (Victoria).

Nina believes every marketer deserves the chance to build a career that inspires and is helping young marketers become the marketers the world wants and needs through Launch Your Marketing Career. 

She is also an entrepreneur with several start-ups under her belt, including a successful exit in 2008 of a pioneering ecommerce brand she co-founded in 2001.

She is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, and Chair of the AMI State Committee in VIC.

Nina is a regular speaker on the subjects of Marketing and Entrepreneurship and believes there has never been a more exciting time to be a marketer.

Outside of work (which she loves!) Nina enjoys the outdoors, is an active CrossFitter, and after 3pm most days is off-duty having fun with her five young children and doing mum stuff.

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Facebook: @ninachristianHQ Instagram: @NinaChristianHQ LinkedIn: Nina Christian