A week ago the first day of experiences of the graduates in Marketing and Market Research was held at the University of Zaragoza, so the Digital Marketing Blog was without its weekly article. I was fortunate to participate as a speaker, along with five other former students of the Faculty of Economics and Business, to help as much as possible to future marketing and market research professionals (and also, oddly enough, publicists) .

When I say that it is weird, I do it thinking about that feeling that all the professionals in this sector experience when someone who does not understand what marketing is says that director of human resources email list. Well, no, it is not the same or similar. If yours is advertising, do not be fooled, this is not your grade.

Saul Cubilla Martinez Marketing

The paper counted with Héctor Oses, Alejandra Moreno, Alicia Gasión, Adrián Gastón, Rocio Ciprés and myself, Saúl Cubilla. All alumni of the degree in Marketing and Market Research.

The University of Zaragoza offers the Marketing and Market Research (MIM) degree from the 2010-2011 academic year. It is a degree that has 2 years of business subjects and 2 years focused on marketing and market research.

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The MIM degree has professors and PROFESSORS of a high level, professionals who have taught us what marketing is, they have injected it into our veins, something that undoubtedly has made us proud of what we do. And you will be too.

We are talking about a very new career, for a profession that is present and future, an opportunity within the labor market. To realize the importance, you just have to see the number of profiles of other disciplines, such as journalism, which lead to marketing positions.

Personally I am very grateful for everything learned in the MIM degree. The quality of most of the teachers and the more familiar environment offered by the cold building of Lorenzo Normante, meant the perfect mix so that some of us get the best of each teacher.

However, not everything is pink. The degree has some deficiencies in terms of the curriculum, which make it obsolete in a digital world that advances unstoppably transformed society. There are many factors, many, but I would like to highlight two:

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Technology, which changes almost every day, what was a novelty yesterday is out of date, do you remember when we saw TV as a family without any mobile device in your hand? And when could we live without the internet? What will it be like in 20 years? We must be aware of the disruptive change that is (because it is present) assuming the digital world in our society.

The resources allocated to education, which have been cut in recent years as a result of the crisis and the “austericide” policy they have imposed on us. I hope that in a few years the university will have more money and perhaps also more head to manage it from above.

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In this post I will highlight some of the most important parts and those where, due to my profile and work situation, I could contribute more. More than a summary, notice to navigators that everything is written under MY humble opinion.

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What do I do when I finish? Do I do a master’s degree or do I look for internships?

The million dollar question. And I do not mean the “million” that a master’s degree really costs. When the student ends, even months before, he enters into a crisis in the face of indecision about his future. He knows that his decision will mark his future in one way or another. And it is true.

From my point of view, we must add a previous question to all this:

Are you clear about what you are good at? What do you like the most?

If you have it clear, you can launch a master’s degree that allows you to specialize in what you excel at. Personally I like the idea of ​​specializing in something more than knowing everything and nothing. Neither to do a master’s degree in Digital Customer Management you will stop knowing other things about marketing, you have simply focused on something.

If on the contrary you do not have anything clear, before doing a generalist master’s degree, my advice is that you put your head in the working world. It is the only way to know for sure what is yours. In addition, this will help you to specify more about the profiles that are being demanded in marketing at present.

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Decided. I’m going to do internship, where do I look for work?

If your option is to seek professional experience you have to get down to work. Every qualified job portal is welcome, it’s never too late to create a profile on any of these job search pages. Here is a list to start:
Regarding the Curriculum Vitae I think we are fortunate in the marketing sector as well as in advertising profiles or focused on creativity and design. I say this because we can break the rules to make a different CV, creative, that draws attention. We are experts in this or we should be.

It is true that for some, it depends on the position you choose within the Marketing Department, you must be more or less formal with the Curriculum. However, in my opinion, every marketing professional is fully entitled to break the rules and submit an original CV.

Here I recommend you use your imagination. I have seen CVs in USB flash drives, like packaging a milk brick, as a restaurant menu, … You set the limit.

What do you value more about the selection processes?

In this aspect I must say that I am fortunate. The first interview I did was winning. For that date it was essential to end the “crisis” I was talking about at the beginning and thus be able to enjoy my last 15 days of summer. Companions that I had near and were in that same situation did not spend their best days saying …

I think it’s interesting that, as we see job offers, let’s take note of what they ask for, including how they ask for it. This will bring us closer to the reality of the labor market. Do not worry if you see that they ask for programs or things that you do not know what noses they are, it is absolutely normal. That’s where your research work begins.

I think it is important to emphasize that we must know how to speak properly, during these 4 years we have learned terms that you should not be afraid to use. It is advisable to be updated with regard to the news that may have emerged in recent weeks, both in the world of marketing and in general of the company.

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Do you know what your goal is? A great teacher, of those who spoke before, besides owning her own company and working for large companies, was dedicated to teaching at the Faculty of Economics and Business. During these 4 years I was lucky enough to cross paths with her.

One day he told me about the importance of having a goal, a plan for the future and knowing how to express it in a job interview. She had interviewed hundreds of candidates and those who put aside shyness and rushed to say their plans in the medium-long term, scored points.

I had (and I have) a medium-term objective and that’s how I let my boss know in the job interview. That saved me having to explain many things later. It is not so difficult, it is simply to set goals and fulfill them.

During the round table discussion was held on the importance of international experience, the added value that it entailed for companies. I have not been able to leave my country for more than 7 days, so I can say little else here.

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How do you see the world of marketing, are there possibilities?

Finally, this question was posed to all the speakers at the table. The truth that at first gives vertigo, make you feel marketing guru for a few minutes. But nothing further from reality.

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Possibilities? I believe that there are people and challenges and it depends on them that there are possibilities.

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Undoubtedly, the world of marketing is booming, is full of companies that need a digital transformation, who do not know the millennial generation and much less the future consumer, do not know how to measure the pulse of social networks, do not know what is the Internet of things, … In short, they need marketing experts that can perfectly be some of the graduates in Marketing and Market Research at the University of Zaragoza.

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To finish I would like to end with a message of optimism, a message that was conveyed to me a couple of weeks ago by Jacobo Paragés in what is the biggest national marketing event: Hoy es Marketing, organized by ESIC in Madrid.

Jacobo has a degree in Marketing and Commercial Management, has worked in marketing outside and within Spain and is also an entrepreneur. Rather than summarize his story, I prefer that you watch his video and draw your own conclusions.