1 Learn the concept
A successful marketing career rests on three things: job skills, work experience and relationships. Skills show you can do the work. Experience proves you have done it. Relationships open the doors where your skills and experience get seen. Most people focus on only one and wonder why progress is slow. In this lesson you learn what each factor is, why you need all three, and how Acadium helps you build each one.
2 See it in action
- Job skills are what you can do. Examples: writing a campaign brief, setting up an ad account, reading an analytics report.
- Work experience is what you have done. Examples: an apprenticeship, a task completed for a real business, a volunteer project.
- Relationships are who knows what you can do. Examples: a mentor who will vouch for you, a former client, a peer who shares openings.
- The common imbalance: strong skills with no experience or contacts leaves a candidate invisible.
Worked example
Scoring yourself on the three factors
Skills: 4 out of 5. I can write, use analytics and run a basic campaign.
Experience: 2 out of 5. Only class projects so far.
Relationships: 1 out of 5. I know no one who works in marketing.
Lowest score: relationships, then experience.
Plan this month: message three people for advice, and apply for an apprenticeship to build experience. Re-score in four weeks.
3 Study an example
Example scenario
Two graduates apply for the same junior marketing role. One has finished several courses but has no projects and knows nobody in the industry. The other has finished fewer courses but completed an apprenticeship and has a mentor willing to give a reference. The second candidate gets the interview because all three factors are visible.
4 Apply it and download
- Rate yourself from 1 to 5 on each of the three factors.
- Pick your lowest score and write one action for it this month.
Worksheet Career factors scorecardOpen, print or save as PDF