Author: Kate Sullivan
1. Why can’t I get a marketing job in an FMCG company?
FMCG companies are the pinnacle of cutting edge marketing. Their brand managers learn a rigorous approach to their marketing from careful and detailed market research, product development and through to mass marketing and advertising. It is certainly a highly skilled discipline where most marketers are generally “grown”.
Job seekers wanting to move into this industry find that they are “locked out” of this opportunity with any of the major international FMCG firms such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Heinz.
To get into FMCG, you need to do this as a university graduate; and even here, you would need to be in the top group of your university year.
2. I have 15 years as an accountant/IT programmer/lawyer. Why am I having so many problems getting a job in marketing?
The benefits of a marketing team are not well understood by people from different disciplines. This is certainly apparent from the number of applications we receive from people outside of the marketing and communications disciplines who apply for positions where marketing experience is required.
For someone to move into marketing from another discipline, it is unlikely that any recruitment firm can assist them. They are best leveraging their industry or company experience to get an internal transfer to the marketing team. Taking up some studies in marketing as well does show a sincere interest rather than a fleeting one.
3. What is the difference between marketing and communications?
We define marketing under Kotler’s 4 P’s; which are Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Most industries split their marketing positions into a number of different roles. Product Marketing uses market research and insights, manufacturing and product development as well as pricing. Place (ie: distribution) is often with Trade Marketing, Channel Marketing or even sales. Promotion includes all ways of contacting the target customer ranging from traditional avenues such as advertising and direct marketing through to PR, interactive solutions and events. These roles usually fall under Communications.
Corporate Communications, on the other hand, are less about the product but more about the company as an overall brand. This includes job functions such as PR, crisis management, internal communications. The diagram below identifies how this fits in the overall scheme of things:
4. What are the pros and cons of interim marketing?
O’Connell Marketing Recruitment are a little biased in this regard. We focus on permanent marketing recruitment as we want to help further the marketing careers and growth of our candidates and provide excellent people for our clients.
Interim marketing, we feel, is a lifestyle choice, but it is not a choice which facilitates growth. You will certainly be very well paid (especially in the Netherlands where hourly and daily rates are extremely high compared to counterparts in the UK). You will have more flexibility of when you work in a good market, however when the economy turns, you are the first to go. Interim marketers of more than 2 years experience are less likely to be “accepted” back into a permanent position as companies are concerned that you will now be too independent and not so easy to manage. Interim roles often do not challenge the freelancer – companies look for people who can just come in and do it – so the learning curves tend to be less. Companies are less interested in investing in your future, due to the limited time you work with them.
5. How can I get an international marketing job?
With the growing centralisation of marketing campaigns and product offerings, there are more and more international and pan-European marketing positions than ever before. English tend to be the common language for this, so you certainly need a business level of English to be considered for any such roles (as well as a track record in large corporations). The more international your experience to date, the more likely that you will be selected for an international position. If you haven’t ever lived and worked outside your home country, you are less likely to be considered for an international position.
The exceptions for this are in the areas of highest demand (see Q 6 for an explanation of this)
6. Which international marketing and communications positions are currently the most in demand?
Before the current economic crisis, internal communications would have been at the top of the list in growth in demand. This is a very specialised market place where potential candidates have a background in perhaps more general communications but have a passion for communicating to an internal audience. These roles are on the growth path as more and more companies are internationalising and need to communicate their direction internationally. Because of the writing element in internal communications positions, there is a strong leaning for native English speakers as they are more likely to also have excellent written skills. During the current economic downturn, however, internal communications positions have been one of the most scarce.
Interactive marketing professionals are currenlty in high demand. Their knowledge and passion for all there is to know about Web 2.0 is highly sought after. It’s not just the skill, however. The ability to fit into a matrix multinational corporation is just as important as well. We have seen young interactive marketers command premium salaries and move quickly in their career.
Public Relations professionals for PR agencies are always in demand. The biggest challenge is that, it doesn’t matter which country the agency is located, they need PR professionals from that country with excellent native written skills. So for Spanish PR professionals in the Netherlands, there is very low demand, but extremely high demand within Spain.
Why this gap? PR Agencies are reluctant to recruit candidates who have not already worked within an agency environment, so immediately narrow their pool of potentials. Candidates coming from agencies want to try “client side” or even set up their own freelance operation to “go it alone”. If you’re in your native country, have excellent writing skills and great personal communication style and want to make a move into a PR agency, you certainly have a chance.
7. Why are their so many international or pan-European marketing positions in the Netherlands?
The international and pan-European positions in the Netherlands certainly stand out from the local positions as they are normally advertised in English. There are probably even more similar positions in the UK, but given that the language there is in Enlgish, both local and pan-European positions are not so distinguished.
The Dutch government give financial incentives to companies to set up businesses in the Netherlands. It is certainly an attractive destination as the workforce is well educated and multi-lingual, English is widely used and the country is centrally located.
The international mindset of the Dutch (“we’re from a heritage of traders”) also creates an environment for international business.
8. What is the difference between B2C and B2B marketing?
B2C or consumer marketing is focussed on the research and promotion of products or services based on population trends (ie: lifestyle or demographic) where as B2B marketing has more definable target markets of companies and businesses.
9. Which companies do marketing and communications people have the most challenging time?
The more a company is focussed on technology or sales, the lower the voice is of marketing.
10. Will an MBA help my career?
Not necessarily. Some companies do require a professional to possess an MBA. However, in recent research conducted by O'Connell Marketing Recruitment, we found that only 23.1% of Chief Marketing Officers had an MBA. A large number of CMO's only have a Bachelor's degree.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/international-marketing-articles/top-10-questions-asked-about-international-marketing-careers-988561.html
About the Author Kate works for O'Connell Marketing Recruitment, and international recruitment firm specialising in Marketing, Communications and Public Relations jobs in Europe www.oconnell.eu