5 Ways to Make a Career Change into Marketing
By: Advertising In Asia
Tags: Marketing, Career Change, Startup, Careers, Japan

It’s 5 o’clock on Friday; you’ve been watching the clock for hours in anticipation for that dinner you have scheduled or that Tinder date you swiped right on earlier in the week. And while the idea of getting out of that office hell hole before 11pm is on your mind, all you can really think about is how to get another job.

We see this all the time in Japan, people work at their jobs day and night until all hours of the evening, for no overtime and rarely a thank you. To make matters worse, it doesn’t take a rocket science for those same people to see what’s happening in the US, China, and other part of the world- youthful risk takers climbing corporate ladders, 28 year old CEO’s, and millennial silicon valley millionaires.

As a result, many Japanese look to three potential options for marketing career success. They could build a new life and career overseas, or take the unlikely route of starting up their own business amongst a culture that often frowns upon individuality and disruption. Both of these scenarios of course thick enough in detail for their own essays, but for now lets look at a third option, making a career transition.

Sounds simple? Just not in Japan.

Jumping jobs in Japan is kind of like committing career suicide. While in the US it’s considered strategic, smart, and advantageous- in Japan it’s often considered disrespectful, inconsiderate, and irresponsible. So how can you find a new job in marketing without ending up in someone’s judgmental crosshairs?

Do your homework

Marketing is a giant ecosystem, so what exactly drives you the most? What do you want to learn more the most and what would you not mind being tasked with doing till all hours of the morning night over night? What’s really great about marketing now is that it’s changing faster than ever, digital is offering new opportunities to connect with customers in so many ways that companies need experts badly to help them make this transition. Is that expert you? Find out, create a niche, do your homework and set some goals.

Build a portfolio

Secondly, build a portfolio of work or learnings. To be honest, even as we’re writing this now, we’re not complete experts on all things Japan, we’re just learning more and more everyday and then sharing everything as we learn it so that our followers and clients can be better marketers. You can do the same thing for whatever specialty you’re looking to dive into. Create a blog, take on a free client, test your chops and get going.

Establish a brand

I think this is a little more complex and will require some additional reading, but don’t hesitate to create your own brand so that you can stand out from the rest. Show that you know your field and then practice it. Are you YouTube expert? Then have a YouTube channel. An Instagram know it all? Then post some really cool pics! I think you get the point and I can tell you personally that when it comes to hiring — 9 times out of 10 we’ve hired people who have expressed outside of a resume that they’re an expert in their field because we know if they can do it for themselves, they can do it for our clients too.

Believe in yourself

I’m going to put this in here because I think it’s specifically important for talent in Japan to think more of the talents within themselves when thinking about navigating new opportunities. If you’re in the position of making a move like this then it’s for a reason or even something bigger, a calling. But your execution is only as big as your belief is in yourself to be able to do it. So, think big, stay smart, and believe that as long as you can go step by step, only you and old self-doubting habits can get in your way.

Network like there’s no tomorrow

Finally, networking. I love networking and find it to be one of the most advantageous things to do when it comes to building new relationships that can lead to new opportunities. Join the meetups relative to your industry, attend a conference, make as many connections as you can and be intent on identifying how you can add value to them. Do this right and who knows Maybe that’s just the very thing that gets you that new opportunity you’ve been looking for and at the worse a few new friends as well.