Career guide
How to Get Into Marketing (Including Digital Marketing)
Pick one area of marketing, learn its core tools, and do a small real project you can show. Then apply for coordinator or specialist roles in that area, using your project and your past experience as proof. Career changers should lead with what they've already done that looks like marketing.
Key takeaways
- The fastest way into marketing is to pick one area, build one small piece of real work in it, and apply only for roles in that area.
- Social media, content, SEO, paid media, email and marketing coordination are the easiest areas to enter without a marketing background.
- You can get into marketing with no experience and no marketing degree, because most marketing hiring managers care more about work you can show.
- Career changers get into marketing fastest by leading with past work that already looks like marketing, such as writing, customer insight or analysis.
- Free courses from Google, Meta and HubSpot teach the tools, but a project with a result is what gets interviews.
What’s the fastest way to get into marketing?
Choose one area, build one piece of proof and apply for roles in that area only. Marketing is broad, and a resume that says “I’m interested in marketing” loses to one that says “I grew this account” or “I ran this campaign”.
The areas that are easiest to break into without a marketing background are social media, content, SEO, paid media, email and marketing coordination. The marketing careers page explains what each one involves.
How do you get into digital marketing?
Learn one channel properly, then run a real test in it. Digital marketing jobs are skills-based, and most of the tools are free or cheap to learn.
- SEO: learn Google Search Console and a keyword tool, then build a small site and get pages ranking. See how to become an SEO specialist.
- Paid search and paid social: learn Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager, then run a small campaign with your own budget, for a friend’s business or for a nonprofit.
- Email: learn an email platform such as Mailchimp or Klaviyo, then start a newsletter and test subject lines.
- Social: grow an account in a niche you know, and keep notes on what worked and why. See how to become a social media manager.
- Analytics: learn Google Analytics and spreadsheets well enough to answer “what’s working?” with data.
Free courses and certificates from Google, Meta and HubSpot cover the basics. Treat them as a starting point; the project is what gets you interviews. Pick a channel today and you can have a first test running within a couple of weeks.
How do you get into marketing as a graduate?
Use internships, campus work and side projects as your experience, and apply broadly within one or two roles. Most entry-level marketing hiring is for coordinator, assistant and specialist titles, covered in entry-level marketing jobs.
Things that count as experience on a graduate’s resume:
- Running social or events for a club, team or society.
- Writing for a student publication or your own blog.
- A marketing internship, even a short one.
- A class project with a real client and real results.
- Freelance work for a local business.
Write each one the way a marketer would: the goal, what you did, and the result with a number where you have one.
How do you get into marketing as a career changer?
Start from what you’ve already done that overlaps with marketing, and target roles where that overlap matters. You’re rarely starting from zero, even when it feels that way.
| If you’ve worked in | You likely already have | Marketing roles that fit |
|---|---|---|
| Sales or account management | Customer insight, messaging, pipeline thinking | Product marketing, demand generation, marketing operations |
| Journalism, writing or editing | Writing, editing, interviewing, deadlines | Content, copywriting, PR and communications |
| Teaching or training | Explaining complex things simply, planning | Content, product marketing, enablement |
| Data, finance or research | Analysis, spreadsheets, modeling | Marketing analytics, paid media, SEO |
| Retail or hospitality | Customer experience, merchandising | Brand, CRM and email, social |
| Design | Visual skills, tools | Creative, social, brand |
Rewrite your resume so each line shows the marketing-relevant part of the work. “Managed 30 accounts” becomes a line about which customers bought, why, and what you learned about their needs. Our cover letters for marketing roles show how to frame a move. Use them as a guide and tell the story in your own voice; why you’re switching is one of the most interesting things about you.
Expect to step down a title level at first in some cases, especially into a specialist role. With relevant experience, you’ll often move up faster than someone who started straight from school.
How do you get into a specific area of marketing?
Each area has its own first step and its own proof. Pick the row closest to what you enjoy, and follow the guide for that role:
| Area | First proof to build | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Social media marketing | Grow or run one account with a clear goal for a few weeks | Social media jobs |
| Influencer marketing | A small creator outreach plan or campaign for a local brand | Influencer marketing jobs |
| Product marketing | A positioning and launch plan for a product you know well | How to become a product marketing manager |
| SEO | A small site with a few pages ranking for real searches | How to become an SEO specialist |
| Affiliate marketing (as a job) | A partner list and tracking plan for a brand you like | Affiliate marketing manager |
| Fashion marketing | Content or a brand audit for a fashion label you follow | Fashion marketing jobs |
| Digital marketing generally | One channel learned well and one test run in it | How to get a job in digital marketing |
How do you get into marketing with no experience?
Create the experience in a small way, then show it. Volunteer to run marketing for a club, nonprofit or local business, start a newsletter, or run a tiny paid test, and write up the goal, what you did and the result. Small numbers are completely fine; what matters is that you can explain every step. Our first marketing job guide turns this into a six-week plan.
Do you need a marketing degree or certificate?
No. A degree helps for some brand and agency graduate programs, but most marketing jobs care more about what you can show. Certificates are useful for learning a tool. A small portfolio of real work is what hiring managers actually look at.
How do you prepare for your first marketing interview?
Research the company’s marketing before you go in. Look at its social accounts, its ads, its site and its competitors, and come with one or two specific observations. It’s one of the simplest ways to stand out as a junior candidate, and it gives you something real to talk about. Share your observations in your own words, the way you’d mention them to a friend; they want to meet the person, not hear a script. How to research a company before an interview walks through it, and how to prepare for an interview covers the rest.
FAQ
Is it hard to get into marketing?
The entry-level market is competitive because many people want marketing jobs. It gets much easier once you narrow to one area and have something real to show.
Can I get into marketing at 30, 40 or later?
Yes. Career changers bring things employers value, like customer knowledge, writing or analytical skills. Lead with that experience and target roles that use it.
What’s the best first marketing job?
A coordinator or specialist role on a team that will teach you. A good manager matters more than the title in your first job.
Should I start at an agency or in-house?
Agencies teach you a lot quickly across several clients. In-house roles teach you how one business works. Either is a good start.