How to Choose Your Next Marketing Job
By: Vugar Mehdiyev
Tags: Choices, CMO, Marketing, Decision Making, Careers

Recently I’ve accepted one of the most exciting calls of my career: leading 3 departments with 35+ direct reports, being responsable for a hefty marketing budget, hyperdynamic marketing in a competitive industry, tons of expectations, and most importantly creating a new culture & bringing changes while not touching the working conveyor - surely not a piece of cake!

While juggling all the pros & cons of possible destinations I went through quite an uneasy decision-making process. Having lived that, I decided to share my experience with my fellow marketers and other like-minded buddies in a short post about how to choose their next marketing job.

Prefer projects to company names

My formula is simple:

When you are under 25 you work & study like crazy just to define your pathway. Better to work at marketing agencies, consulting firms, retail companies, or any sort of hot pots.

Between 25 and 30 you already know who you are and what to read. You are still in operations while experiencing the first wave of the managerial phase.

When you surpassed 30 better to undertake a tough project rather than petting your belly. You wanner be the captain of Ajax FC in the Champions League rather than sitting on Real Madrid’s bench in La Liga.

After 40 you can enjoy bringing quotes from your lovely books during the board meetings and scattering free advice at public events.

Go where they want you more

If you’re invited to Marketing Director or CMO roles but who phoned you first was a junior recruiter well… this is not the best sign. On several occasions, I’ve personally witnessed how smart CEOs snatched the best candidates in a casual coffee meeting. Do they want you badly? That must be the right place if your answer is yes. Rule out any option that smells hesitation. They can’t buy you as long as you say no to money.

Choose a company where the marketing is the locomotive

There are several industries where you wouldn’t notice any difference if their CMO passed away on Monday morning 🙂 But places like retail, marketing agency, FMCG, growing startups, etc. are very marketing sensitive. Talk to insiders about the importance of marketing within the organization before accepting the offer. Do they call it “cost” or “investment” when it comes to spendings?

Brand reputation is vital

Changing a company’s bad reputation to good is a costly business. It requires money, time, and iron nerves. People will always associate you with your company. Does your company sell crap? So you are the crap seller. Does your company treat customers badly? So you are an asshole. Thus, make sure you choose a company whose logo will decorate your resume, or at least you’ll not be ashamed to voice its name among your friends.

Resources matter

Let’s face it. You’ll not be publicly successful without sufficient resources. Even good marketing requires certain costs. You can pull your company with tweaks and talent to a certain extent but there are several factors that lay beyond your power. You might build a perfect SEO strategy, but it is gonna look placid in search results when your competitor’s bid is 10 times higher than yours. You can’t deliver sustainable and healthy results without an adequate team unless you are powered with an A14 Bionic chip.

Work for a leader

Almost in all the competitive markets, there are only 1 or 2 leaders and the rest. The more competitive the market, the more chances you’ll have to be forged as a professional. Want to be recognized publicly? Want to impact the market and influence the mass? Choose leaders. But be prepared for anxiety and some sleepless nights. Speed might sicken you.

Me in the eyes of my 4-year old son when I’m stressed :)

At the end of the day, life is a result of our choices. Take your time and make meaningful choices. A short agony of choices is better than a longing regret. Let me finish this article with Mr. Nobody’s invaluable quote: