Marketing data analyst skills for your resume and career

Be a good communicator (internally and externally). Marketing is all about effective communication. Most of the roles in marketing are basically managing the various channels through which the communications are disseminated (Events, PR, Paid Search, Web, Social Media, etc.). If you can communicate effectively, you will be a strong asset to the team, and your skills will be easily transferable to multiple roles within the marketing organization. This will provide you security in your current role and a path for career advancement. Three things help to make you a more effective marketing communicator:
-Empathy - Have deep empathy for your prospective customer and the challenges that they are facing. Understand their industry, language, motivation, what their day is like, why they do what they do, who their customers are, etc.
-Product Knowledge - Have a deep understanding of the product or service that you are marketing. Understanding how the functionality of a product or a solution can solve a prospective customers pain point
-Macro Mindset - Think about how content layers together to create a hierarchy or matrix. Understanding how a content theme can be expanded or contracted can help you see the "big picture" and offer more granular detail on a particular topic.

Data analysis is important. Understanding metrics adds value to your employer as you are able to design attractive marketing campaigns

The best thing for a student/graduate to do, if they're taking a gap year, would be to continue to enhance their skills in social media, marketing, and public relation writing by implementing practices to show progression in communicative methods when marketing a product/service/event or get a positive response/feedback to a well-organized campaign.

Students should volunteer with small/local businesses or create their brand (start a blog or become a niche social media influencer) to practice and build on their experience. Once the student/graduate does that, they should keep a weekly log with analytics to help them understand how to improve moving forward. This will be beneficial when applying for a communication/public relations job during an interview. The degree gets the student/graduate the talk, but the experience lands them the job.

As always, new graduates will need to remain in "learning mode" and be adaptable to the workplace. Their business school education prepares them with a skill set and a mindset for problem-solving that they will use throughout their career. So the ability to pick up new software and technology (like we all have recently with online platforms) is one necessary skill. The ability to communicate interpersonally and effectively remains a valuable skill. Further, the ability to communicate complex arguments and/or quantitative data takes time and practice to develop. An especially valuable skill is being able to recognize opportunities in the market i.e., what's next. It's a combination of art and science, using your analytical skills to see what's not there and how to address a future need creatively.