The Inbound Search For Your New Marketing Role
By now you’ve taken inventory of the 6 Career Factors that matter to you most, and you’ve started your outbound job search on job boards like Indeed, social networks like LinkedIn, and begun attending local professional events using sites like Meetup.
These channels are great, but they’re not enough because everyone else is there, too.
Now, it’s time for your secret weapon: using your network to create ‘inbound’ interest.
That’s right - we’re going to show you how to get potential marketing roles sent to you through your network, rather than you having to hunt them down.
The modern marketing career search is both digital and analog (or “IRL”), and your LinkedIn profile should be your online hub. This is where you’ll send people that you meet online and in real life. Your LinkedIn profile is perfect as a professional snapshot that these new contacts can reference or forward along to a connection of theirs who’s actively hiring for a marketing role.
If the LinkedIn profile is going to serve as your digital business card, there are a few simple boxes to check that will ensure you’re being seen in the best light.
Photo & Headline
Make sure that you have a simple, appropriate Photo. The two things that can make a recruiter or hiring manager cringe instantly are a blank face profile picture, or one that features a hoodie and backwards hat. You don’t need a fancy camera - your smartphone works fine - but keep it simple and professional.
For your Headline, again simple and direct. There’s no need to include flowery or overly-personal language in your headline, like “Lover of Life” or “Travel Enthusiast.” You’re better served with something straightforward and informative, like “Recent Grad Seeking Marketing Role” or “Marketing Student Specializing In Advertising.” This gives a potential connection or recruiter enough info to continue reading or click the ‘Accept Connection Request’ button.
One extra pro tip is to include “Open To New Opportunities” in your headline. There’s even a hashtag that you can start using in Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram posts - #ONO - to start catching the eye of hiring managers and recruiters.
Background & Experience
Your Summary section should also be straightforward, but you have more liberty here to show your personality and your values. Keep in mind, after the Headline, the Summary is the most read text on your profile, so make it specific enough that your personality comes through, but broad enough to ensure you’re not closing off potential opportunities. And avoid writing in the third-person. It’s not a byline - everyone knows that we’re writing our own LinkedIn profiles.
Something like…
“I'm a senior at [University Name] starting my search for marketing roles in [City Name]. As a passionate, modern marketer, I love connecting brands with their consumers in authentic ways online. #ONO and looking forward to connecting with you here."
For your Experience section, try to mirror your resume in reverse-chronological order, including a few bullets for each employer about your responsibilities and your impact.
When adding employers to your Experience section, be sure that the correct company is being pulled up while you type, and that you’ve selected the appropriate company. By connecting your Experience to the company’s LinkedIn page, you’re extending the reach of your profile, as you’ll show up in more search results and page feeds.
A final pro tip for your Experience section is the positioning of your titles. Put your recruiter or hiring manager hat on and consider how these titles sound…
Intern vs. Assistant To The Marketing Department
Retail Floor Part-Time vs. Retail Sales & Marketing Associate
Seasonal Hire vs. Marketing Rotational Program
Even if your industry experience in thin (*especially* if it’s thin!), by finding ways to creatively market your past positions, it will reflect very positively to a hiring manager for any potential Sales & Marketing role.
In-Real-Life Network
Last, but certainly not least, think about your IRL network. Your family and their friends; your church, temple, or mosque; your former Marketing or Advertising professor; your alumni network (get on their newsletter and join their LinkedIn Group!); heck, your fantasy football league!
Remember the 33-Seconds To The Perfect Personal Pitch template that you used to intelligently expand your network on LinkedIn? Use a version of it when you’re out with friends and family, with anyone and everyone.
“I’m actually just finishing my [insert relevant industry certification] and looking for a new role doing [practice area 1] or [practice area 2]. Do you know anyone that does Marketing in [city]?”
There are many people in your IRL network that just need to know of your job search, even if they may seem out of career context, and who may then unlock your next opportunity.
If you pitch yourself that succinctly to five people each week, you’ll have opportunities banging down your door in no time.
Once your network is working for you at full tilt, it’s time for the next step...Your Application.