How I got my job in Digital Marketing - Nathan Keogh, Marketing Executive at Centreco

With the help of our Senior Marketing Recruitment Consultant Meg Hughes, Nathan was able to secure his role as a Marketing Executive at Centreco. He talks about his experience with The Candidate, and shares some advice for those looking to find a job in the Digital Marketing industry!

Nathan Keogh, Marketing Executive at Centreco

The Job Search

Ah the hunt for a new job, a new career, a new start – something new to get excited about in the morning, its daunting… trust me I’ve been there, only a few weeks ago in fact, and I hated it! The hours spent on indeed submitting customised cover letters and an extensive CV and portfolio to then hear absolutely nothing back is the most frustrating thing you can ever come across. And then honestly, by pure luck, I came across The Candidate and honestly, I wish I did it sooner! Meg and the team did all the hard work and chasing for me and found me an even better job than I thought was possible.

As soon as I heard about this role that was put forward by The Candidate, I knew it was for me. There was so much untapped potential with the company and so much I could get my teeth stuck into, and that excited me! For the first time in a long time, I was excited about the thought of going to work. When I initially spoke to Meg, I said I wanted to find a new role where every day was different, with an employer who would provide me with opportunity after opportunity, and boy, did she succeed with this! From my first day, I was in at the deep end, and was tested with performing a full data cleanse for remarketing purposes – did I think I would be doing this on my very first day? No – Am I happy I did it? Yes! My new boss couldn’t believe I got it done so quickly – I mean what a way to make an impression from day one!

If it wasn’t obvious already, I’m a big believer in the recruitment agency process and should I ever decide this role isn’t for me, and that I want to find a new role and new opportunity, I will most definitely be steering clear of the websites and get straight in touch with a recruitment agency. Nothing is ever too much trouble and without being too forward, remember, agencies only get paid by potential employers when they have successfully placed a candidate, so it is in their interests to find you a new role where you can show your true potential and in a role that you enjoy!

How to Succeed in Digital Marketing

To succeed in digital marketing, you have to be flexible and wear a lot of different caps, one minute on photoshop putting content together, the next reaching out to media outlets trying to get them to publish your press release that you wrote only a few hours ago. It’s the most stereotypical thing to say, but you have to be a ‘yes’ person, and not just a ‘yes’ person, but a ‘yes AND…’ person, so you can add value and exceed expectations, you can make a difference and you can make your mark. The rewards, (apart from in most cases a very good salary) are that you get to see the content you spent hours putting together being viewed, interacted with and shared by thousands of people. The possibilities are genuinely endless.

Do's and Don't of securing a new role in Digital Marketing

If I had to give anyone some tips as to how to secure a new role in digital marketing, it would be…

Do your homework – Put together an extensive portfolio of all your previous work, be it images, blog posts, press releases, social media posts, photographs… the list goes on but you get the idea. Anyone can claim to be an expert on Wordpress, but if you can show someone that webpage you designed from start to finish, or that social media post that went viral – that speaks volumes. And if you don’t have much or any experience to put into a portfolio? Put together some ‘mock’ content for any company out there and show them what you are capable of!
Do your research – When you’re at an interview and you can quote to the potential employer the content on their website and how you would make it better, watch their face drop. Trust me, that’s what I did!
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there – To secure a role and to be successful in digital marketing, you must be able to market a company, and if you are too nervous to even ‘market’ yourself and put yourself out there, then how are you going to be able to successfully market a company?
Don’t get put off by getting no reply from an employer – We’ve all been there, you put together an amazing CV, extensive portfolio and in your opinion a pretty decent covering letter… and then the days turn into weeks, and then you get no reply from that dream job that you put all that time and effort into applying to. It’s going to happen when you apply through websites such as Indeed, Hired.com, Reed etc etc, and there’s nothing you can do about. Well, I say nothing… If you go through a recruitment agency such as The Candidate, they will do all of the chasing and leg work for you. They will find you opportunities you didn’t even know were out there, and even if you aren’t successful in a particular application, before you know it, you’re being sent an even better opportunity with feedback as to how you can be even better for the next application or interview.
Every day is a learning day – The key to being successful in digital marketing is that you have to be constantly keeping up with the latest trends, be it social media algorithm changes or even the latest social media platform to pop up out of nowhere. Therefore, to secure a role and not only that, but to be successful in that role, you have to be constantly evolving and learning the best ways of doing things. So, surround yourself with knowledge, be that books, blog posts, podcasts or simply, just use as many social media platforms as you can, watch all the YouTube tutorials you can and be open to as many opinions as possible.

Thank you for your insight Nathan! If you're looking for a new marketing role, get in touch with Meg today...

Senior Marketing Recruitment Consultant, Meg Hughes, placed Nathan in this role and is so pleased he was happy with the recruitment process. If you're looking for a new job in marketing, get in touch with Meg today! Call 0161 833 1044 or email [email protected]

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How I got my job in Digital Marketing - Nathan Keogh, Marketing Executive at Centreco

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