Let’s continue our on-going series about youth employment opportunities by turning to look at the world of marketing.
Anytime you hear a catchy jingle or watch a commercial, anytime you look up and see a flier taped to a streetlight, and anytime you see a sponsored post on social media, it’s the result of marketing.
A marketing agency helps pull many different ways to promote a business under one roof. Some agencies specialize in billboards, others in digital media, and some run the gamut from radio, TV, online, and more.
If hearing the words “marketing agency” immediately makes you picture a stuffy office filled with middle-aged people sipping scotch and smoking cigarettes, remember that Mad Men was a long time ago and there are plenty of ways for younger people to break into this industry now.
There was a time when a teen couldn’t hope for much more than opening the mail or maybe making coffee if they had connections, but with the rise of the internet, the world of marketing is starting to look a lot younger.
Teens that grew up online have a distinct advantage when it comes to working at a digital marketing agency since they understand the internet much more intimately. Imagine you’ve worked in marketing for decades, then all of a sudden everything changes and only some of your past knowledge translates. That’s how executives are feeling, and they’re relying on younger employees to step up with an understanding of social media, internet culture, and more.
Types of Positions at a Marketing Agency
We discussed the “old guard” of agencies, and for those same reasons, there are also plenty of young, fast-paced agencies starting out. If you’re 17 or 18 and looking to work at an agency owned by a 22-year-old, you’re going to fave a lot less resistance or discrimination based on your age.
The types of jobs will vary a lot depending on how large the agency is and what they do for their clients. You’ll find some small shops where it’s just the owner and maybe a couple of other part-time remote workers, and then you’ll find other agencies that take up a floor in an office building. It just depends.
Right Brain
If you’re into creative things like design, illustration, editing videos, filming, and more then you’ll find plenty of opportunities in the marketing world.
Left Brain
The same goes for people who prefer math, strategic thinking, analytics, and programming. Again, all of these skills are used in various capacities when it comes to marketing, especially on the internet.
Left brain and right brain is just a way to categorize it, here’s an interesting video about the myth of left/right brain.
There are plenty of times where both sides of the brain need to work together, too. For example, if you’re managing a social media page, you’ll need to look at the analytics to understand what’s working, and you’ll need to be creative to come up with new ways to improve it and to test different designs and styles for your posts, featured images, videos, and so on.
