How to Get a Digital Marketing Job after Thinkful

Wondering what kinds of digital marketing jobs you can get after graduating Thinkful’s Online Digital Marketing Flex course? We spoke with Thinkful’s Associate Director of Career Delivery Stephanie Bermudez on how Thinkful’s job guarantee means getting students job-ready for today’s digital marketing needs. Plus, Stephanie’s predictions on the digital marketing skills everyone should have in their toolbox!

What’s your role and what do you work on at Thinkful?

I’m the Associate Director of Careers Delivery at Thinkful. I oversee our awesome team of Career Coaches and ensure that our students have an incredible and successful post-grad experience as they progress towards their desired outcomes. My work ranges from operational work to deep diving into data to strategizing and iterating on our current offerings and products. That said, the ultimate goal here is to offer an excellent student experience that positions our grads for success in not only their next role, but the one after that, too.

Tell us more about the Digital Marketing curriculum! What types of digital marketing skills do students of the Online Digital Marketing Flex course learn to make them job-ready?

Our online Digital Marketing program transforms students into 360 digital marketers with expertise in the skills needed to land a job in digital marketing: campaigns, market research, persona and brand development, content, email, social media, search, analytics, and marketing automation tools. With each of these concepts, we provide real-world exercises and projects that build towards a professional portfolio. Students have mentors, undergo mock interviews, and work closely with our Career Services team to get a job in digital marketing.

What kinds of projects are included in a student’s digital marketing portfolio? 

The program offers an end-to-end view of digital marketing so projects range from designing an A/B test, to creating content for and managing a Facebook business page. At the end, everyone will complete a digital marketing capstone project that focuses on an area of their choosing.

There are so many different job titles within digital marketing jobs! What types of digital marketing jobs are Thinkful graduates prepared to get? 

Indeed there are! A few examples outside of Digital Marketer are: Social Media Manager, SEO Specialist, Marketing Manager, Partnership Marketer, and Content Strategist.

How do Thinkful grads stand apart from other candidates? What do employers like about Thinkful grads?

Thinkful grads work hard, learn quickly, and are extremely resourceful. Employers like seeing how our grads are able to synthesize and apply their learning in such a short amount of time. It’s extremely impressive and inspiring to see students come out of our program!

Additionally, some of our grads are career transitioners and employers love seeing any prior professional backgrounds and their transferable skills. Maybe someone worked in customer service in the past and that experience directly translates to digital marketing as you try to get into a customer’s head: what do they want? What do they expect out of this product or service?

In your experience, does it help or hurt that students learn online at Thinkful?

It’s definitely helpful as it simulates what digital marketing in their future role will be. From designing email campaigns to building personas, our program will help replicate the environment that they’ll be working in a few months after graduating from our program.

What is the biggest pushback that digital marketing bootcamp grads may face in the job search?

I’d say the common experience for job-seekers in general is not having enough experience and is likely the main adversity faced. Fortunately, though, our program is not only project-based, but also done under the guise of a mentor who is an expert in the field. We find that grads’ portfolios speak volumes and do a great job of displaying their domain expertise to the point of converting into interviews and job offers.

Thinkful's offers a money-back guarantee! Tell us how that works.

Our tuition reimbursement guarantee (TRG) is definitely something that we’re proud of! We have a rigorous post-graduation career program and we guarantee that so long as a graduate is networking, applying, and practicing their technical expertise, they will get an in-field job. If they don’t, we will issue 100% of their tuition back.

When does career prep begin for Thinkful students?

Career prep begins on day 1 and students are actively working on their professional branding materials as well as their interviewing and networking skills throughout the program.

Who on the Thinkful team is helping students with job prep and job search?

Upon graduating from our program students will be matched with a career coach who will tailor a job plan specific to their needs and goals. Our team is made up of amazing professional career coaches across the US with varied backgrounds in coaching, education, talent management, and technical recruitment. 

What types of career prep does Thinkful provide?

All of the above and more! We currently offer mock interviews, a full rebrand of all professional materials (e.g., resume, LinkedIn, portfolio, and cover letters) as well as access to technical coaching and interviews via our employer partnership network. 

Does Thinkful help students with job negotiation and compensation? 

We do and it’s one of our favorite calls to do! I think oftentimes folks overlook that in addition to money, there are other factors to negotiate such as sign-on bonuses, annual bonuses, equity, as well as the option to have work from home days to save time and money on commuting. 

In your experience, what are employers looking for in entry-level digital marketers?

Employers are looking for strong communication skills and a good grasp of core marketing concepts. However, outside of specific technologies, employers are looking for people who are both creative and data-driven. Can you create compelling content? And can you then analyze how it fares and how the market responded? You want to highlight that you’re not only creative and data-driven, but that you understand how to think strategically and big-picture vs. getting caught in the small details.

How much marketing experience are employers looking for?

It varies — and certainly having a traditional marketing or sales background helps. That said, digital marketing is a growing field and it’s understandable that a lot of candidates (both bootcamp grads and non-bootcamp grads alike) may have not had the opportunity to be involved on the digital side. Our program simulates just what that is like and allows students to work on real-world cases as well as closely collaborate with a digital marketer in the field who will guide and mentor students throughout their journey.

What do you predict is next for the digital marketing field? Any new or emerging skills or technologies that marketers should learn?

Great question! It’s definitely a growing field with a lot of potential to change the prospects of a company’s growth. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is definitely a great skill to have as is understanding the ins and outs of Pay Per Click (PPC). Outside of that, Social Media Marketing remains big as does cross-channel advertising. The ability to not only carry out a campaign and be able to analyze the results is key — so I recommend that you become familiar and comfortable with tools such as SQL and Tableau as well. 

What’s your best piece of advice for bootcampers who are looking for their first digital marketing job?

During the program — if possible, choose projects or topics that you’re passionate about and can speak to — this will translate better across your future interviews. For example, if you’re a teacher transitioning into digital marketing, think about looking at edtech companies and creating something around that. Employers will love to see your domain expertise coupled with your new skills. It’ll not only help with crafting your narrative and transition, but also help you stand out from those with a more traditional background.

Post-graduation, be sure to get out there and network! Conducting informational interviews may sound intimidating to a lot of folks, but it’s one of the best things you can do while job seeking: you’re learning new concepts, making new friends along the way, and maybe even snagging some cool referrals along the way!

In addition to that, continue to keep your skills sharp. Have a dream company that you want to work for? Why not work on a side project that helps redefine what they’re doing and show what you can contribute? It doesn’t have to be big, but showing a company that you’re interested by reaching out to them with an idea is always a great conversation starter. 

Find out more and read Thinkful reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with Thinkful.