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How you can get a job in digital marketing without experience.

Read time 5 minutes

What do you do when a job says a minimum 4 years of working experience? This article can help graduates bridge the gap from textbook to paycheck. So what do you do when an employer wants 4 years of experience?

How to get a job in digital marketing without experience.

One simple trick that really works.

You can put yourself in the top 25% of resumes by doing yourself one simple favor. Obtain your fundamental certifications. Keep reading to find out about fundamental certificates and why they can make a huge difference.

Why does this work so well?

Our research is worth considering.

Graduates looking to open doors without experience may be interested in our research. We surveyed responses to our Seek advertisement for a digital marketing account manager

60 applications with and without university degrees were tabled and this is our data,

75% of applicants do not have any fundamental certificates. Believe me, as an employer this stat is very frustrating. Most applicants have 0 fundamental certifications.

Wait…. what are fundamental certificates?

Fundamental certificates are provided by the major platforms eg Google, Meta / Facebook & Instagram, Linked-in, and W3C schools. Having fundamental certification means that employers can get you to start working on tasks with far less training required.

You can stand out by obtaining your fundamentals.

I can assure you that you want to be in the 25% who have 1 or more certificates. At our agency, all resumes with fundamental certifications get looked at.

Expect to get paid more, immediately.

There is a strong correlation between the number of fundamental certificates and remuneration. Having fundamental certificates means you will require less training. Not only will having these certificates make it easier to get a job. You’ll like to start on a higher base salary.

What do fundamental certificates cost?

You will be pleased to hear it costs zero dollars and zero cents. The major platforms Google, Facebook, Linked-In etc provide the training and certification for free. Save your money for Mi Goreng noodles!

W3C Schools HTML, provide the training for free while the certification is $95USD.

How long does it take?

Graduates looking to ice their cake will be relieved to hear it doesn’t take long. Fundamental certificates can be earned online after a short period of study.

Most of these courses range between 3-4 hours of study.

Which fundamental certificates should you study?

We’ve curated a list of the most valuable certificates. These cover the core day-to-day competencies regardless if you wish to get a job at a digital marketing agency or work on the client side.

Advice

You should have a minimum of the first two. If you can get more than two then you’ll really stand out from the crowd.

Advice

You should have a minimum of 3 fundamental certificates if you wish to work with Facebook / Meta

HTML

W3C HTML certificate 20 hours (we don’t think it’s anywhere close to 20 hours. See how quickly you can do it you may be surprised)

Advice

You don’t have to be a programmer, HTML certification is very basic. If you really want to be valuable and go further and higher in your career. You should not skip this. HTML underpins this stack of courses.

Advice

This package records visitors to your website. It is the industry standard with more than 70% market share. You can absolutely not afford not to have this.

Advice

This package enabled you to send events that happen on your website to Google Analytics. You should study Google Analytics before you study tag manager. Do not stress about being an expert, an awareness of how it works is the most important aspect. There are plenty of easy guides on the internet to follow when it comes to actually use the product for daily tasks.

Advice

This is how you may present your campaign results to your customers. It’s entirely optional some agencies won’t use it. They will however be impressed if you are familiar with it. Study this last as it is the top layer of your knowledge. The prerequisites before studying it are HTML, Google Analytics

What is the shortest fundamental pathway?

Here are the essentials.

Total time: 14.3 hours.

Do you have to study Google and Meta?

It depends on the size of the company you are applying for. In large companies, you will be expected to do one or the other and not both. This is very different from small and medium-sized companies that can’t afford to hire a Meta specialist and a Google Ads specialist. They need someone who knows how to use both platforms. This is especially true if you wish to work client-side. There are far more opportunities to work for small and medium-sized companies that need to hire a single individual to manage their Facebook & Google ads.

Why learning HTML makes you valuable.

This is a power move if you want a job in digital marketing.

Without a basic understanding of HTML, and we stress, basic, you’ll always be at a disadvantage. You don’t have to be a programmer, your basic w3c HTML certification is not difficult. The estimated 20 hours of learning time is really generous and if you’re lucky enough to have studied basic HTML already you’ll pick this certificate up very quickly.

Let’s look at why HTML makes you a great candidate –

HTML is used to control basic website design features like headlines. If you can’t change a headline on a website, your employer will have to pay someone else to change it for you. That’s not a very appealing prospect for an employer.

Products that require basic editing of HTML,

  • Website updates
  • Blogging
  • Content writing for websites
  • Product updates for a website
  • Google Analytics
  • Facebook Pixel
  • Google AdWords
  • Google Tag Manager
  • SEO tasks

And so much more. The ‘Web” is largely built upon HTML it is a foundationary layer of understanding!

What other technologies make you useful?

WordPress.

This is yet another power move to get your foot in the door.

WordPress makes up 59% of all CMS systems on the internet. If you know how to use it, that makes you useful. Some agencies will use different CMS systems however if you’ve already honed your skills in WordPress you can easily transition to a different CMS.

You should absolutely put on your resume that you’ve had experience with WordPress. You will likely have to use it on a daily basis. Can you imagine applying for a job with no WordPress experience?

The best way to do this is to create a WordPress website for yourself

  • Create a homepage
  • Create a blog
  • Know the difference between pages and posts
  • Post images, edit the headline, change font color

Do you need to learn about graphic design?

Graphic design is an important skill for anyone interested in working in social media management, particularly Facebook / Instagram Advertising. Not all agencies or client-side gigs will have a graphic designer, nor is it practical to ask a graphic designer to curate every post. Having some do-it-yourself capabilities may be an asset to your ability to get it done.

Canva offers courses that will teach you how to create ad creatives quickly and easily. With access to stock photos, fonts, and templates, you’ll be able to create beautiful designs in no time.

So brush up on your design skills and sign up for some Canva design courses, we recommend checking out some of the courses below:

Canva is a user-friendly platform that offers you access to tons of resources to help you create stunning visuals for your social media campaigns. And with their short courses, you’ll be able to learn the fundamentals of graphic design without any prior experience or design knowledge.

Digital Marketing Assistant For The Summer Holidays

Digital Marketing Assistant Job

If you’re still reading this, we have the perfect summer job for a university student looking to gain experience. See our advertisement for a digital marketing assistant. We are keen to hear from university students however we can’t take everyone. To increase your chances of being successful it is best to open the door by picking up as many of the fundamental certifications mentioned in this document as you can.

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About Scott Shorter

Scott Shorter in a SEO and digital marketing specialist with 20 years of experience. He has been a guest speaker for the Advertising Council of Australia, Engineering Institute of Technology, WA Leaders association as an industry expert and Edith Cowan University, from which he graduated with a B.Comms – BSc (M) Multimedia & Internet Computing in 2005. His agency Scott Shorter Pty Ltd was founded in 2011 in response to a market demand for a dedicated SEO and digital marketing agency.

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