The consumer products industry produces and markets practically every item an individual can purchase: from canned soup to wrinkle cream, chewing gum to washing machines -- and everything in between. To get a handle on the market, analysts often divide it into two categories, durable and nondurable goods. As the names imply, the former comprises items with (relative) staying power, like home furnishings, jewelry and electronics. The latter includes more ephemeral merchandise, with a life expectancy of fewer than three years, like soap, clothing, personal care items, and office and cleaning supplies.

Others, however, break the industry down into products that are staples and those that are discretionary -- the difference between what consumers need and what they'd like to have. But however long they're intended to last, and whether consumers need them or not, these disparate elements are all unified by a common trait: the overwhelming majority of products in the market are sold under a brand name.

Brands exist ostensibly as a way for consumers to differentiate one manufacturer's goods from another -- but, of course, they mean a lot more than that. Effective brands communicate with consumers on an emotional level through advertising, as well as previous experiences with the product. The brand promises (among other things) to make the consumer feel happier, more successful, more efficient or more popular.

Brands consist of two parts: the associations with the brand that the marketers and advertisers wish to cultivate in the minds of consumers, called the brand identity, and the idea of the brand that actually exists in the minds of consumers, called the brand image. Of course, there can be considerable disconnect between the brand identity and the brand image, since a brand's image can be affected by all manner of scandal, rumor and negative press. There can also be a disconnect between the brand image and brand identity when the target audience fails to respond to the brand or finds it undesirable.

Marshaling the troops

Since it is such an important part of the industry, there are many job opportunities associated with branding and marketing. While each company organizes its people in a slightly different manner, consumer products companies generally have a team of people specializing in each of their brands, in order to coordinate the efforts of the various departments whose work affect them, like research and development, advertising, manufacturing, product design, packaging design and sales, among others.

Typically, a team consists of a brand manager who heads up the operation, more junior associate brand managers and entry-level assistant brand managers. The team works with the aforementioned departments to drive brand awareness and consumption. These brand teams are then organized by region and function -- for instance, all the personal care brands for the Americas might be grouped together, and all the food brands for Europe and so on. Since consumer products companies are frequently large, multinational concerns, they often shuttle people from place to place, which allows workers to gain valuable experience in foreign markets.

Branding is also a fertile field for consultants, for those who would prefer to work with a wider variety of products or companies. Related job functions include market research, which determines why people buy the things they do (and how to get them to buy more), public relations and product management, which aims to develop new products in response to consumer demand. Other job functions at consumer products companies include positions in manufacturing and quality control, HR, IT, legal and accounting.

Forging ahead

While some marketing departments hire students straight out of college, advancing in this line of work usually requires an MBA, especially if one intends to reach the post of brand manager. To gain more experience, it's advisable to start at smaller companies and smaller brands -- while it may seem cool when everyone knows what you're working on, it may be difficult to make much of a difference to the brand.

In addition, marketers should gain as much experience as possible in a wide variety of products -- and experience in working abroad will help give a new perspective as well. Students fresh out of college usually start out as assistant brand managers, and are generally promoted to associate brand managers within a year or two. After 12 months as an associate brand manager, hires can head up their own smaller brand for a year or so before being moved onto a more important and profitable brand. Beyond that, he or she can be promoted to the position of category manager, developing strategies for a whole clutch of brands.

Brace yourself for the interrogation

Ready for the interview? Vault sources agree that job seekers in the consumer products industry should come armed with a good idea of why they're seeking a particular position at a particular company, and be able to articulate that reason clearly. Having a good grasp of the company's situation in the industry and history will help, as well (good thing you're holding this guide!).

Be prepared for several rounds of interviews -- sources reported undergoing as few as two to as many as seven interviews. Behavioral questions were the most common sort reported by hires -- the type of questions that begin, "Tell me about a time when &" Interviewees should also be able to field questions about their skills and past job experience. Some marketing positions will ask potential hires (especially MBAs) to analyze an advertisement or answer a case question.

Keeping up the goods work

Marketing is well known as a cyclical industry that rises and falls in step with the state of the economy. Market corrections may slow things down temporarily, but since the economy, by definition, consists of people buying and selling things, as the economy grows, so will companies' marketing efforts. What shape these efforts might take in the future, however, remains to be seen. As consumers are increasingly intolerant of (or immune to) traditional modes of advertising, marketers will increasingly rely on cleverer ways to make products stand out in an overstaturated marketplace.