Why are more students choosing PR and marketing: Tips to success
As the marketing and public relations fields become increasingly popular with business students at university, internships become more and more competitive. The field of marketing and PR are popular due to the creative nature of the work and high visibility associated with it – quite possibly the marketing of marketing could be the reason for its success.
Choosing a career in either marketing or PR could entail the sales path, creative design path, or even the analytics and research path. Each path interweaves with each other to create demand in the eyes of the consumer. As Steve Jobs emphasised, “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them”, and that is what successful marketing and PR is really all about. It’s about that B2C relationship which provides a channel for demonstrating to the public why they should buy/use something. People will not know what they want until someone shows them why they should use it and the benefits it brings to the table.
As a result, more and more graduates are realising that they should have started their career in this field earlier. Many are finding it difficult to secure a job straight out of university. This is due to the demand of graduates in this field exceeding the supply of opportunities. Students are finding they either have to have a HD average, start internships earlier, gain experience earlier, or pump up their resume in order to even compete with the masses of marketing and PR graduates.
Speaking with the CMO of Deloitte, David Redhill, I have gained useful knowledge on how to compete in today’s business environment to successfully land such a job. He explained that to be valuable to a company, four to five years’ experience is key, along with horizontal movement. Horizontal movement across sectors, operating in a variety of fields allowed David to understand each function of the business before moving into the CMO role with Deloitte. This approach will stand PR and Marketing graduates in good stead.
Attending networking events is also a great way to meet professionals in the marketing and PR fields and enhance your professional network. After all, the more people you know well in the industry, the more likely you are to be presented with an opportunity at your chosen marketing or Public Relations (PR) company. Networking increases your chances of success with many roles in the industry coming through referrals and contacts and is crucial to success.
Written by intern on the job,
Clarissa xx
