What kind of characteristics would I need in order to pursue marketing?

Marketing is such a broad field, so it depends on your passion and innate skills but there's one (obvious) thing ALL marketing has in common that simply cannot be overlooked: communication. You need to be able to communicate effectively and articulately, both verbally and in written form. You'll need to communicate ideas and strategies to your team and colleagues. You'll need to communicate - "sell" - your ideas and strategies and recommendations to clients, partners, etc. Work every single day, even in your personal communications, on mastering articulate, clear and concise ways to effectively deliver your message - no matter what it is, even if it's about something like helping someone new in town understand the best places to eat or hangout. Communicating is a ongoing effort. Even for those who have been in the field for decades. We're all a WIP, so give yourself a break, try to get a little better and smarter each day, and give to others as much as possible. And when communicating, keep this in mind and you'll be fine: People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Good luck!

Hi Annabelle,

From my perspective its all about knowing your customer and being able to talk their language. So for example if you were thinking you may want to do high tech marketing, having a good knowledge of computer science or electrical engineering would be invaluable. I do think that technical skills are harder to acquire without a base foundation. Beyond that I think its important to get hands on as early as you can, what kind of marketing can you get involved in at school at college, can you be the marketing officer of a club, can you run a newsletter?

It helps to be very curious about human behavior and psychology, to be data-oriented (ie, what does this particular insight from a focus group, interview, or user behavior indicate?), and to be skilled at communicating and writing. Empathy is a valuable trait as well -- the ability to easily and deeply put yourself in the shoes of a customer or potential customer. It's all about understanding what drives them!

Hi, the characteristics of good marketers is their ability to create a reality out of a concept. As other have pointed out communication is important and two areas that i have found important. Com'hu'nictaion make your message relevant to real living people…and tell a memorable story.

Your ability to tell a story or two about your accomplishments will be important so offer to help lots of people and collect your portfolio of successes to help you land a kool job. I would skip any 'traditional' course for one in SEO or social media, mobile, the future has already voted.

Some characteristics that employers look for when hiring marketing professionals would be: a team player, someone who loves to work with people, excellent verbal and written communications skills, a storyteller, someone who is adaptable, a strategic thinker, organized, creative, and motivated.

There are schools that offer marketing majors, but you don't necessarily have to take that path. A marketing, journalism, or communications major might help your resume get noticed sooner, but you don't necessarily have to major in one of those. Taking classes that help you grow as an analytic thinker, refine your writing skills, and make you business savvy individual will help land you a marketing role in the future. I took the liberal arts education route and found that to be a good one.

A great way to get a head start to be successful in marketing is to get an internship while you are in college and develop skills in advertising, market research, brand management, etc. Volunteer or intern on a marketing/communications team to gain skills with social media, public relations, content creation, website, or graphics that will be very helpful in the marketing field.

Hi!

Any marketing classes you can take, but that is kind of obvious :)

Marketers know about the landscape: for example if you are marketing toys, things you can think about:

-When are peak times of year when people by toys
-What are the most popular toys at any given point in time
-What are the top competitors (toy makers) and what are they focused on

Marketers are people who have a good lay of the land, understand data, and understand how a consumer's (the buyer) mind works. Being able to put yourself in the shoes of the person buying the product is a good place to start!

Energy & Passion!

I wouldn't underestimate how far having energy and passion around customers will get you. Truly, if you care about your customer, and what their problems are and how your company can help solve them, you will be on the right road to success.

Be a champion for the customer, put yourself in their shoes, engage with them the way they want to be engaged and in their language.

Be kind, friendly and have a "can do" attitude - you will get a lot of credit for being a nice person who's trying hard to learn, others in the team will be willing to help teach you. Always put your hand up to help out and/or ask for assignments - it's the best way to keep learning and pushing yourself.

Good luck!