Creating content is a top strategy that marketers use every day to generate awareness, leads, and close sales for their businesses. However, when it comes to finding a new job, too many marketers forget about the power of content marketing.
They follow all sorts of advice:
- If I just attend this conference...
- If I just get this certification...
- If I just network with the right people...
- If I just get my resume professionally written...
This is all good advice, but it ignores one of the most effective ways to make your job search faster and more successful in the end.
To Get The Marketing Job You Want, Start Creating Long-Form Content
Don’t wait to get asked the right questions during your phone or in-person interviews. This is your chance to flaunt your expertise.
Create content conveying actionable plans to solve the specific problems that you will be addressing in your target positions.
If you have a blog or a podcast (or want to start one), create how-to articles or episodes laying out how you would solve the problems you are trying to get hired to solve.
If you don't have a blog or a podcast, start a blog on Medium.com, post LinkedIn articles, or create a video series on YouTube.
See My Video Explaining This Job Hunting Tip
Why Will Creating Content Help You Get a Marketing Job?
There are 4 primary ways that creating content right now will help you find the marketing job of your dreams down the road:
Reason #1) You'll Be Better Prepared For Interviews
It helps you think through responses to likely scenarios and challenges you are going to be asked about during the interview process.
Reason #2) You'll Rise Above Other Candidates
This makes you standout when compared against other candidates. They have a resume; you have a resume plus 20 articles highlighting your expertise.
Reason #3) Your Second Chance To Make a First Impression
Content is a great follow-up asset since you can cover topics that you didn't have a chance to address, or you fumbled, during the interview.
Reason #4) You'll Help Validate Their Decision To Pick You
The social proof (likes, shares, comments, etc.) will confirm that they are making the right choice in making you an offer.
What Should You Write About When Creating Content For Your Job Hunt?
Some of my best job search processes were the ones where I came to the final interview with an action plan to review with my prospective employer.
The content you are going to create is going to mirror the step-by step action plans you would bring to the table if hired.
The best part is that you have days and sometimes weeks to research your approach and compile your thoughts before publishing the final article, video, or podcast.
Don't make the mistake of pumping out content filled with your unsupported opinions and regurgitated best practices. Show that you own your expertise.
How Do You Know Which Problems To Solve?
In your job search, your potential employer outlines exactly what they need and why they are hiring for your position. This is all contained in the job description.
Dissect each target job description to pull out 5-10 processes, challenges, or goals you are going to be responsible for if you are hired. For instance, if you are gunning for a Director of Marketing job, you might lay out your process for:
- How To Boost Brand Awareness
- How To Increase Qualified Leads
- How To Produce More Content Than Your Competition, Without Breaking The Bank
- How To Use Paid Ads To Generate More Sales, In Half The Time
- How To Build A Top-Notch Marketing Team, In Any City
If you run out of topics to write about from your target job description, expand your geographic search area and pull from those job descriptions.
Also, experiment with industry-specific content, like How Law Firms Can Decrease Their Cost Of Client Acquisition in 2019.
However, keep in mind that industry-specific content won’t serve you outside of that niche, and may even hurt you in your effort to position yourself as a marketing expert outside of that industry.
Takeaway For Getting A Marketing Job
Getting a new job is exciting and rewarding, but job hunting can be demeaning and depressing. Give yourself more control and self-confidence by creating authoritative content around the problems you are being hired to address in your target positions.
Avoid overthinking this and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Think through these challenges, then layout how you would solve each of them in actionable detail (research if necessary).
Before you know it, you will be able to talk about your plans with more authority, you’ll get calls from people who want to hire you, and you’ll have the social proof to make sure you are the candidate who gets the offer.
