Should I Consider More Marketing or IT Jobs?

by Vuk Kopanja
(Budapest, Hungary)

Hi,

I have been having this issue of simply not being able to tell what position-branch should I consider when looking for a new job.

I led a small online database project, where my tasks were partially IT (flowchart writing, software testing. Programming was done by the software developing engineer. On the other hand, I had to promote that same database and make it popular among users (Marketing and Sales people within my company).

So I held many presentations, coaching (one to one, teams), user support (mostly via Skype) and email marketing (sending newsletter every month promoting the newly published content on it).

I had to organize meetings with various stakeholders and negotiate content procurement to the database, all in favor of web site traffic increase and overall recognition for the database. Database is something like our (inner company) YouTube.

Thank you for your time
Best,
Vuk

Answer:

Hi Vuk,

It is clear that you have a wide range of experience, which allows you to apply for a variety of jobs in different career fields. Employees tend to perform best in jobs or career fields that they enjoy and/or have extensive knowledge in.

Consider the following questions as you narrow down the jobs that you would like to apply for.

• What type of work to you enjoy most?
  
• What type of work are you passionate about?
  
• In which area(s) do you have the most knowledge and experience?
  
• Do you prefer to manage other employees?
  
• Do you prefer to work as an individual contributor with no direct reports?

Write down the answers to these questions and identify keywords that you can use during your job search, whether on job boards, LinkedIn, or while networking.

Based on the experience that you've identified, some examples include...

Project management
Leadership/Coaching
IT/Database/Software/end-user support
Marketing
Sales/Negotiation

Once you decide which field or fields that you would like to work in, you could even use a combination of keywords to narrow down your search. For example: project management and marketing - to narrow down your options to project management jobs in a marketing department.

As you find jobs, read the job descriptions to ensure that the job responsibilities fall into your realm of passion or expertise. Ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as outlined in the job descriptions.

The main thing is that you apply for jobs that you will enjoy and that you have experience that will separate you from other potential candidates for the job.

I hope that this information provides you with a good start for deciding on your career field. If you have additional comments or questions, feel free to click the link below to add comments.

Sincerely,
Victoria E.