Wanna build a successful marketing career? Do this first…

A career in marketing is a blast. Yes it can be crazy at times, but when it all fits together and you get (or exceed!) the RESULTS you were looking for, there are very few things as satisfying just because you know in your gut what it took to meet such a challenge. My own observations suggest, and professionals I respect have consistently told me, to get to the spot where you’re the ringmaster in this amazing three ring circus requires a pretty basic, though not necessarily easy, approach; Simply put, you gotta pay your dues!

The most recent affirmation of this belief I heard from one of the  Vice Presidents of Marketing for McDonald’s. She graciously donated her time to a student conference hosted by the American Marketing Association. Her first slide was a picture of her in her McDonald’s uniform from when she was a teenager several decades back, and she passionately narrated the photo by saying that she didn’t get to start out at her dream job as vice president of marketing. She had to go to work and pay her dues.

She offered a lot of good advice in the time she shared with the group, but it all pretty much boils down to going to work every day with a desire to learn as much as possible about the job and to be willing to give back more value than you may at first receive from the organization. Do that and you’ll find that your skill set grows dramatically, which means that in turn you’ll be more promotion-worthy in your current company or have more to offer another company if you decide to make a switch.

So get used to the fact that no matter what you want to do, if you want to be successful, you’ve gotta first pay your dues, and you’ve gotta first accept the fact that you’re going to have to put in a lot of hard work.

But that’s not all bad news!

The plus side is, a good work ethic can be the best asset you have! Dedicated workers and dependable work ethics are in rare availability these days in the marketplace. Roll up your sleeves and go into any job with an eager-to learn, ready-to-perform attitude and regardless of what stage you’re in in your career, you’ll have a decided advantage. Like a lot of things marketing-related, it may not be easy, but it really is that simple.

“Hard work is the best friend I have ever known” – From The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason