Are you a pro at coming up with slogans? Have you got a passion for statistics, research and creative writing?  Or perhaps you just want to put your mad men box set to good use.

Whatever the reason, if you’re the person who always gets asked to contribute to communications, effortlessly handles presentations and is always jotting down ideas for the next great TV ad, you might find a career in marketing a rewarding and exciting prospect. Not sure where to start? Here’s some top roles to whet your appetite and our top tips on how to improve your chances to securing them.

Marketing Assistant

What they do: Supporting the marketing manager, you’ll be at the heart of driving marketing campaigns for the department. An important cog in the marketing wheel, you'll be expected to be involved at all levels, including drafting press releases, updating clients and organising promotional events.

What you need: Competition to start a career in marketing is fierce and applicants with a degree in marketing, business or commerce will have an advantage over other applicants but this isn’t necessarily the case all the time.

Earning potential:  At an entry level position you can look to earn anything up from £17k but once you get some experience this can rise to anything between £18K - £25K.

Perfect for: People who like to be behind the scenes.

View all marketing assistant roles >

PR & communications

What they do: Working with the media to portray a positive reputation through communication,  building good relationships and creating understanding between an organisation and its public.

What you need: To be successful in PR and communications, the ability to build relationships with people is essential. It’s not all air kisses and muahs daahhling.  It’s a real understanding of influencing opinion and behaviour to protect reputation.

Earning potential: A £16,000 - £24,000 starting salary but as with anything, it depends on the type of company you work for.

Perfect for: People with good communication skills, powers of persuasion and can spin a good yarn.

View all PR and communication roles >

Digital Marketer

What they do: Digital marketing roles have a special focus on all things “online”, typically complimenting the offline marketing of the business and digitally transferring it via website, social media and search facilities.

What you need: Have a strong interest in digital trends, creativity, excellent copy writing skills and the ability to throw around technical terminology is essential. There are no specific qualifications that are a requirement for this role but any qualifications that demonstrate a strong familiarity with the internet and web design is a bonus.

Earning potential: Can vary greatly depending on the size and profitability of the company. While it is often in line with the salary of offline marketers (typical salaries ranging between £25,000 and £40,000) but with specialised skills in related fields like e-commerce, digital marketers can end up earning more than their offline counterparts.

Perfect for: People who are the first to download that new app everyone’s talking about and then review it to the enth degree.

View all digital marketing roles >

Market Research

What they do: Plan, implement, control, analyse and report on information that you gather. The data you collect will normally revolve around what organisations or people buy, need, do or think and the reasons why.

What you need: An analytical mind and strong knowledge of statistics.  An interest in psychology and behavioural science helps too.

Earning potential:  Starting on £15,000 to £20,000 a year which, with experience, would rise to around £28,000.

Perfect for: People who like collecting and interpreting data.

View all marketing research roles >

Top tips

1.       Set your Goals
The first step is the most difficult. Visualise the job you want. If the end goal is a stretch too far at this point, break it down into realistic and achievable steps.

2.       Know your capabilities
It’s time to look in the mirror and get to grips with your own strengths and weaknesses. Be brutally honest, know where you are in relation to your goal, but don’t let this put you off. You’re on a journey and that journey may take you onto some ‘B’ roads before you hit the motorway.

3.       Get a Personal Development Plan
Craft a Personal Development Plan and decide what actions you need to take to reach your goals. Be specific, make your actions measurable and write a date in which you are going to hit the milestones and stick to them!

4.       Take advantage of the many opportunities for in-house training that working in the charity sector offers. Talk to your line-manager about doing external courses or gain additional experience by shadowing others. If you’re working with suppliers they often offer free events to join that will add to your knowledge base. Take advantage of any free learning that is going on offer.

5.       Talk to someone who is where you want to be
Find someone doing what you want to do. Now that you have a role model ask yourself what is it about them that has made them successful. Maybe sit and have a coffee with them and talk about their career journey. Find out their secrets-of-success. You will find that people are often more than happy to talk about themselves and offer this key information quite freely.

6.       Connect with others
Build connections with people who can help you. Join communities and professional networks – these may be specific functional groups or skill-specific associations. Build a LinkedIn profile. Be relevant to their conversations and be prepared to hold your own opinions. It’s important to share your passion but stay on piste and develop an antenna to tamper down when necessary.

7.       Be prepared for change
Change is constant – get on board or get left behind. Keep your eyes-open to new deployments in your sector and do not be afraid to offer your services and get stuck in to any new project.

8.       Brush-up on your knowledge
Keep abreast of your profession, read sector related magazines and journals attend events and talk to people in commerce to get a fresh and up-to-date perspective.

9.       Adopt a commercial mind-set
Providing value-for-money in the charity sector is not good enough. The whole sector wants to see a measurable cost benefit and accountability for service delivery. Demonstrate that you can not only achieve targets but know how you can make these relevant to your publics.

10.   Finally...
Passion and ambition is infectious. Your drive and energy will elevate you to stand out in the crowd. Be generous with your ideas and treat others how you wish to be treated yourself.

The Morgan Hunt marketing and comms team has extensive experience in connecting great candidates with exciting vacancies in the charities, not-for-profit, education and arts and heritage organisations. Contact us or call the team on 0207 419 8900 to find out more.

Many congratulations. Your hard-work has been rewarded. You’re ACA qualified! What’s next?

Now’s the time to think about your future and getting ahead of the curve.

Know your worth

• ACA is an internationally recognised, highly regarded qualification
• You now have the edge that puts you ahead of the competition
• ACA prepares finance candidates for a wide range of careers

The skills that you have gained through your training will be highly sought after by some of the global market-leaders in:

• Commerce and industry
• Financial services
• Public practice
• Not for profit

You know your skill-set is desirable. Now it's time to make yourself marketable so you can turn every opportunity into a career prospect.
 

Choose your career path now

As a newly qualified ACA you can follow a number of routes depending on your training and specialist practical experience, including:
 

Commercial, reporting and strategic finance roles:

• Utilizing your analytical, planning and strategic skills.
• Typical roles range from management accounting and group accounting through to Finance Manager and Financial Controller positions in smaller companies. 
• More commercial focused positions are available, particularly if you have skills in modeling, M&A/corporate finance or financial analysis. These roles are key to supporting and driving business performance.

Specialist accounting roles:

• Drawing upon the technical elements of your qualification and experience, some entry positions into commercial firms are either as a Financial Accountant or Group Accountant. 
• These roles provide excellent grounding for a move into an FD role later in your career.

Roles within practice:

• You may be lucky enough to secure a new contract with your current employer and contemplating the next step to managerial level.
• If not consider whether you want to specialise, or if you would rather have a wider remit.
• Decide whether you are looking for the challenge of working for a higher-ranking practice, or a smaller, more intimate environment.

What salary can I expect?

Salary levels will vary by sector and the type of experience you have, whether you want to move into a corporate or SME. Corporate finance experience does have a premium.

Read our salary guide for average salary rates by sector and market insight into which sectors offer the most opportunity for career progression.
 

How do I choose what’s best for me?

With many options open to you it can be difficult to decide on the next best step for your career path. Ask yourself:

• Are there long-term opportunities with my current employer?
• What experience will help me develop the skills I need to continue to develop?
• What sectors have I been exposed to during my training, and are any of those of interest to me?
• Is there a specific part of my current role that I would be interested to do more in?
• Have I looked at job adverts to find out more about what opportunities are out there?

What motivates you?

• It may be that the higher remuneration packages of the corporate and financial services sector appeal to you, or maybe you’re looking to play an integral role in a not for profit organisation.
• You may prefer the size and scale of a FTSE corporate, or the challenge of working in a growing SME.
• You may enjoy diving into detailed numbers, being recognised as a specialist or having a broader role that spans the whole business.

What do I do next?

Ensuring your CV is up to date, effectively demonstrates your skills and experience and is tailored to the role and industry for which you are applying is key.

Then, once your skills get you through the door make sure you’re thoroughly prepared for that all important interview.

Speak to someone who knows the market. At Morgan Hunt, we understand what clients look for in newly qualified candidates, and have helped hundreds of candidates at your level with their career.

We offer you unbiased advice on what the current market conditions are across your sectors of interest, as well as provide some insight into the day-to-day roles you may be interested in pursuing.

Your skills are in demand – now is the time to make the most of them and further develop your career. Get in touch today – call Rob Anderson on 0207 419 8909 or email rob.anderson@morganhunt.com.

Louise Parkes, Director of Fundraising at the British Heart Foundation, was recently appointed as a new Trustee to the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, joining the board to take on the exciting challenge.

Working with Morgan Hunt recruitment agency, Louise secured her role as Trustee in September 2012. With Louise now nine months into her trusteeship, she talks about her motivations for pursuing the role and what advice she would give others looking to become a Trustee for a high profile charity.

The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust enables disadvantaged young people to get their lives on track and benefit from the skills, expertise and experience of world class athletes through a range of personal development programmes. The charity, founded in 2008 by Dame Kelly Holmes, has helped more than 50,000 young people to lead more positive lives.

The DKH Legacy Trust has recently been awarded £6.9million in funding from Sport England to support the roll out of the charity’s successful Get on Track initiative nationwide over the next four years.

With the charity moving forward with ambitious plans for growth and a new strategic direction, a new Trustee was required to play an integral part in realising the DKH Legacy Trust’s long-term growth and development goals. As a national supporter and proud partner of the DKH Legacy Trust, Morgan Hunt was approached to recruit for this exciting position.
 

How did you hear about the Trustee post at DKHLT?
"Morgan Hunt was involved in the recruitment for a senior role at the British Heart Foundation and Ben Pountney approached me directly with the Trustee role at the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust."

What influenced your decision to apply for the post?
"Having previously been a Trustee of a small charity, I was looking for a trusteeship for a cause I was passionate about, where I felt I could make a valued contribution."

With DKHLT being one of the fastest growing charities in the UK it must be an exciting time to be on the board. How does the charity plan to build on this success and continue to grow and develop in the future?

"It is a very exciting time to be involved with the Trust. Part of my role is to provide support and guidance on fundraising. Managing rapid growth and ensuring it is sustainable can be challenging, but the Trust is ensuring that it diversifies its income generation activities to provide a stable base moving forward."
 

How does your role as a Trustee differ from your role as Director of Fundraising at the British Heart Foundation? What are your typical responsibilities as a Trustee?
"The role is quite different, but there are some similarities. As a Trustee I have responsibility for governance and strategy, but I am also able to provide support, guidance and expertise in fundraising."

What's the most rewarding aspect of your role?
"The most rewarding aspect of the role is seeing and hearing the difference that we make to the lives of young people. Some of the stories are quite inspirational."
 

How do you feel your skills and experience complement those of your fellow board members?
"It is a fantastic board of Trustees, with each bringing different skills and experience to the table. Some of the Trustees have been involved in the Trust since it started, and have managed and guided the organisation through phenomenal growth. Understanding where an organisation has come from is a really important part of supporting its development in the future."
 

What qualities and attributes do you think are essential for anyone looking to get on the board of Trustees for a high profile charity such as DKHLT and what advice would you give for those wanting to pursue a Trustee post?
"Different organisations will be looking for different skills and attributes, depending upon the type of charity and the current constitution of the board. It can be incredibly rewarding, but it is also a significant commitment. Make sure it is a cause you are passionate about and can fully meet the expectations of the role and the organisation. I would recommend to anyone who cares about making a difference and has skills to offer to pursue a Trustee post."