How to get a job in Internet Marketing

I teach an Internet Marketing Course for the University of San Francisco. Several of the students have asked me how to put their knowledge to work and get a job in Internet marketing. Despite the tough economy, one sector that is still looking for good people is the internet.

My best thoughts on finding jobs in this economy are on our website and an internet marketing podcast I recorded with 10 job hunting tips.

The 2 best suggestions I could share with you are 1. the vast majority of jobs come from relationships and 2. the best thing you can do to get a job in internet marketing is to do work in internet marketing (freelance and volunteer work count). Let me explain:

1. Relationships. The first thing most managers do when hiring is ask staff and friends ‘Do you know anyone who is great at X?’ The last thing we do is spend money on recruitment advertising. I love hiring people that I have worked with through volunteer committees or people I know form industry events. Get busy connecting with old friends and make sure people know what you’re good at and what you’re looking for. Also, find an excuse to stay top-of-mind each month. I love to help people out, but I am busy – you need to remind busy people that you’re still looking.

2. I prefer to hire people with relevant experience and a great positive team-based attitude. We hired our Social Media Guru because she had a great can-do personality and a personal fitness blog that had higher ratings than our company blog. Companies were sending her free fitness products to sample hoping she’d blog about them. So how do you get real, relevant experience? Pick a cause that you are passionate about such as a local charity or non-profit and ask them how you could help. For example, the calls is doing some volunteer work for Rescue Rehab Home, a charity that rescues abandoned dogs. Volunteer for your local American Marketing Association or Interactive Marketing Association. Doing real interactive marketing work such as blogging, search engine optimization or social media (Facebook Fan Pages, YouTube videos, Twitter) is a great way to build your resume and show off your skills. Many hiring managers are likely in senior positions on the Board of Directors for these organizations. Or, do some freelance work to put on your resume. Websites such as www.Guru.com or www.eLance.com offer you the opportunity to make money doing real projects for real companies. Lastly – make yourself interactive! Create a great personal blog, make sure your Facebook and LinkedIn profiles are top notch. Google yourself to make sure there is lots of good news hitting the first page – if not get busy creating Social Media profiles to hit the first page of a search.

If you are looking, good luck for your job search and please let me know if there are other ways I can help. If you know someone who is looking for an internet marketing job, please share these tips and a link to our podcast with them. http://podcast.tengoldenrules.com/10goldenrules-podcast-episode32.html

Photo Credit Pieter Baert Flickr