14 Tips Every Marketing Graduate Should Know

The world of marketing is fast, complex, and constantly changing. And guess what? You will be expected to know everything from data science to social media management, SEO to graphic design, and email marketing to PPC advertising.

Sound like a lot? That’s because it is.

But don’t worry. Your degree may not have taught you everything (not that it could do that anyway) but you will learn through experience. Think about it. Social media wasn’t taught in universities until recently. Up till then, every marketing professional just had to figure it out. You may not know what SEO is or how to create compelling marketing content for a company blog, but you’ll figure it out. That’s how it goes.

So, to help you recent and future marketing grads navigate your early marketing career, we put together this list of helpful tips.

01) Stay Informed and Never Stop Learning

As we said earlier, marketing is an ever-changing landscape, with new trends, tools, and technologies emerging regularly.

Follow the latest developments in your industry, subscribe to quality marketing newsletters, read up on reputable blogs, attend webinars, and continue to learn new tools and programs.

02) Hone Your Analytics Skills

Marketing decisions are increasingly data-driven. Understanding analytics will not only help you track the success of your marketing campaigns but will also make you more appealing to employers looking for candidates with a strong analytical mindset.

Learn data analysis tools. But, most importantly, learn how to interpret data. Anyone can learn to run a program, but it takes someone with analytic thinking to be able to interpret and make actionable decisions on that data.

Even if you want to be a social media manager, be prepared to learn how to utilize data and analytics. If you don’t, be prepared to waste a whole lot of time making decisions without proof that they work or benefit your business in some way.

that they work or benefit your business in some way.

03) Don’t Think Your Classroom Experience Mimics an Actual Job

You can simulate the “real world” as much as you want within a classroom, but, at the end of the day, you won’t know until you’re doing it.

It takes time and practice. Utilize internships to do this and get as much experience as you can.

04) Don’t Discount Your Classroom Experience

On the flip side, don’t discount your classroom experience too much. We like to joke about how all we learned in college was the 4 P’s or 4 C’s but the truth is we did get a lot more out of college than that.

Get the most out of college and use it as an opportunity to learn how to think differently. Learn innovative thinking skills and divergent thinking skills.

05) Having an Internship on Your Resume Isn’t “Impressive”

Trust me, pretty much every marketer you will be competing with for a job also has an internship (or multiple) on their resume. While that internship with some big company might get your foot in the door for an interview, it’s not going to guarantee you the job.

You need to be able to share what you contributed to the company during your internship and what skills and lessons you learned. If you didn’t provide any benefit, then you won’t be seen as a valuable resource for a potential employer to invest in.

06) Stay Up-to-Date on Digital Marketing

Digital marketing has become an integral part of any comprehensive marketing strategy. Familiarize yourself with key digital channels such as social media, email marketing, SEO, and content marketing. Stay updated on platform algorithms and explore new tools to enhance your digital marketing skill set.

You can also look to get certifications from companies like Hubspot or get a Google certification on Skillshare for the specific skill you want to learn. These are great opportunities to both grow your knowledge and make you more attractive as a candidate to recruiters and hiring managers.

07) Become a Great Communicator

One of the benefits of the college experience is that it can help you drastically improve your ability to communicate. Remember how we said you need to hone your analytical skills? Well, you better hone your communication skills too.

Effective communication will allow you to concisely communicate data to your managers, write brilliant ad copy, and help you crush that next marketing interview. It’s truly an underrated skill and one that you need to develop consistently and constantly.

08) Marketing Moves Fast, Be Adaptable

In five years, many of the skills and tools you learned in your digital marketing class may be useless and obsolete.

While there are some great resources out there, great marketers must learn to create the answer rather than dig for it on Google or an old textbook.

You’re going to have to adapt because of these quick changes. Your future in marketing rests on your ability to “figure it out.”

09) Learn Empathy Now

This is one of the most important tips in my honest opinion. Learn to be an empathetic marketer.

That’s the most important lesson I got out of my undergrad experience in marketing. Be someone who serves and benefits your target audience. Effective marketing campaigns create content that benefits your audience. Effective products are products that benefit your audience. I think you get the picture.

Empathy is also super important for creative problem-solving. Be ready to critically analyze the needs of your market and ask yourself how you can best serve them.

10) Marketing Needs to be Revenue-Focused

Marketing isn’t just about branding and awareness. It’s about making money.

You need to be able to work with sales to generate revenue. Your job isn’t about going viral on Instagram and making happy messages to send out in your newsletter. All of your marketing activities need to be tied to revenue generation.

The marketing activities your company chooses to engage in should benefit the company in one simple way: revenue. So, as you make the next Pedro Pascal meme to share on TikTok, make sure you can measure its benefit to the sales cycle. Your efforts need to have monetary value because your company is investing its money into your position. The ROI needs to be there.

11) Marketing Isn’t Inherently Evil

I don’t know how many times I’ve had to hear the age-old rant about the evils of marketing. Just like in sales, there is a pretty negative connotation around the word “marketing.”

Here’s the deal. You don’t need to act like that stereotype.

It would be wrong to say that there aren’t bad marketers and manipulative people out there. You can certainly be an immoral, unethical marketer.

So, just make sure you don’t lose those morals once you start your career. You can make marketing that people like and still produce results.

12) Understand the Importance of Storytelling

Storytelling is a powerful tool. Develop the ability to tell compelling stories that resonate with your target audience. Whether it's through written content, visual elements, or multimedia, effective storytelling can elevate your marketing campaigns.

13) Study Successful People

Look at what other successful marketing professionals around you have done, and what has made them successful. Then, take a moment to assess your areas for professional growth and set some achievable goals around those areas. Don't forget to use what you've learned from your study of other professionals to shape your path toward success.

14) Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

You’re going to fail. It’s the simple truth. Learn to fail and fail fast so that you can grow past those mistakes. Remember that your future in marketing rests on your ability to just figure it out. A part of figuring it out is going to be failing. So don’t be afraid of it.

And don’t be afraid to be wrong. If you have an idea, solution, or opinion that you think is going to benefit the company in a certain situation, be sure to speak up. You may be wrong, or it may be the next best solution that the company needs right then. You’ll never know if you don’t speak up.

From the marketing team at Adilstone Group, we hope you find this list of tips to be helpful as you start your marketing career. Be sure to check out our job board to see if any of the roles may be a fit for you or someone in your network. Good luck!