How to Compete Against AI for Your First Marketing Job
This year, 53,000 students will graduate college with a marketing degree, according to Bloomberg. At the same time, companies are looking for ways to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce their headcount and cut costs, and some marketing functions appear to be targets. Roles like content creators, social media managers, search engine optimizers (SEOs), search engine marketers (SEMs), copywriters, and graphic designers are in the crosshairs.
According to MarketingHire, 40% of marketers expect their roles to soon be reduced by AI. So, what do you do if you are a recent college graduate with a marketing degree entering the workforce? How can you compete in an environment where there are fewer entry-level jobs available due to AI?
First, you’re not alone.
I know a thing or two about building a marketing career with the deck stacked against you. In 2004, I was determined to be a marketer, but I had no degree, no direct experience, and no prospects. I faced an uphill battle to compete for roles against other marketers who had experience and degrees.
What did I do? I started a business and sold it to a competitor a few years later. Then, I took a commission sales job to help improve my communication and promotion skills. I left that job to become a competitive intelligence analyst for a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company and begged my boss to give me a shot at marketing his business. He eventually did.
Once in the role, I was determined to succeed as a marketer. I read books and attended courses, which later led to a degree. In my first year of marketing, we doubled the company's revenue, and the rest is history.
What does this mean for future marketers?
To survive today, marketers need transferable human skills not addressed by AI, such as leadership, strategy, and business acumen. But how can someone just starting out acquire these skills quickly, particularly when work-from-home environments have already made it more difficult for those already in the workforce to access on-the-job training and mentorship?
If I were starting my marketing career today, here are six things I would do right now to ensure my success:
Sell and market a product or service. Become a solopreneur to get familiar with business basics.
Dive in and become an early adopter of AI so that you can be a go-to resource for companies looking to leverage it.
Study key marketing concepts and frameworks and apply them whenever possible. These include Geoffrey Moore’s Technology Adoption Curve, Gartner’s Hype Cycle, Clayton Christensen’s Jobs-To-Be-Done, Donald Miller’s Storybrand, and Andy Cunningham’s 6Cs of Positioning.
Gain access to top marketing mentors by joining professional online communities, reading marketing books and requesting to interview the author.
Use LinkedIn to build awareness for your personal brand. Then, network and learn from other professional marketers.
Seek employment with a fractional marketing agency. Many companies are cutting costs and outsourcing their marketing programs these days.
While it’s true that AI will likely mean fewer entry-level marketing roles in the years ahead, if you have a passion for the marketing profession, your aim isn’t to settle for less. This is why I suggest you take the initiative to begin building the skills and experience necessary to become a great strategic marketing leader starting right now.
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