There is a difference between a job and a career; one indicates that you have a particular role at a particular place for an unspecified period of time whilst the other should involve progression, new challenges and some sort of greater reward; either financially or emotionally.
Still, some people unsatisfied in their roles do face reservations in seeking a new career. Can they get the same pay packet and seniority level in their new position? Do they have the skills in an entirely different profession? Who can they ask for help? Why bother searching if nobody is hiring? These are all important questions that need to be considered before even starting the process.
However, whilst any career change will require genuine hard work and a lot of adjustment, the process of entering marketing is smoother for a number of reasons.
Your skills are needed
The profession is increasingly looking to new voices, because it’s a wide-ranging industry that requires a lot of skills. Whilst traditional marketing was labelled as the ‘colouring in department’, now marketing ranges from content to analytics, and everything in between.
So, if you’re from an accounting background, you will have an affinity with numbers, and data, that may be lacking in those who write content. In a similar way, journalists have taken to marketing very well over the years, because writing content comes naturally to them and it is simply a case of adjusting skills they already have to a new profession.
These are just two examples, there are hundred of others. As marketing grows in terms of responsibilities across the business unit, transferable and underrated skills not easy to pick up over a degree will become the norm, rather than the exception. If you’re hired to be a marketing manager from a non-marketing background, it’s your skills they need.
Your chances are limitless
Though you may have carved out a respectable niche in some other industry, and changing careers will always take some thought and tough decisions, switching professions allows you to progress in a way that may have not been possible before, and marketing is ideal for that.
Those in need of a career change may have hit the glass ceiling or they may simply be bored by working inside a limited scope of activities; marketing does not have that problem. As the range of activities increase, marketers tend to work across a wide range of disciplines; creating content on one hand but analysing the SEO performance of it in the follow up.
Yes, marketing is still under-represented in the boardroom, but it remains a meritocracy, rewarding hard work and innovation. If your career has stalled because you don’t have that passion anymore, it’s the ideal choice.
Training is available
If you are worried about fitting in to a new profession, start the groundwork early. All career changes require learning, but proactively seeking training and speaking to experienced colleagues in the industry remains the best route to success.
This is where marketing really comes in to its own. At CIM we offer courses for all stages of the marketing journey, from entry-level to focussed leadership, on the philosophy that training makes everyone better. If you’re switching then you’re going to need to be open minded, start listening and then bringing your skills to bear on the industry you’ve entered.
At CIM, we recommend marketing as a career route, and membership as an enhancement, but those changing career do have to ask tough questions before coming to a decision, and then follow through with hard practice. Look at the industry you want to enter, prepare, make sacrifices in pursuing educating yourself on your potential new profession, and then work hard. Don’t though, rule yourself out before starting.
Marketing is a broad church, come on in.
To find out more about CIM qualifications, visit our website today
