Interview with a Director of Marketing

Interview with a Director of Marketing

Considered working as a Director of Marketing? This interview will take you through the ups and downs you can expect in the position, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more. This is a true career story as told to MarketingJobs.org and is one of many interviews with marketing professionals which among others include VP Marketing and Marketing & Media Relations.

Every Day Is Different

I currently serve as the Director of Marketing for a company in the construction industry and I have eight years of experience in this field.

Marketers Hire These Top Providers w/ ExpertRating status and more.

justoutsourcing

First things first, every day is different, and often I don’t end up working on the projects I had planned to when I walked in the door. My job duties include everything from writing and proofreading marketing materials and press releases, to scheduling photography of our projects, to organizing and planning events, to sitting in on meetings regarding processes and protocol within our department.

I think one of the common misperceptions about what I, and other in my department do, is that we always get to work on the fun stuff. What everyone else doesn’t always see is all of the hard work and time that goes into planning “fun” events and that we are often still working while everyone else is enjoying them.

My Job Satisfaction Is An 8

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would say my job satisfaction is an 8. I absolutely love what I do and I love having the opportunity to have a hand in so many different types of projects. One thing I never am at work is bored. There just isn’t time for it. If a few minor things changed, I truly think my job satisfaction could be in the 10 range.

For instance, I wish our leadership team was a little more involved in the day-to-day decisions, or at least a little more willing to help remove obstacles so we could focus on accomplishing our jobs to the best of our ability, rather than placing more obstacles in front of us, which is sometimes the case and very counterproductive.

I truly do feel as though I have found my calling in life. I love working in a team atmosphere, having the ability to be creative on a regular basis, utilize my writing skills and feel as though I am helping a company to progress (whether it be by creating a corporate blog, ramping up our e-marketing campaigns or simply giving my input as to how we can better brand our organization).

I Wouldn’t Change A Thing

I actually just happened to stumble across the world of marketing while I was in college. I was majoring in English with a minor in Communications, but I had no desire to teach. I loved the written word and was a fairly good communicator, but I have to admit, I was completely unsure what I was going to do for a career once I graduated. One of my roommates, a Business major, alerted me to a marketing internship opportunity with a local architectural firm.

I interviewed, got the internship and the rest is history. I really loved that the position required me to be creative, utilize my writing skills and learn about graphic design. After college, and one year working for a small manufacturing company, I applied for a marketing position with a construction firm and I am still with them today. The fact that I had some history in the architectural/construction world was definitely a plus during the hiring process.

As for whether or not I would do things differently if I had the chance, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve met so many wonderful people and learned so many incredible things that I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world.

It Was More a Culmination of Occurrences and Comments

I work in a very male-dominated industry and women are not always given the respect they deserve. Coming out of college this was a bit shocking, because in the world of academia I never felt discriminated against because of my gender. As for what led up to learning this lesson, it was more a culmination of occurrences and comments, not one specific incident.

The most important things I have learned outside of school about the working world are that perfect grades do not mean you will shoot directly up the corporate ladder and that the working world is not always fair or ethical. Both are definitely hard lessons to learn.

I think the strangest thing that has ever happened to me in this job was being asked to help my boss’ daughter with her homework. I literally had to come into the office one Saturday to help her create a PowerPoint presentation for one of her high school classes. Definitely not a job duty I was informed of prior to accepting the position.

Hard Work, Determination And Promise

I’m a very intrinsically motivated person, so when things are running smoothly, I take a great pride in being a part of a well-oiled machine. I also just like hearing from someone, whether it’s a supervisor or another colleague, that I did a nice job on something. For me, a “thank you” or “great job” from someone I respect motivates me a lot more than a few extra cents on my paycheck.

While working in my first position, marketing coordinator, for my current employer, I decided to go back to school to earn my MBA. Prior to graduating with that degree I was promoted to Director of Marketing. That was probably the most rewarding experience I’ve had in my professional career. It’s always wonderful to be recognized for your hard work, determination and promise.

As for the projects I’ve worked on in this position and the one that I am most proud of, I would have to say that it is assisting with the re-branding of our organization. We’ve gone through quite the culture change during my tenure, and it was so amazing to take part in helping to “design” the experience and figure out how to make it into something tangible.

Challenging Moments

I think the types of situations that I struggle the most to deal with are ones that involve individuals who are unwilling to really listen and ones that involve people who are unwilling to lend a helping hand. Working for a company typically means that everyone within it has the same goal: to grow the business and make it successful. I think people sometimes forget that and get so focused in on their specific tasks that they forget it’s a team sport.

The most challenging moment I’ve had at work was meeting with my supervisor to discuss my “career path.” I work for a very flat organization, there just aren’t many levels, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to grow within my position, the department and the company. There are no formalized programs or means for advancement within my organization, it’s more if you prove yourself, they will figure out a way for you to “move up.” I was just hoping that the process would be a little more structured (i.e. if I do A, B and C I’ll advance to X).

As for moments I’d like to forget, those would have to be the ones where I let my emotions get the best of me. I am very passionate about what I do, but I do not always do the best job of harnessing that passion to make it purposeful, rather than a distraction.

The stress level of my job varies from day-to-day and project-to-project. There are times when it is running high, but I’ve found that those times often produce my best work. As for maintaining a comfortable and healthy work-life balance, I try my best, but I don’t always succeed.

I’ve just determined that there are going to be times when work dominates my life and times when I need to invest added time at home. It’s all about achieving a balance that I can deal with, with the understanding that it’s a continual process and something that I need to constantly to work to achieve.

I Could Always Use More Money

I would say the salary range for my position is between $60,000 and $80,000. I feel that I am paid a fair wage, but like everyone else, I could always use more money. Due to the current state of the economy we have had a wage freeze for the past two years, which is disappointing because even though the company might not being doing incredibly well, that doesn’t mean that as employees we aren’t giving our all.

I am entitled to three weeks of vacation per year, the maximum for any employee within our organization. It would be nice to have a few more days because I think it is extremely important to get a break from work, to unwind and recharge. I typically do come back to work after a vacation with new ideas and a renewed sense of motivation to get back into the swing of things.

I would say a college degree is necessary to land a job in the corporate world of marketing, but I’m not necessarily sure that one is necessary to succeed. I think a better indicator of success would be one’s level of creativity, ability to undertake new challenges (on a regular basis), communication skills and willingness to remain with a task until it’s completed to perfection.

Skills, Talents, and Values

If I had a friend considering the possibility of joining the field of marketing, I would strongly encourage them to do so, as long as it was in line with their likes, their skills, their talents and their values. I spend more time at work than I do at home, as many people in the working world do, which means I better really like what I do or I will end up spending the entire day staring at the clock. Everyone has to earn a paycheck, but I know I’m a lot better off earning it doing something that I love.

Honestly, if I could be anywhere that I wanted to be in five years, career-wise, I would simply like to still be doing what I love on a daily basis while remaining challenged with new and exciting projects and experiences. I love the team I get to work with on a daily basis and I hope those types of relationships will still remain. I feel pretty lucky, because as it is, I get to come to work every day, be creative and work with really creative people. When work stops feeling like work and starts feeling like fun, you know you are one of the lucky ones, and I feel like I am.