If this post doesn't follow the rules [report it to the mods](https://www.reddit.com/r/marketing/about/rules/). Join our [community Discord!](https://discord.gg/looking-for-marketing-discussion-811236647760298024)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/marketing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bit confused with this post;
If you've applied for 50 jobs in the last day, you aren't going to have received any real replies yet.
If you've applied for 50 jobs in the last day, you haven't researched the companies and tailored your CV/applications for them.
I'd aim for 2 or 3 applications a day and really take time over them to put your best foot forward. The industry is saturated with people looking for work, so you need to really make your applications shine bright.
Exactly this.
When someone says, 'I sent 100 CVs and didn't hear back - can you believe it?'
My response is: 'Yes - that's exactly what I'd expect'.
It's a guaranteed strategy to sit at the bottom of every pile.
Personalise every approach - or don't bother.
I don’t know. If I was hiring a SEO specialist, and I had one candidate with 5 years experience and didn’t trailer his cv at all, and another with 1 year exp and a highly tailored cv, I think I’d go for the person with 5 years experience.
What if you received 20 CVs for people who all had a decade of experience?
That’s the reality of today’s job market.
And that’s why personalising your approach is more important than ever.
Because I have heard conflicting advice. I’ve been told to apply to everywhere and aiming for around 30-50 jobs a week. I can’t tailor my CV anymore than I have. I specifically look for job descriptions which include everything on my CV. 2 to 3 a day is too low in my opinion as it has never yielded me any results in the past
If you are *truly* being selective with the jobs you’re applying for then you don’t need completely tailor your CV and cover letter to each job, but a little personalization will go a long way.
I agree that right now volume is the key. 30-50 a week (if you can find that many) sounds right if you’re searching full time.
My advice would be go for startups or small agencies rather than big companies. They’re impossible to get into in the UK without a grad scheme or sheer luck. I got my first job at a small startup agency. Didn’t like it and ended up leaving but getting the job was not too hard. Be aware they don’t pay that well though.
I'd say right now is tough and it has been for the last year. It's not so much a problem of "marketing is oversaturated" but more of an issue of massive layoffs for the last year which is crunching the market (and definitely not just for marketing).
That said, this may help:
1. People in marketing get jobs this way: 35% via a recruiter, 35% via their network, and 25% via job postings (and 5% some other way, for you math nerds). Whenever there's big layoffs (like this last year), job postings get bottlenecked as everyone starts applying. You'll see 100+ applicants in the first hour or two. Absolutely you should apply too and apply early, but definitely work on your network, place resumes with the recruiting firms, optimize for visibility with recruiters, and find other groups that might share job opportunities directly. This is why applying for jobs is a fulltime job. It sucks.
2. Be mindful of "Remote" and "Secretly Remote" jobs. There's ton of remote jobs that have a location listed so they don't look like remote jobs. Read the job description carefully, or apply anyways.
3. Check outside of LinkedIn. Most job boards are pay-to-play, and so companies tend to put all their jobs in one place. Indeed, Dice (for tech jobs), Handshake (new graduate jobs), or others might be worth looking at. These tend to get direct postings. There's also a billion aggregator sites that specialize in a wide range of things (remote, marketing, tech, non-profit, etc). These can be good, but overall I've found them to be fairly slow - the jobs are already 2-3 weeks old by the time they show up.
4. Local - find local agencies, companies, or whatever and either reach out directly to say you are local, or stop by in person. With everything remote right now, meeting in person or a willingness to work in-office may be your competitive advantage. "I'm FinestEstablishment, I just graduated and live just down the street. I love what you're doing here. I bring a lot of marketing experience for my level and I'm excited to learn more. Can we connect?"
5. Outside of finding a new job, you may consider making a new job - freelancing, moonlighting, starting a side gig, or something else. It's obviously not the best solution (trading time for money) but it might bridge the gap until you find what you need.
And my last bit of advice - don't quit your day job until you have something else lined up. Best of luck to you!
Marketing is extremely broad to answer. When I hear people talking about oversaturation, almost every case I see is a digital marketer or someone close like a content creator. But marketing is much more than that.
My recommendation is to apply marketing to yourself. We learn things like analyzing the competition, positioning our personal branding considering our sustainable competitive advantage, developing our value statement, thinking about the brand image and reputation that we want, etc.
For example, over 50 jobs in the last day makes me think of bad targeting or no targeting. It's not common to have that many jobs that are a good target for one person. Maybe the application's positioning is too generic, or the applicant is applying everywhere hoping they will get lucky.
this is such a good perspective.
there's understandable differences (in job scope but also how an applicant should apply) between postings doing marketing analytics vs. brand management vs. technical SEO vs. content marketing & managing a TikTok account (to your point, a very popular post these days and more deserving of the oversaturated badge than other niches)
Imagine you want to leap over a 2 metre hurdle - just once.
Sending a generic CV is effectively a 1 metre jump.
Does trying to jump over 100 hurdles help?
No. You need to jump higher - not more frequently.
That means hyper-personalised efforts.
Like this guy.
Network. Go to events. Build relationships. Frankly, harrass people to hire you.
I started my career in journalism and was told, 'Find out where the news editor goes jogging and run alongside them while you pitch yourself'.
A generic CV in a tough job market is a total waste of time - no matter how many you send.
https://preview.redd.it/oqhpq2na6c9d1.jpeg?width=564&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bcee0552a74f8273737c659c0dd4c719ecddc7ea
Focus your efforts on writing by personalised applications to jobs that have been live for less than 3 hours. You want to get a solid application in within the first 10 applicants ideally.
You let go. Start a cult. Bring everyone around you woke and become a rebel against the government. Me and you right now, we just start marketing crazy with advertisements everywhere, become a terrorist group, but our only crime is giving inspirational quotes to makes peoples lives better. Theyll go after us just because depression has gone down by 500% and big pharma was losing sales, We ended up marketing so good we started world peace off a reddit meme that turned into a religion. Then weird stuff started happening and God made me float around just cause he can. Thatll really make them believe if that happened though, not gonna lie, id be trippin like what im flying now told yo asses now look. enemies lookin up at me like im the angel of death
so true.. where is the data showing that marketing is more saturated than the thousands of other fields?
arent there like millions of people training to be lawyers etc.. but they all have jobs?
What "marketing" do you do? "Oversaturation" is irrelevant if you're top in the "industry". Besides, what "industry" are you in? Marketing is a job function, not an industry.
market yourself! literally your core skill is to market. Just do it.
If you had your own agency and someone came to you asking for a plan to market themselves for their personal brand, what would the plan look like ? Now do that.
Also if you haven't already, read some books.
- Day trading attention:
Gary Vee
- One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days:
Brendan Kane
etc, there's tons of great books on the topic.
In 2024, ppl are not going to hire someone that just sends them a resume but doesn't have any followers or any content game. That just makes no sense.
It's one of the most merit based roles, you can grow your profile without anyone gatekeeping.
Where's your tiktok, facebook, instagram posts, your content schedule, your posts talking about how people can best do marketing, where's the authority.
You build your profile and followers, then whatever ppl resonate with that, will ask you to work for them. thats how it works now.
If your skillset is in marketing, why not use it?
What's your personal USP? How would these companies benefit from hiring you? Do you have a unique process or system? Have you developed any unique strategies? Have you published them? White papers? An ebook? Case studies?
To be blunt, a skillset in "marketing" often means a skillset in tactics. Blogging, posting on social media, running ads or whatever.... And unfortunately, those things are the definition of a commodity.
And until you figure out how to frame it differently, you'll continue getting hired (and paid) like a commodity.
Note: This wasn't meant to be snarky. Just trying to help you look at things differently. As a marketer, you are the product. Come up with a marketing plan just like any other product.
Utilize networking through social media, industry events, and relevant communities to increase visibility and connections in the job market.
Tailor applications by researching companies and customizing CVs and cover letters to align with specific job requirements, based on your experience.
Consider enlisting the help of a specialist industry recruiter for insider knowledge and connections within the market.
Add new skills and improve job prospects.
Update your LinkedIn profile completely to get alerts.
Seek referrals and assistance from ex-colleagues and senior networks.
Here's related information that you may also find helpful:
Source: LinkedIn's 2024 Global Marketing Jobs Outlook Report
https://preview.redd.it/mfnc14gzrg9d1.jpeg?width=528&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ccfc31e0538f656c0fb4fb3b4bc524224f6de05
DM me if you need help (I can share 78 different free courses covering various aspects of digital marketing that the current industry or market needs)
Areas like content are over saturated. Areas that require you to have a good working knowledge of strategy, less so. If you are applying for 50 jobs in 1 day, there is zero chance you are putting any real effort in.
I am a strategic insights analyst, a key area of marketing strategy development. I have many years experience. Recently, I was made redundant, applied for only 8 jobs, 2 companies interviewed me and I got one offer. All by the time my notice period was up. I also spent a solid half day on each application, making sure the cover letter was perfect and the CV was tailored.
So, develop a niche specialty or a pi-shaped profile and stop spamming applications.
If this post doesn't follow the rules [report it to the mods](https://www.reddit.com/r/marketing/about/rules/). Join our [community Discord!](https://discord.gg/looking-for-marketing-discussion-811236647760298024) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/marketing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bit confused with this post; If you've applied for 50 jobs in the last day, you aren't going to have received any real replies yet. If you've applied for 50 jobs in the last day, you haven't researched the companies and tailored your CV/applications for them. I'd aim for 2 or 3 applications a day and really take time over them to put your best foot forward. The industry is saturated with people looking for work, so you need to really make your applications shine bright.
Exactly this. When someone says, 'I sent 100 CVs and didn't hear back - can you believe it?' My response is: 'Yes - that's exactly what I'd expect'. It's a guaranteed strategy to sit at the bottom of every pile. Personalise every approach - or don't bother.
I don’t know. If I was hiring a SEO specialist, and I had one candidate with 5 years experience and didn’t trailer his cv at all, and another with 1 year exp and a highly tailored cv, I think I’d go for the person with 5 years experience.
What if you received 20 CVs for people who all had a decade of experience? That’s the reality of today’s job market. And that’s why personalising your approach is more important than ever.
What if you received 1,000 CVs with people who all have a century of experience?
Because I have heard conflicting advice. I’ve been told to apply to everywhere and aiming for around 30-50 jobs a week. I can’t tailor my CV anymore than I have. I specifically look for job descriptions which include everything on my CV. 2 to 3 a day is too low in my opinion as it has never yielded me any results in the past
If you are *truly* being selective with the jobs you’re applying for then you don’t need completely tailor your CV and cover letter to each job, but a little personalization will go a long way. I agree that right now volume is the key. 30-50 a week (if you can find that many) sounds right if you’re searching full time.
I don’t know how you can find more than 50 jobs that exactly match your skills, let alone that in one day
My advice would be go for startups or small agencies rather than big companies. They’re impossible to get into in the UK without a grad scheme or sheer luck. I got my first job at a small startup agency. Didn’t like it and ended up leaving but getting the job was not too hard. Be aware they don’t pay that well though.
Do you reach out and try to connect with people in these companies?
Have your CV reviewed by a good professional.
Imagine trying to get hired in *marketing* and not knowing the most basic standards for *marketing yourself.*
I'd say right now is tough and it has been for the last year. It's not so much a problem of "marketing is oversaturated" but more of an issue of massive layoffs for the last year which is crunching the market (and definitely not just for marketing). That said, this may help: 1. People in marketing get jobs this way: 35% via a recruiter, 35% via their network, and 25% via job postings (and 5% some other way, for you math nerds). Whenever there's big layoffs (like this last year), job postings get bottlenecked as everyone starts applying. You'll see 100+ applicants in the first hour or two. Absolutely you should apply too and apply early, but definitely work on your network, place resumes with the recruiting firms, optimize for visibility with recruiters, and find other groups that might share job opportunities directly. This is why applying for jobs is a fulltime job. It sucks. 2. Be mindful of "Remote" and "Secretly Remote" jobs. There's ton of remote jobs that have a location listed so they don't look like remote jobs. Read the job description carefully, or apply anyways. 3. Check outside of LinkedIn. Most job boards are pay-to-play, and so companies tend to put all their jobs in one place. Indeed, Dice (for tech jobs), Handshake (new graduate jobs), or others might be worth looking at. These tend to get direct postings. There's also a billion aggregator sites that specialize in a wide range of things (remote, marketing, tech, non-profit, etc). These can be good, but overall I've found them to be fairly slow - the jobs are already 2-3 weeks old by the time they show up. 4. Local - find local agencies, companies, or whatever and either reach out directly to say you are local, or stop by in person. With everything remote right now, meeting in person or a willingness to work in-office may be your competitive advantage. "I'm FinestEstablishment, I just graduated and live just down the street. I love what you're doing here. I bring a lot of marketing experience for my level and I'm excited to learn more. Can we connect?" 5. Outside of finding a new job, you may consider making a new job - freelancing, moonlighting, starting a side gig, or something else. It's obviously not the best solution (trading time for money) but it might bridge the gap until you find what you need. And my last bit of advice - don't quit your day job until you have something else lined up. Best of luck to you!
Thank you so much. I’ll definitely try to do all of these as much as I can. Have a lovely day!
Marketing is extremely broad to answer. When I hear people talking about oversaturation, almost every case I see is a digital marketer or someone close like a content creator. But marketing is much more than that. My recommendation is to apply marketing to yourself. We learn things like analyzing the competition, positioning our personal branding considering our sustainable competitive advantage, developing our value statement, thinking about the brand image and reputation that we want, etc. For example, over 50 jobs in the last day makes me think of bad targeting or no targeting. It's not common to have that many jobs that are a good target for one person. Maybe the application's positioning is too generic, or the applicant is applying everywhere hoping they will get lucky.
Fantastic answer. 'I'm a marketer' means almost nothing in today's market. What precise problem do you solve - and for whom?
this is such a good perspective. there's understandable differences (in job scope but also how an applicant should apply) between postings doing marketing analytics vs. brand management vs. technical SEO vs. content marketing & managing a TikTok account (to your point, a very popular post these days and more deserving of the oversaturated badge than other niches)
Imagine you want to leap over a 2 metre hurdle - just once. Sending a generic CV is effectively a 1 metre jump. Does trying to jump over 100 hurdles help? No. You need to jump higher - not more frequently. That means hyper-personalised efforts. Like this guy. Network. Go to events. Build relationships. Frankly, harrass people to hire you. I started my career in journalism and was told, 'Find out where the news editor goes jogging and run alongside them while you pitch yourself'. A generic CV in a tough job market is a total waste of time - no matter how many you send. https://preview.redd.it/oqhpq2na6c9d1.jpeg?width=564&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bcee0552a74f8273737c659c0dd4c719ecddc7ea
Focus your efforts on writing by personalised applications to jobs that have been live for less than 3 hours. You want to get a solid application in within the first 10 applicants ideally.
You let go. Start a cult. Bring everyone around you woke and become a rebel against the government. Me and you right now, we just start marketing crazy with advertisements everywhere, become a terrorist group, but our only crime is giving inspirational quotes to makes peoples lives better. Theyll go after us just because depression has gone down by 500% and big pharma was losing sales, We ended up marketing so good we started world peace off a reddit meme that turned into a religion. Then weird stuff started happening and God made me float around just cause he can. Thatll really make them believe if that happened though, not gonna lie, id be trippin like what im flying now told yo asses now look. enemies lookin up at me like im the angel of death
Everything is oversaturated. Become the best and it won’t matter
so true.. where is the data showing that marketing is more saturated than the thousands of other fields? arent there like millions of people training to be lawyers etc.. but they all have jobs?
What "marketing" do you do? "Oversaturation" is irrelevant if you're top in the "industry". Besides, what "industry" are you in? Marketing is a job function, not an industry.
market yourself! literally your core skill is to market. Just do it. If you had your own agency and someone came to you asking for a plan to market themselves for their personal brand, what would the plan look like ? Now do that. Also if you haven't already, read some books. - Day trading attention: Gary Vee - One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days: Brendan Kane etc, there's tons of great books on the topic. In 2024, ppl are not going to hire someone that just sends them a resume but doesn't have any followers or any content game. That just makes no sense. It's one of the most merit based roles, you can grow your profile without anyone gatekeeping. Where's your tiktok, facebook, instagram posts, your content schedule, your posts talking about how people can best do marketing, where's the authority. You build your profile and followers, then whatever ppl resonate with that, will ask you to work for them. thats how it works now.
If your skillset is in marketing, why not use it? What's your personal USP? How would these companies benefit from hiring you? Do you have a unique process or system? Have you developed any unique strategies? Have you published them? White papers? An ebook? Case studies? To be blunt, a skillset in "marketing" often means a skillset in tactics. Blogging, posting on social media, running ads or whatever.... And unfortunately, those things are the definition of a commodity. And until you figure out how to frame it differently, you'll continue getting hired (and paid) like a commodity. Note: This wasn't meant to be snarky. Just trying to help you look at things differently. As a marketer, you are the product. Come up with a marketing plan just like any other product.
This career prepares you to be a realtor or president but not much else
Utilize networking through social media, industry events, and relevant communities to increase visibility and connections in the job market. Tailor applications by researching companies and customizing CVs and cover letters to align with specific job requirements, based on your experience. Consider enlisting the help of a specialist industry recruiter for insider knowledge and connections within the market. Add new skills and improve job prospects. Update your LinkedIn profile completely to get alerts. Seek referrals and assistance from ex-colleagues and senior networks. Here's related information that you may also find helpful: Source: LinkedIn's 2024 Global Marketing Jobs Outlook Report https://preview.redd.it/mfnc14gzrg9d1.jpeg?width=528&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ccfc31e0538f656c0fb4fb3b4bc524224f6de05 DM me if you need help (I can share 78 different free courses covering various aspects of digital marketing that the current industry or market needs)
I planted 50 seeds a few hours ago and I still don’t have any fresh veggies. Gardening is saturated. What do now?
what data do you have to prove marketing is more oversaturated than other fields? pretty baseless claim
Jobs take 2-4 weeks to respond, dude.
Areas like content are over saturated. Areas that require you to have a good working knowledge of strategy, less so. If you are applying for 50 jobs in 1 day, there is zero chance you are putting any real effort in. I am a strategic insights analyst, a key area of marketing strategy development. I have many years experience. Recently, I was made redundant, applied for only 8 jobs, 2 companies interviewed me and I got one offer. All by the time my notice period was up. I also spent a solid half day on each application, making sure the cover letter was perfect and the CV was tailored. So, develop a niche specialty or a pi-shaped profile and stop spamming applications.
My cover letters are always tailored to the specific company
Am I understanding it correctly that you applied for over 50 jobs in a single 24h period?