Girl Starts Marketing Career

My ideal position right now would be as a marketing coordinator for an organic/natural/environmentally friendly organization. A marketing coordinator is a kind of assistant to a marketing department or other marketing professionals. They handle the smaller tasks necessary for a successful campaign/promotion, while leaving the strategic decisions to their boss(es). Seems easy enough, right? A college degree in marketing isn’t enough these days. Another setback is that because I started school late, I still have a year left before I get my degree. I do have a good foundation: extensive administrative and book keeping experience. I have worked in Accounts Payable for the past three years, so I am very comfortable working with numbers, budgets, and bills. Prior to that I worked in my company’s Membership Administration department, handling member inquiries and account adjustments.

Perhaps in another time that would have been enough to land me an interview, but those days are gone. Let’s be frank here: why would someone consider me when they have applicants with actual experience as marketing coordinators/PR specialists/Journalists, let alone a college degree. So, what’s a college junior to do? I have decided that school and my current job are not likely to dramatically shape me anymore than they already have. I need to broaden my skill set. I first considered an internship, but my school isn’t offering any that appeal to me. I then thought that I could volunteer some of my time with an organization and assist them with their marketing efforts for free . That idea was good, but I would prefer to make money from this! A part time job one day a week is more in order.

I have found my part time job with a healthy home products company. I’m selling air purifiers at the moment, but will eventually move on to vacuums, water purifiers, and other various home products. Learning direct sales skills is very intimidating. Nothing good comes easy though! In the back of my mind I need to keep telling myself that I’m gaining skills that will help me negotiate, interact with people, overcome objections, sell my ideas, and the list goes on. My sales manager refers to this as the “hard knocks” and she is right, but it is definitely a good thing. I’ve devoted myself to only one day a week. Stay tuned for feedback on this!!