Marketing team leader skills for your resume and career

Students often underestimate the importance of soft skills. To succeed in a marketing career, you need to be able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing, work well in a team environment, use critical and creative thinking, and get along with others. On an individual level, successful marketers are typically good time managers, decisive, adaptable to change, good listeners, and open to feedback. Emotional intelligence plays a significant role in one's career progression and success.

As a science and an art, marketing utilizes both soft skills and technical skills on a daily basis. While some technologies are industry-specific, having an understanding and basic mastery of data analysis, statistics, data visualization, digital marketing, marketing research, and customer relationship management will position a candidate well.

Imagine an employer asking you in an interview (after your gap year): "So, what did you do during your time between college and now?" This is a real question and has already been asked by employers (e.g., "How did you spend your summer during the pandemic?") The employer wants to know about your decisions during the "down time" of the pandemic and how you engaged.

Develop your networking skills by meeting people outside of your regular sphere and learn from them. Ask for feedback and accept it as a gift. Stay connected with them as you don't know what'll be happening at the end of the gap year; they may be your inside referral!

Keep learning. This not only includes staying up on your discipline (trends, new topics, new resources, ethics), but also learning about life and how to solve challenges by using newly gained knowledge and skills. Read and understand literature and talk with others about what you have learned. Learn more about yourself - your interests and values, strengths, and growth points; then work to expand your horizons, even just a bit. Stretching yourself leads to new learning!

Consider a post-degree internship. Engaging in a deep learning experience such as this will not only enrich your knowledge and skills, but you will also be proactively preparing for your career launch.
Employers will notice your engagement, increasing your competitiveness as a candidate. While such an experience would ideally be within your career pathway, it does not have to be. If it is not, make sure you are learning skills that can clearly be applicable/transferrable to your chosen field.

Try something new that is not directly career-related but "feeds the soul."
Volunteer and help others. Learn to seriously cook, from a chef, and then prepare meals for others, asking for feedback. Write a work of fiction, submit it for review, and re-write it based on the critical feedback. Be a Big Brother or a Big Sister. All of these types of activities challenge yourself and are not "trophy" gains.

In our field, computer skills and proficiency with technology and data are in great demand (e.g., data analytics and engineering applications)

Graduates must not be complacent and assume their skill base will endure over a long period; they must continue to engage and learn in order to understand changes in the landscape and add value. Beyond listing specific computer software or hardware skills, we know from working so closely with employers to place our students that they are looking for students who possess excellent communication skills - including technical communication. Along the lines of communicating, employers seek graduates with the ability to analyze and succinctly synthesize sometimes ambiguous information. Finally, showcasing flexibility and an interest in learning will be important to employers.