Coaching
Knock Knock. Who’ s There? Opportunity Knocking!
By Thrity Engineer-Mbuthia
Every marketing professional aspires to grow in their career. As children, we are told, hard work always pays. Later in life comes the realisation that it isn’ t just hard work, but factors like who you know and being at the right place at the right time. Sometimes though, when opportunity knocks, you need to be ready.
Having watched the marketing profession evolve, and embracing trends like digital transformation, has put me in the privileged position to provide guidance on career progression. Through the coaching work I do, I have assisted marketing professionals find their feet up the proverbial career ladder. There is a question I like to ask- if your dream job came along tomorrow, how ready are you? Most people say they actually aren’ t ready. How can we best prepare for these opportunities?
Recently I was added to a WhatsApp group that acts as a job notice board. Admins post job opportunities and interested candidates get opportunities delivered to them using the platform that seems to have changed the entire communication approach. I noted with interest, the different job positions available. The sectors were quite diverse ranging from the business sales and marketing roles, to agriculture, to hospitality, to banking, to the development space, to UN positions and more. A lot of them were entry level positions, but there were quite a few mid- senior level positions as well.
Take for example, an executive driver position. Age 40, clean driving licence and knowledge of Nairobi and environs. There must be a number of people who would meet this criteria. How can you stand out from the crowd? Perhaps you have skills in defensive driving. Perhaps you speak an additional language. Maybe you have work experience in the security sector. So being able to take advantage of this opening, means you need to think outside the box.
Let’ s take a look at some of the job openings in the marketing ecosystem. An organization is looking for a business development manager. There is one question a lot of people ask. Is the BDM
position a sales role or a marketing role? The standard answer in marketing is- it depends. But if pushed to the wall, a BDM position is one that is designed to generate leads and drive sales with revenue growth. Looking at this advert, it requires one to have a degree, to have experience in sales, to know how to build client relationships and have skills in communication, negotiation and leadership. Perhaps you are currently jobless or you are on internship. How do you get ready for this chance?
A bank is looking for a head of commercial banking. It goes without saying they are looking for someone who has banking experience. If you are that person, then in addition to your experience, you should have strong market knowledge, stakeholder management and people development skills. Strong market knowledge means understanding your environment and what the competition is doing or not doing. But in order for you to demonstrate this skill, you must be aware that it is needed and you must practice it so that you can comfortably speak to this topic.
Don’ t just sit pretty and moan about how your current job doesn’ t give you a chance to learn new things. Take action. No one can stop you from learning if you really want to be a life-long learner.
Managing stakeholders is something you can do, no matter what project you are involved in. If you are in school, managing stakeholders could look like bringing people together to work on group assignments. Do you do the work yourself, or do you report those who are not contributing to the assignment or do you use your skills to get everyone involved.
A company is looking for a brand executive.
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