What Skills Do Employers Look for in Marketing?

If you’re interested in a career in marketing but unsure of the skills you need to make it, you’ve come to the right place.

Marketing is an industry bursting with some of the world’s most creative people and employers are always on the lookout for talented people like you to join their ranks.

There is a wide range of marketing skills, some soft skills and some hard (technical), so we’ve put together a list of all the skills you’ll need to score yourself a job in marketing.

• 5 marketing soft skills
• 5 marketing hard skills
• 5 hard skills for a job in social media
• How to build marketing skills

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5 Soft Skills You Need for a Job in Marketing

Soft skills are crucial. They’re easy to work on and once you have them, you’ll have them for life.

Employers love soft skills because they show who you are as a person and how you can adapt and react in certain workplace situations. Plus, they’re transferable, so you can take those skills anywhere.

Here are five soft skills that marketing employers cherish.

1. Creativity

Marketing is a creative industry constantly bursting with ideas and forever on the hunt for fresh ones. So you’ll need to have a creative way of thinking. Even if you find it hard to generate ideas, there are ways to help you do that.

2. Multitasking and time management

As a marketer, you’ll work on a myriad of projects at one time. So employers want students who can handle multiple tasks and manage their time. You’ll already have loads of experience – managing exams, classes and assignments.

3. Communication

This is key as you’ll work in teams and for clients and customers alike. In fact, marketing IS communication, so you’ll need to be an absolute boss at it. Whether that’s working on copy, writing emails or daily interactions, this skill will make up 99.9% of your role.

4. Attention to detail

Marketing involves a lot of words and concepts seen by the public, so it all needs to be conveyed clearly and with zero mistakes. You’ll need to master the art of the eagle eye and be able to spot mistakes or potential mishaps from a mile away.

5. Leadership

Leadership skills are super important because they teach you how to steer people towards a common goal. You’ll use empathy, delegate tasks and help the team you lead to reach your goal. It’s a great skill to develop, especially if you’re looking to snap up a manager position later on in your career.

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Meet Anna, a marketing placement student. Find out more about all the things she learned during her placement year.

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5 Hard Skills for a Job in Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is exciting. They are the behind-the-scenes influencers of the world and are the reason you decided to buy that thingamagic from Temu.

There are a range of hard marketing skills you’ll need to conquer the digital marketing world, here are five:

1. Copywriting

The Queen of marketing, copywriting is all the text you see in marketing and advertising campaigns. Whether that’s brand taglines, emails, social media posts and captions, there’s a copywriter behind that.

2. Marketing Analytics

This is the stage where you measure the success of a marketing campaign. Tasks can include collecting data from customers and looking at Google Analytics and SEO results.

3. Search engine optimisation (SEO)

SEO is the Professor X of digital marketing. It’s how websites rank and get traffic through search engines via keywords.

4. Video production

Video content is becoming the number one method choice for marketing. So it helps to know your way around a camera, or even a smartphone camera. You don’t need top-range video cameras to produce stellar content.

5. Pay-per-click advertising (PPC)

PPC is a form of online advertising where an advertiser will pay every time a customer clicks on their link.

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Interested in a career in digital marketing? Read our guide to digital marketing internships

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5 Hard Skills for a Job in Social Media

While social media comes under the wings of its older sibling, digital marketing, it’s extremely clear that social media has room to fly on its own.

According to We Are Social, 57 million people in the UK use social media, spending on average one hour and 56 minutes on various platforms every day. So, a social media presence is a must! Here are five hard skills every social media maven needs:

1. Graphic design

You don’t have to be a pro, but it helps to have some sort of design skills and at the very least know what looks good and works for the brand you’re working for. It’s a huge plus and boosts your employability by a gazillion per cent.

Not sure where to start? There are loads of creative apps and platforms you can use. Canva is great because you’ll have access to hundreds of customisable elements to put together everything from presentations and posters to logos and stickers.

2. Writing

Content writing is central to everything you do on social media. Content must be clear, concise and on brand. Content writing is an extremely useful skill, and the best part is that it’s easy to practice at home.

Got a spare notebook lying around? Fab. Now take a look at some of your fave brands. What are their tweets like? What’s the brand voice like? Take your notebook and try your hand at creating branded tweets and taglines. You could even set up a blog!

3. Social media management software

These nifty programs allow you to manage all your social media accounts from one space. They’re great for scheduling content and keeping an eye on numbers. Some programs include; Hootsuite, HubSpot, Social Sprout and Buffer.

4. Data Analytics

You’ll forever be looking at data to help you understand how your content is performing on social media. It’s a fantastic tool to help you spot trends and create the content you know will work for your brand.

5. Video editing

Again, you don’t have to be a pro. But it helps. If you’re filming a lot of video content, you’ll need to be able to edit and get it out there as quickly as possible.

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Build your marketing skills! We have a whole bunch of skills-related articles for you to get into.

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How to Build Marketing Skills

When it comes to soft skills, you already have that down. So how do you build marketing-specific skills? There are a variety of ways you can do this, here are our three top tips.

1. Build skills with a placement or internship

Work experience is always the best way to build and develop your marketing skills. Both a placement and an internship will allow you to work for a marketing company full-time where you’ll gain valuable insight into how the industry works.

Meet Ella, our content marketing manager, and hear more about her journey from intern to manager!

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A post shared by RateMyPlacement | Find paid internships & placements (@ratemyplacement_official)

2. Upskill yourself with a FREE marketing course

If you aren’t already studying marketing, there are loads of resources that’ll give you the low-down on the industry and the marketing skills you’re going to need for free. Digital Skills HQ has a free digital marketing course available for those aged 19+.

3. Keep in the loop

Follow marketing/employer accounts on social media, find industry publications and news and subscribe to newsletters. All are really great in helping you build your commercial awareness – which employers will be super impressed by.

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There are marketing roles available RIGHT NOW for you to get stuck into. Why not have a look? Click below to begin your search today.

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