I'm stuck

[Lenn]

Hi,
I've been diving into digital marketing for some time now with ups and downs. I followed a basic course not too long ago and got motivated again. Now the problem I'm facing.. I dont have a digital marketing master or bachelor degree and I'm turning 30 this year really wanting to make a carreer in digital marketing.. Belgium is very hard when it comes to showing your school certifications and without them its extremely hard to find a job (they don't even invite you for intakes so you can't really sell yourself). I also got my google ads certifications recentely and planning to get the hubspot ones aswell. I am lacking the pratical aspect of the job tho.. Is there anyone who can help me in that aspect or know a company that offers remote work for beginners?

[Elbeon]

Hi @Lenn 

In Belgium you could apply for a professional immersion agreement (which is called BIS in Dutch or CIP in French). It is basically a paid internship. For companies it is more interesting to hire you this way if you don't have any experience yet. I don't know the technicalities to apply, but I do know that my company (a digital agency that has offices in Herentals, Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent) has been hiring a lot of people this way and even offered them a fixed contract after the internship if they did a good job. Hope this helps and best of luck! 

[Lenn]

Hi!
I did not know about this, thank you so much!
Herentals is a 15 min drive longer from where i work now so that would be a great option.
Thank you so much for this and for your time!

[dlnfx]

Hi Len -

I get where you are coming from and am going to recomend that you do not spend money on another degree. Marketing is an art, not a science. Like all arts (writing, painting, history, etc.) you are running up against something that is inherantly inquanitifiable. The metrics and formulas you're given as a marketer are very helpful for quanitifying the value you deliver a client or customer, but that will never be the full picture. You fundamentally cannot ascribe value to influence over another person. You also can't write the perfect history book, paint the perfect painting, or write the perfect book.

When you go to a client and ask for their goals, the answer will almost always be some form of "I want to sell more." CPM, CPC, reach... these are all ways of trying to measure the impact that your marketing has for a business, but it will never be the full picture. Maybe you can raise your sales through scummy tactics, but that will hurt the company's brand and customers will stop buying from them. Marketing is the allegory of the blind monks and the elephant.

This is all a super philosophical way of saying that I do not recommend going back to school for a bachelor's or master's in marketing. I am not European, but I doubt it will serve you in either Beligum or the US. So, how do you land a career in digital marketing? How do you get good at it? By doing it. 

This might be a bit of a frustrating answer. Career pivots are tough and now some random guy on the HubSpot forums is telling you that you will only find digital marketing work by doing digital marketing work. But it's the truth. I have my bachelor's in Marketing - it didn't help me at all in landing a job. What did help was that I had a portfolio of work to point to. I had worked on websites, helped clients improve their search results, had written blogs and press releases, landed articles in major publications. This was work that I collected and was able to point to when searching for a job. Think about graphic designers - would you hire an artist with a master's degree and no portfolio, or an artist with several examples of work that they've done for others?

This what I mean when I say that marketing is an art. Engineers have equations that help them reliably build bridges or design industrial machines. There are solid answers to questions like "how much weight can this bridge hold?" There is no solid answer to "how can I sell more of this product than I did last year?"

Start building your portfolio. Start an instagram cat meme page and try to rack up followers. Learn a little web development and build some websites. Start blogging and taking note of what performs well and what doesn't. There are many ways to establish a career in digital marketing without working for someone or paying for another degree. You do have to think a little outside of the box. Certifications are certainly helpful, but marketing is something that you learn on the job by doing it. It is through building a sales pipeline that you can take a class like HubSpot's inbound marketing class and know why that information is helpful and how it will help you. Similarly, it is through running Google Ads that you will get better at. 

Good luck, I am rooting for you!

[Lenn]

Thank you so much for the reply, I love your way of thinking!
I've been thinking about creating my own website and social media platforms to test my skills and see where that gets me. Also been waiting on a friend of mine who was supposed to start her own clothing brand, unfortunatelly  nothing heard about that yet.
Anyways, Thank you for your wisedom, I appreciate it alot!

[Simple-Man]

My advice is go and optimise your LinkedIn page then start looking for a remote internship and volunteer position in digital marketing through that internship or voluntary you will have chance to showcase your skills and get an industrial experience in the field of marketing 

[Lenn]

Thank you so much for your advice! I appreciate it alot!

[DianaGomez]

Hi @Lenn,

 I totally get how frustrating it can be. You’re on the right track with your certifications! To gain practical experience, you could try freelance work on platforms, or even offer your services to local small businesses. Internships or volunteer opportunities could also give you hands-on experience. 🙂

Also, joining online marketing communities can help you connect with others who might offer opportunities or mentorship. Keep at it—opportunities will come with time!

Best,

Diana

[Lenn]

Thank you so much for the reply! I will look into it!