Building a successful marketing career isn’t just about landing a job - it’s about maintaining a curious mindset, putting yourself out there, and creating your own opportunities. Whether you’re in your first role, or you’re ready to take the next step, there are plenty of ways you can take control of your own progression and start building the career you want. 

The key to a fulfilling career is figuring out what excites you and leaning into it. Sounds simple right? Well, it’s not an overnight process. Marketing is such a broad industry and with so many potential career paths finding direction can be difficult. Not only can roles vary across disciplines like content, analytics, branding, and more, but marketers also have the opportunity to work across a variety of industries. The more exposure you have to various roles and disciplines, the easier it becomes to spot what energises you and importantly, what doesn’t. Taking the time to understand your interests not only helps you stay motivated, but it also makes it easier to set goals, spot opportunities, and steer your career in a direction that feels aligned with what you want. 

So where do you start with crafting the marketing career of your dreams? Let’s break it down. 

Discovering what kind of marketing career you want 

With roles ranging across social media, paid advertising, branding, CRM, and more, the biggest challenge is trying to figure out where you want to be. But you don’t need to know the answer to this straight away. 

If you don’t have a clear direction yet, that’s completely normal. Many marketers start as generalists before discovering the area that excites them the most, and this has been the reality for me too. I’ve worked as a generalist for the best part of eight years now, and it has taken exposure across different companies and industries to help me understand where I want my career to go next. 

Here are some ways you can explore the industry: 

• Attend industry events, like networking or webinars, to hear from specialists in different fields about their experiences 

• Put yourself forward for challenges and opportunities within your business that typically wouldn’t fall into your role 

• Connect with other marketers on LinkedIn to see what projects they’re working on and what interests they have 

• Ask colleagues in other teams, or even friends and family, if they’d be open to sharing what their roles and responsibilities are, and if they’d be open to you shadowing them for some time 

Marketing isn’t a linear career path, and the industry is continuously evolving, so don’t feel pressured to have everything figured out immediately. The more you try, the clearer your direction will become.

Gaining experience beyond your 9-5 

There’s only so much you can learn about marketing within the confines of your 9-5 role. If you want to accelerate your career, you can’t solely rely on what you do day-to-day. The marketing industry moves fast, and putting some time aside to learn outside of your job will set you up for success in the future. If you’re looking to build experience beyond your role, here are some ways you can do this: 

Online courses & qualifications:

Continuous learning through studying is great way to stay up to date with industry trends and practical knowledge that will help you stay competitive in the fast-paced marketing landscape. Recognised certifications improve your credibility and open up opportunities for career growth.  

Freelancing:

Many small businesses don’t have established marketing teams (or marketing budgets) like big corporations do. This opens up potential opportunities for recurring or ad-hoc marketing support where you can gain hands-on experience to bolster your knowledge, whilst the business receives help on projects they may have struggled with alone. 

Top tip: Make sure to leverage your immediate network, like friends and family, to see if they know any small businesses who would be interested.

Content creation:

Running a blog, TikTok, or LinkedIn page focused on marketing (or even something totally different) can showcase your ability to create engaging content and build an engaged audience around a common interest. By actively posting content online, you’re also opening yourself up to receiving opportunities you might not expect! 

You don’t have to do everything at once but picking one or two of key areas of focus can make a huge difference in the long run. It can also be a lot of fun.  

Be your own cheerleader 

Doing great work is one thing. Making sure the right people see it is another. If you want to progress in your career, you need to be your own biggest fan and highlight your achievements in a way that makes you impossible to ignore. 

Optimising your CV & LinkedIn 

One of my biggest tips is to put your key skills at the top of your CV. Why? Because hiring managers often don’t have time to read CVs, and you want them to get a quick snapshot of what you bring to the table. You can even tailor this section to the job description so it’s super clear how you align with the role. 

When listing your experience, go beyond a bullet-pointed list of responsibilities. Instead, focus on results. What impact did you have? How did your work contribute to business goals? If you can include tangible figures, even better. For example, instead of: "Managed social media accounts", try "Increased engagement by 40% and grew followers by 10K in six months through a new content strategy". Hiring managers love to see what impact you’ve made, and how you can bring that to their role. 

Your LinkedIn should be just as strategic. Regularly updating your profile, posting about industry trends, and sharing your achievements can help you build credibility. It’s not about the number of followers you have, it’s about creating a space where opportunities can find you. 

Understanding where you need to grow 

To get to where you want to be, you need to develop the right skills. But how do you know what you’re missing? 

You can do this by assessing yourself against a skills gap analysis. Look at the job descriptions of roles you’d love to have in the future. What skills are they asking for that you don’t yet have? Once you identify those, you can create a plan to fill the gaps, whether through formal or informal learning paths. 

Being proactive about your development makes a huge difference. There is no one that cares more about your career than you. You need to take responsibility for its growth. This approach also shows employers that you’re serious about wanting to progress, which in turn can keep you front of mind for bigger opportunities when they arise. 

Final thoughts 

Your marketing career is yours to shape. While companies and managers can offer support, the real acceleration comes when you take charge of your own learning, experiences, and opportunities. 

Marketing is one of the most dynamic, fast-paced industries out there, but also your career isn't built in a day. The more proactive you are, the faster you’ll grow. That doesn’t mean you will be jumping from promotion to promotion, but finding ways to accelerate learning and development from the little tasks to the huge projects will have a huge impact on your long-term success. 

If you want to maximise your career progression, the CIM Level 4 Certificate in Professional and Digital Marketing is a great way to get things started and expand your career opportunities. The qualification will help you apply practical skills that you can use on the job, giving you the skills you need to develop your confidence and excel. 

 Find out more about the CIM Level 4 Certificate here