So, you are fresh out school and not sure what you want to do to earn cash or build a career? Should you go to Uni or a Technicon to study?
You like the idea of adverting and marketing – it is broad and sounds like it is exciting. Or what about social media and PR?
After two decades in the game of advertising, marketing and PR I would like to share some of my thoughts and pointer to today’s youth.
Points to remember
- Gaining knowledge
Knowledge is power, so learn and keep learning! That does not mean you need to study at an institution like a collage or university. What is does mean is that self-learning via the internet: blogs, websites and YouTube are quick and accessible ways to upskill yourself. Dive in and start learning. This practical experience will help you decide which parts of the marketing sphere is for you!
- Gaining practical experience
Go get some practical experience. Contact a variety of agencies and ask if you can intern with them. In the past agencies offered a basic salary for interns. If they do not have budget to pay you do not let that stop you from joining their team. Remember, knowledge is power.
- Staying general to become a Jack of all traits
Do not specialize! The world is changing at a rapid pace which means it is best to get an overall understanding within the marketing world before finding your niche, if that what you want to do.
- Stay humble
Stay humble and be willing to do almost anything to build up your skillset. Remember that the job place is saturated with people looking for jobs. Employers are looking for team members who are enthusiastic, with a can-do attitude.
- Be open to remote collaboration
Be willing to work remotely. Does the idea of being a digital nomad excite you them carry on reading? Creative agencies that have adapted to the environmental changes are working remotely. Some of their team members are not even in the same town, city or even country. Apps like Teams, Zoom and WhatsApp make it easy to manage communication. There are cloud-based storage networks where teams upload and share content. In fact, there are even programs to manage the team’s workflow remotely.
- But do not lose focus
You need to remain focused and set daily and monthly goals. Ask your team members what you can do? Make to-do-lists, ask what deadlines exist for your to-do-list items, carry your undo items over to the next day and keep on to of your responsibilities. Once you get “work fit” add more items by offering more of your time. This will help you set goals for yourself to learn. In three months, you want to feel comfortable doing task A, in six months you want to feel comfortable doing talk B and so on.
- Learn to be resourceful
Become resourceful. As you build your experience you become valuable. Practice your writing, it is a skill that is valuable. Improve your grammar and proofread all your work. Try out Grammarly – it will help your grammar out! With Apps like Canva and lots of practice you can become a pseudo designer.
- Share the love
Being positive and kind goes a long way. You can set the example for those around you by being kind and considerate. Let your team members know that you are a team player by sharing your ideas, positive words, and affirmations.
- Build trust
By being open, hardworking and collaborative you build trust. With trust your team leaders allow you more freedom. With freedom comes space and responsibility. We are living in a new age of freedom with terms like “Digital Nomad” referring to Millennials and Gen Z who work from where they like and within somewhat of a self-structured time frame. This could apply to you once you build trust! Do it, it is liberating.
- Give yourself time
Rome was not built in a day! Keep this in mind when building your career – it takes time. Even if you want to be an CEO or head strategist of an agency you need to remember to learn to walk before you run. Goals are great and important so work towards them and know that years or experience are what gives you the knowledge to become a whatever your heart desires.
