Taking a position, but not sure if it will relate to future opportunities.....help?

Career Opportunities & Internships
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<p>Hi, I'm a recent (May) grad doing Marketing, and trying to pursue a career in that direction (maybe advertising or brand development). Its been almost impossible to get my foot-in-the-door anywhere since graduating up till January, really. </p>

<p>Been getting a lot of interviews lately (about 3 per week) and finally got a job offer this week. The pay's low-ish (under 30k), but I would do it, since the work seems varied and the business is awesome.</p>

<p>I'm just worried about how the position will be viewed by employers later on, and how long I should stay in the position. I usually like the play things over time (and most likely will anyway), but I kind of want to have a guideline in the back of my head jic. So here's my concerns:</p>

<p>Its a very small business, so there's not the same prestige in that sense. I like working in that environment better, but I don't know how that's viewed by an external recruiter (which I know is how a lot of hiring's done after 2-3 years of exp)</p>

<p>The position itself isn't a Marketing position per ce...more like a assistant role that is a mix of marketing, booking, and exec assistant. Its focused mostly on Marketing, but it still may seem mostly unfocused to a recruiter. </p>

<p>I'm worried about the lack of software knowledge during the job: In some of my phone interviews, companies expressed interest in knowing Salesforce, and a bunch of other web apps for business (none of which I've ever had to use before). Even explaining that I'm the most tech savvy person in the world and easily learn apps was not enough. I'm worried if my lack of exposure of B2B web-based software would hurt me down the road. Is this a valid thing to be worried about? Is there ANY way I could learn most of these software packages on my own, and validate my experience of the software based on that knowledge, despite lack of real-world application to back the claim up?</p>

<p>During the interview, it was mentioned that the prior employee worked there for 4 years. I'm not sure if that was to give the hint that the position is designed for more long-term or not. With still being a new grad and all, I feel uncomfortable with the idea of working at a long-term position. Feels like a long commitment... Is it expected that a new grad hire would probably bounce around if not given more responsibility over time? If I wanted to move on, do you think it would look badly after 2 or 3 years or so? </p>

<p>Does this position look any worse (from the perspective of a recruiter) than those training positions they have from Enterprise and Sherman Williams? Because those seemed like awful jobs needed to get anywhere, and ones that mostly recruit college grads...</p>

<p>I really want to do this, since its in an awesome industry and I won't be twiddling my thumbs all day (plus I'm just sick of the whole job search process already, to the point where its driven me a bit batty), but I need to know if its a good decision in the long-term, and not simply impulse.</p>

<p>Lots of questions, so thanks!</p>

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<p>Also another question: Are my internships considered passe’ after a few years, or are the experiences still valid?</p>

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<p>That’s a tough spot. < 30k is garbage pay. I suppose if that’s the best you can do, you could take it, especially if you need the money. But if you think you have a good shot at a more prestigious company or a job that pays more, then obviously try that. Honestly, an assistant job is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but it is some work experience and could help you in your next job.</p>

<p>So assuming this is the best you can do, I would just take it because I’d rather get paid than sit around and do nothing. But, I wouldn’t commit there for a long time. Take the job, and keep applying to jobs. Hopefully you’ll land at a bigger, more prestigious company, and then you can quit and work there.</p>

<p>This job sounds like a dead end, but it does pay something and give you some good opportunities to learn and can help fill your resume.</p>

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<p>It is, honestly. I am going to see if I can negotiate a slight bump when I give the final word, but it is fairly low.</p>

<p>Yet, that’s all I have been seeing honestly. Unless its starting out at a large firm doing some sort of Trainee Program that leads to corporate (such as Target), it seems to be no higher than 30-35k, at least that’s what I’ve seen for most of the Entry-level jobs I’ve applied for (Marketing Assistant/Junior or Assistant Account Exec/Associate Media Buyer, etc…). </p>

<p>And even then, they demand ‘real’ job experience, despite my internships and past jobs. Or they have no interest in training for even a few days on rudimentary B2B applications. Pretty tough, to say the least.</p>

<p>But I digress…I have extremely lowered my expectations of pay a while ago to barely livable. My main concern is if I can at least get to a point where I no longer have to look for entry-level positions with a few years of this job on my belt and possibly an MBA part-time. In other words, if the experience I receive is adequate for a experienced job.</p>

<p>Enough pay so I can at least open a savings account and eventually save enough to start a business…</p>

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<p>This is a tough spot, as notaznguy said. I’d be inclined to take the offer, and give it your best shot. That said, don’t think that this is the only thing you can do for the next four years. <30k is pretty low (though it is much worse if you are in NYC as opposed to, say, Kansas City), and any company - even a small one - that pays so low knows that turnover is inevitable. Definitely try to negotiate the offer, though don’t be surprised if you don’t get anywhere.</p>

<p>Once you start, don’t feel obligated to stop the job seeking process (though doing a hard search on your first day is less than advisable!). If you don’t think you have much chance to move up and earn better pay, continue to apply to new jobs. You may be at this job for three months, or you may be there for two years. Either way, you’re an at-will employee and so you are certainly not locked in for four years.</p>

<p>As for your resume, I personally would rather begin to earn experience at a low pay than to have an ever-growing gap in my resume. In your case, a not-so-great/long-term job is better than no job at all.</p>

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<p>“though it is much worse if you are in NYC”</p>

<p>lol, this is where most of my 30k Assistant Account jobs come from. Its sad that such an expensive city pays the same as cheaper cities like Rochester. There’s no compensation for regional inflation anymore.</p>

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<p>Are you willing to do other jobs besides marketing? I have a few friends who ended up doing underwriting and claims for insurance companies and they started off at 40k. Try using your school’s alum network/career center to get some jobs. Some of my friends graduated with a non-relevant major and got entry level positions as analysts in major companies doing QA and their starting pay was in the mid 40s.</p>

<p>You should consider that if you haven’t yet.</p>

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<p>I have, especially since I worked with underwriters in my last marketing internship. I applied for positions, but they required licencing and only hired during the spring with other College graduates.</p>

<p>My ulterior motive of getting into advertising is to learn the tricks of the trade so I can use that when I start my own business, but that’s another story. </p>

<p>Honestly, I have no interest in a long-term career in general, so it would not be a bad idea. However, I would have to re-start the whole application process, and would be months until I heard word. It would be a gamble. And an Account Exec makes about 50-70k, which required 2 years of experience.</p>

<p>Again, my main concern is if this position would lead me to have the necessary requirements to pursue an experienced role in the industry. If yes, then the temporary pay cut for a few years is more than reasonable than the alternative.</p>

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<p>The real answer is nobody knows. Who knows how long you will work in this job and who are the contacts you will meet in the next year or so. I think it will give you some relevant experience, since you claim it has some relevance to marketing. I don’t know if that experience alone will be sufficient, but I think, based on what you’re saying, we can conclude that this is better than nothing.</p>

<p>Will it meet the pre-requisites of the industry? I don’t know, because there isn’t really such thing as a standard pre-req. Will it help? Sure. Will it be the last step to helping you get your big break? Maybe. Nobody can answer that.</p>

<p>I’ll just say that this assistant job doesn’t hurt, especially since you’ve been unemployed since May.</p>

<p>I just ask if you have other options cause some people would argue your first job is important. I was like you not too long ago. I had 1 job offer out of college, and it was an office assistant job that paid 30k with a small, local company. I decided to decline it, because I knew those jobs were a dime a dozen and I could get another one like it if I really wanted. A week later, another company I interviewed offered me a job, and this was a billion times better, especially in prestige, and it paid about 15k more. So you know, I obviously assessed my situation and took a risk and it paid off.</p>

<p>From it seems like you’re saying, you know yourself and your opportunities pretty well. If this is the best you can do, take it. It will help you in getting you to your career goal, but nobody can adequately answer much it will help.</p>

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<p>Note: typing on my phone so ignore typos…</p>

<p>So what youre saying is that even though it involves creating print ads, calling clients, press releases, and creating a social media presence, it would look too inferior for an experienced position vs. a similar Marketing Coordinator position due to the more Assistant tasks involved (bookeeping and creating appointments) and lack of software diversity?</p>

<p>Which in turn, you’re saying that the experience offered in this position is not gonna be that well received when looking for another position later on…</p>

<p>My main fear is that I’ll be in the same position in 2 years or so when looking for another position. I’m honestly not willing to look for another entry_level position again after a few years, especially if I have to raise a family by then. I refuse to be one of those people who keep switching from one dead end gig to another out of necessity due to lack of options/impatience/poor choices… :(</p>

<p>If it really does sound that bad, I am getting enough calls for phone interviews to justify waiting for something better…if its really worth the gamble…(I dont think salary would be much better in this economy, though.) Ive gotten 6 phone interview requests this week alone.</p>

<p>on the suggestion of using this as a temp job: even if I wanted to (which I dont), I couldnt switch out after 6 months or so and keep looking since I need to relocate. Its not far, but the hassle alone makes it almost necessary.</p>

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<p>I’m saying I don’t know how much the job will do for you, and I’m suggesting you don’t look at it as the last step required into “breaking into the industry.” It could be that last step, or maybe there could be more jobs you need to jump to before you get into the company you envision yourself in. It’s like, some of my friends went to great schools and got a BS in Engineering, and could never break into companies like Google or Facebook. On the other hand, I have friends who have a BA in humanities who were able to get into these companies for other reasons. Nobody can ever adequately analyze whether or not the work experience you get from this job will be “sufficient.”</p>

<p>What are the other companies like? Are they all small firms that will probably pay the same wage? If they are, you can probably just accept your current job offer. At the same time, you never know what your current job could do for you. Maybe you will learn a lot of practical things at it and maybe in 6 months to a year, you could apply to a major PR firm and they will probably grant you an interview just because of your experience.</p>

<p>Under 30k is a low salary, but you have to always look at the next step. If you are going to take this job, you know, you have to also proactively look for another job after working there a few months. Honestly though, I’m surprised you couldn’t get a higher salary. Even my office assistant job paid 31k, and I know a few people that are “Social Media Coordinators” working at startups making 35k.</p>

<p>Part of me thinks you’re just really excited that you were finally able to get a job offer, so any money looks better than no money to you. Should you decline this job, don’t look at it as a huge loss. You wouldn’t have been making more than 30k, but I’m sure since you were able to get 1 job offer, you could easily get another. Take that for what it’s worth.</p>