Life in the fast lane - the world of marketing

Our very own marketing assistant, Louisa Smith is back. Find out what she has been up to in the last couple of months since joining us. 

My last blog entry detailed my transition from university to working life. Having worked in my new role at TARGETjobs for four months now, I feel I have some claim to the world of marketing, and some knowledge to share with other aspiring marketeers. Therefore, this blog is for anyone who is considering a future career in marketing and would like to find out what it can involve!

Truth is, I love my job. (And I’m not just saying this because this is being posted all over the TARGETjobs Bloggers site.) Obviously, I can only speak from the perspective of one marketing assistant in one marketing department and at one company. It may or may not be the case that other companies work in a similar way – this is something you’ll have to share with us yourselves! All I can tell you is how life runs in the marketing department here at TARGETjobs.

Since I joined the marketing department back in January, I have worked on numerous projects. I find it hard to believe I have only been here four months, because I feel like I have already learnt so much, and developed so many new skills. One aspect of marketing that has really struck me is how great it is to work “behind-the-scenes” on a project, and then see your ideas and hard work go live, and be seen by the public eye. The sense of pride when you think, “I did that” is an extremely satisfying feeling.

When I first joined the team, the company was in full-swing, preparing for the annual TARGETcourses Postgraduate Study and Funding Fairs, which took place in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Birmingham. I had only worked here about five minutes before my boss explained that it was down to me and him alone to organise the marketing campaigns for all three fairs. To put this into context, we had to promote the fairs to students at universities all across Scotland, all across Wales, and all across the Midlands. We designed posters, flyers, plasma screens, leaflets…you name it, we had it. I then attended each of the events to coordinate promotional work on the day of the event. Throughout the whole process, we worked closely with the TARGETcourses team and the TARGETevents teams, so I gained great insight into the work of numerous departments!

My next main project was to re-vamp the TARGETjobs Campus Reps scheme. TARGETjobs Campus Reps are a team of students who represent our brand at their university, carrying out promotional work for us and registering students to TARGETjobs. Recently, I have focussed on making the Campus Rep Scheme more of a community, so that reps can share ideas with each other and work together to earn the largest amount of registrations they possibly can. (If you’re interested in working as a Campus Rep, you can apply here.) This has involved a lot of work with our Design team, to create new and modern logos for reps to use, and has also involved the creation of an exciting Campus Reps Facebook group, to really create a sense of community. (Plus it’s always fun when you get to go on Facebook as part of your job!)

Yet my most recent project is by far the most exciting – preparation for the Autumn Season! This is our busiest time of the year here at TARGETjobs, as it’s not only when the majority of applications open for graduate jobs, but it’s also when we hire a team of Events staff to tour the UK for three months exhibiting at hundreds of Freshers’ and Careers Fairs, raising brand awareness and registering students to TARGETjobs.co.uk! If you read my previous blog, you may remember that I joined the company back in 2011 as a member of this team, so I am very excited to be getting involved in the season from a completely different perspective!

So as you can see, for me, a marketing role has involved such a variety of projects. Occasionally I still take a trip down memory lane and work at a Careers Fair, promoting the brand and gaining student registrations. It’s amazing that what used to be everyday life for me during the events season is now what I consider a day off from work! But that’s marketing for you – very hard work, but extremely rewarding!

If you think a career in marketing could be the right choice for you why not explore your marketing options. Find areas of work that may interest you and search for marketing graduate jobs.