HELP! Stubborn Marketing major looking for jobs... :(

Career Opportunities & Internships
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<p>Well...I'm at the tight ropes here. I've applied to almost every ad agency with an entry level position (not many BTW), and looked at the big marketing spenders for jobs (with almost nothing from the biggie's: P&G, Coke, GE, Unilever, etc) and now at the phase of cold-calling...this is where I get desperate.</p>

<p>Seriously, does ANYONE have any hints where to look, or a company in excessive hiring? It seems like even an entry-level position needs experience. I've been doing the whole job hunting thing for about 2 months. Perfected my resume, and employed a T cover letter. Still nothing... (Unfortunately, my school did not have much recruiting for Marketing...just Accounting and shady Finance positions selling bad life insurance to half-senile old people for their grandkids, which I find a bit morally reprehensible) </p>

<p>And, as I say on my cover letter (although far more eloquently and professional), I don't give a gosh darn tootin' about location.</p>

<p>I graduated June from University at Buffalo with a BS in Marketing and Finance and a BA in Economics. For experience, I've done 3 internships prior, worked at camps, an eBay store, and conducted my own ebay store. I've also held 4 leadership positions (though nothing grandiose...the highest position I've held is Treasurer). I don't think I'm the greatest candidate ever to roam the halls of job boards (my GPA, which shall go unpronounced, is average to slightly below due to being sick freshmen year and taking engineering like a retard). Still, I think taking 3 internships means something... And I've done A LOT of work at them. Think I've done more in my 1st than most people do their whole first job period. Seriously, it was intense.</p>

<p>I know that there's that imaginary 6 month timeline where my degree becomes invalid and I then have to work at Target as a $7.25/hr employee with no benefits, and time is not on my side...</p>

<p>Anyway, thanks for any tips! Or even for reading me babble on nonsensically!</p>

<p>PS: If you do work at an ad agency, I'll be calling you guys and sending my remaining resumes to you guys in SIBL down in Manhattan or the Starbucks across the street. So hit me up for a drink at Starbucks or something. :)</p>

<p>PPS: About the timeline of my degree becoming invalid: Does it start after I graduated, or finished my last internship? I finished school technically in May (though my diplomas both say June) and finished my internship practically in July. Kinda confused about the whole timeline thing...</p>

<p>PPPS: I've been sending out salary requirements as $35k outside NYC and $38k inside the city (since rent here is still almost 1/2 of that salary and I'll be living it up alone). Is that good, or too high and why I haven't heard word?</p>

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<p>Are you looking at local marketing firms and smaller businesses, not just the “big spenders” and national names?</p>

<p>Honestly, I don’t think your salary requirements are too high - that’s about as low as I’d go for an entry-level job in that field.</p>

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<p>Well…depends on what you mean by local… In Buffalo, there are no Advertising firms. Marketing’s limited to pretty much Rich’s, Bills/Sabers, New Era, and Fisher Price (which everyone wants to do, lol). In NYC, the local ad agencies are the national ones. </p>

<p>I personally don’t care too much, though working with a recognized brand is cool. I’ve looked at big brands (thinking they spend the most on marketing), and looked at ad agencies.</p>

<p>I’ve also looked on indeed and careerbuilder, but it seems spotty in finding legit hirings and not scams.</p>

<p>Salary req’s: I thought so, too. I just did the lower end on glassdoor for Assistant Account Executives and Account Coordinators. </p>

<p>Another question: Just researched online and found NYU is having a MASSIVE career fair on Thursday. Looking at the PDF for their 2010 listing, they have almost every company under the sun attending. Is there ANY way they’ll let me in? I’d have no qualms in helping set-up and clean-up, or even pay hard cold cash. </p>

<p>Another question on-top of my other question: Where the hell were all these ad agencies in my school?!? Why do they only recruit at the most expensive schools that only rich kids could even dream of affording?</p>

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<p>I would definately encourage you to look for small company opportunities. The “top payers” have a reason for paying that much and being that competitive~ they ONLY want the best in the world!</p>

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<p>It isnt the rich kid schools. They recruit at prestigious schools because the students have already.gone through a strict recruiting.process. Im sure, if you lived in California, you could have afforded to.attend UCLA or Cal.</p>

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<p>Nonsense. I just Googled “Buffalo marketing companies” and came up with a whole bunch of firms that specialize in advertising, marketing and communications and have offices in the Buffalo area. The Martin Group, Travers Collins, Eric Mowers & Associates, etc. etc. etc. Google “Buffalo advertising companies” and there’s a whole bunch of local firms there, too.</p>

<p>Many businesses outsource their marketing/advertising/PR operations to independent outfits such as the ones I listed. I worked in motorsports PR for three years and ran my own one-man show. It’s the way things work in that field - clients hire you in.</p>

<p>If you’re only looking for the biggest names in the biggest places, you’re missing a whole pile of opportunities.</p>

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True, but the entire population of the United States cannot live in California. For NY, UB and Bing are interchangeably the top schools if you’re going for business (I was originally going for Engineering, so the choice was more obvious). That, in my opinion, makes it prestigious enough to have just as well (if not more so) qualified candidates than NYU or UCLA…unless you’re suggesting somehow Californian students are superior to NY students. Because I can say that our school’s probably one of the toughest comparing notes from friends who’ve went to NYU and CUNY schools. Certainly no grade inflation here… My engineering classes were brutal because of bell curves where 30% of the students MUST fail. Even my business classes were no cakewalk (though a heck of a lot easier). </p>

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True, but they’re VERY small firms. I’ve been to the offices of Eric Mowers. It houses about 15 people or so. I don’t think they have opportunities for new college grads. They certainly never go to UB and recruit new candidates. Even in AMA… </p>

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<p>I know. That’s why I’ve been focusing my time on ad agencies. I know there must be smaller agencies other than ones owned by WPP and Interpublic, but I can’t find a database that houses them all. Most of the ones I have are from these conglomerates. </p>

<p>Is it a good idea to cold-call the small ones that don’t have any information on their websites about new positions? (Most simply have “Drop us a line at jobs @xyz.com”…which seems too impersonal for me. I’d rather talk and ask questions on the phone.) That’s my plan, anyway…</p>

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<p>Another question (the response about NYU has now questioned my prior logic): When I apply for a position, and they say “from a top-tier college”…is UB not considered top-tiered? I haven’t been on these forums for awhile, and I remember back in High School days this place was known for claiming any school not Harvard or Ivy League to be unworthy (and that I-banking is the greatest thing ever, lol), but I assumed the real-world is a bit more down-to-earth and realistic… I’d always assumed that they say that to prevent students from non-accredited or online colleges from applying.</p>

<p>I mean, UB’s the biggest SUNY and the flagship school. Doesn’t that make it ‘top-tier’? :-/</p>

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The majority of companies in America are small businesses. Most people are employed by small businesses. Just because they’re small doesn’t mean they’re not looking to hire people.</p>

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Do you know that for a fact? Have you contacted them and asked?</p>

<p>When you only look in the obvious places, you’re going to run into everyone else who’s only looking in the obvious places. :)</p>

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<p>Well, you’re limiting yourself by saying “I don’t THINK they would hire me.” How do you know, unless you contact them/apply? </p>

<p>I would encourage you to look outside of just “marketing/ad agencies,” and think of other businesses that utilize marketing. For example, hospitals, pharma companies, sports teams/leagues, restaurant chains, etc. all use many marketing strategies and often have their own marketing/ad divisions (many hospitals, in particular, have in-house marketing and communications teams). </p>

<p>You have to be proactive about your search. Many companies still don’t advertise jobs they may have, or advertise them in weird places (my husband works at a top engineering consulting firm… he found the job on craigslist!). Contact companies you are interested in, and see if you can do an informational interview, or speak with a representative about the company. Many people before you have gotten jobs from someone saying, “hey, now that you called, you WOULD be a good fit for position x that just opened up…” </p>

<p>The “real world” is certainly more down to earth, although it can depend on where and what you are applying for. UB has a relatively good reputation and is pretty well-known in the northeast. If you are well-spoken, have a good GPA, maybe some experience, present yourself well, you will be an attractive candidate.</p>

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I recognize that. Its more of a comment about the relatively poor economic conditions of WNY. </p>

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<p>Well…for that company I remember in the tour them saying they don’t hire new grads. Its just the owner’s son went to AMA, and got us access for a tour…</p>

<p>So, you’re saying the whole calling idea is a good one? Cool! I have no qualms about calling every single ad firm I can find.</p>

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<p>This has been my thinking. Thanks a lot! (though I’m hoping the GPA part can be ignored with experience…)</p>

<p>Now I just wana know how to sneak into that career fair tomorrow. So many companies…so juicy…</p>

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<p>A lot of ad agencies post their job openings on linkedin. You can try and reach out to them on linkedin</p>

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<p>I hate to say this, but in today’s market, you’re going to have to be less picky. Your ideal job is in marketing, but for now, you should be applying for any job. All sorts of jobs, even in fields that aren’t necessarily relevant.</p>

<p>The best thing to do now is to get a JOB. Period. (okay, not like a Starbucks barista job, but you know what I mean). If it happens to be in something else like finance, accounting, operations, etc. then so be it.</p>

<p>Once you have attained said job, you can at least work there to have an income and to ensure your degree doesn’t look “invalid.” During the time you’re working, you can continue to apply to marketing jobs until something clicks.</p>

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<p>“For NY, UB and Bing are interchangeably the top schools if you’re going for business (I was originally going for Engineering, so the choice was more obvious). That, in my opinion, makes it prestigious enough to have just as well (if not more so) qualified candidates than NYU or UCLA…”</p>

<p>If UB is a top school in NY, then I wonder what Columbia and NYU are ranked.</p>

<p>And no, UB is not as prestigious as UCLA or NYU. Nobody outside of NY has heard of UB and it’s ranked 111th in U.S. News. I thought UB would’ve been like the UC schools in California, where nobody outside CA has heard of the schools, but they’re still highly ranked. But that’s not the case at all.</p>

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<p>I said top schoolS. It is one of the few colleges in NYS accredited by the ACCSB, and the business school is ranked from the 20’s to the 70’s in the nation, depending on the publication that stratifies the ranking.</p>

<p>UB is arguably the best NY state school for Business. Its the flagship of SUNY. At the same level of Penn State, Rutgers, UM, etc…(any large Public University). It attracts the best students in NY, especially with the decline in student loans and fears of a bubble by most intelligent students.</p>

<p>Besides, ranking themselves are ********. I remember a few years back reading an article in Forbes about how top schools contribute to the US News for increasing their rankings. Its just as useful as Moodys in indicating whether a college is truly ‘good’ or not.</p>

<p>BTW, what criteria makes these statistics valid? Is it the education itself? The expense a student must spend in order to obtain an education? Endowments? Alumni? UB’s a damn tough school, and much tougher than NYU comparing notes from a friend who also took Marketing. Most good colleges have similar standards to education, so what exactly makes NYU superior to UB in Business other than expense?</p>

<p>I can’t imagine employers would hire students from the richest schools of the country ONLY. Talk about limiting opportunity to only the more wealthy in society…</p>

<p>Besides, once in the field, I would think wherever you get a BS is pretty meaningless. </p>

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I’m too stubborn for that, and worked too damn hard. I’ve done 3 internships, worked my a$$ off throughout, and the best to hope for is an Associates-level job (such as bookkeeping or such other dead-end job nonsense)?</p>

<p>I’ve finally realized (through my internships) what I’m good at, and its certainly not baking away at some cubicle hoping for the next paycheck. I thrive in hectic and creative environments. I love stress. I NEED stimulation, or my mind will fry.</p>

<p>So no. That’s really not an option.</p>

<p>Now excuse me while I stubbornly still try my hand at the ad world.</p>

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<p>I’m in a ranty mood, so I’ll add one thing about rankings that is valid, and move on…</p>

<p>I understand why the overall rankings of UB are on the low side…</p>

<p>In my experience at UB, the Liberal Arts side falters dramatically in quality due to being primarily a research institution. After switching from Engineering, I wanted to pursue Economics due to becoming highly interested in game theory and understanding world development. However, the department is severely underfunded, squished in the 4th floor of an Engineering building, and only offers a B.A. The degree itself is (unfortunately) useless due to professors not motivated to teach (just papers), and only being able to take 4 400 level Economics courses and being a 30 credit major. This follows for most of the College of Arts and Sciences.</p>

<p>For Engineering, it is perceived as a desirable school (which is why I attended) due to impossible standards and weeding out for the first 3 years (which I didn’t know…). </p>

<p>For Business, UB becomes primarily a learning institution. Its amazingly efficient, given how small the department is, and how large the student body is. For Business, UB is highly ranked due to the quality of the education.</p>

<p>However, this is common to ALL large Public Universities. The overall rankings mainly reflect Liberal Arts quality: A NYU degree is considered more desirable for Liberal Arts than any large Public University due to having more funding for those departments, and allowing professors room to breathe in terms of research (since the school does not require it for funding).</p>

<p>If I was a liberal arts major, you would be correct to say my degree would hamper me. A Harvard Economics student can do anything due to a much more organized and well-funded department. However, a business degree from a ACCSB accredited school should be equal, regardless of the institution.</p>

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<p>“I’ve finally realized (through my internships) what I’m good at, and its certainly not baking away at some cubicle hoping for the next paycheck. I thrive in hectic and creative environments. I love stress. I NEED stimulation, or my mind will fry.”</p>

<p>I don’t know what type of job you are envisioning, but the marketing guys on my floor in my company sit in a cubicle all day during whatever it is they do. Sorry, but if your goal is to not have a job where you sit in a cubicle all day, you’re looking at the wrong field.</p>

<p>And why do you assume are office/cubicle jobs are occupied with people baking away for the next paycheck? I happen to work in a cubicle and I love my job, and I certainly am not baking away looking for the next paycheck, and I’m sure neither are my coworkers. If you’re looking for a white collar, office job (like marketing), there’s a 90% chance you’ll be working in a cubicle anyways.</p>

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<p>So as a student, also in your position, though not of your major, I got some outside help in finding a job. My friend told me a site that helps you get in contact with people at companies (he actually put me in contact with a marketing manager at Safeway). If you want, I could forward you to the site, just message me. If you have a place you want to work at in mind, this place is pretty good.</p>

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<p>If you want marketing jobs that aren’t in cubicles, you should be looking at event marketing firms that run trade show booths, roadshows, etc.</p>

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<p>Agreed. What are you expecting? I work in the marketing department of a company and everyone sits in cubicles - marketing, creative, and every other department. Only the CEO and CFO have offices. Our cubes have shorter walls than is typical so it’s still pretty open. Just because you sit in a cubicle doesn’t mean the environment isn’t hectic and stressful…things go very fast at my company. I get plenty of stimulation and am never bored.</p>

<p>You’re a new grad. You can’t be this picky. It doesn’t really matter that you worked your butt off in school and did three internships - you’re not the only one that’s done that and hasn’t gotten their “dream job” at a big, top company. </p>

<p>Have you reached out to your coworkers at your previous internships? I got my job at the same company that I interned for while at school. </p>

<p>Are you on LinkedIn? If not, get an account, start connecting with people you worked with while at school and use those connections to your advantage. There are also a lot of job listings on LinkedIn.</p>

<p>Small companies may have opportunities that they aren’t advertising. If they say to drop a line at an email address, then do that. Yes, you may prefer to call and ask questions, but people are busy doing the work that they’re paid to do. </p>

<p>You have to start somewhere, and it’s probably not going to be exactly where you want to be. It’s time to stop being picky and “stubborn” and be realistic.</p>