| Topic Name: |
Addressing (widening) gap in employment |
| Message Name: |
Correcto |
| Date Posted: |
02/25/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
I've been applying for this type of job. Consumer product companies generally hire people from one of four area for their marketing jobs.
1. People with experience in the same job, although a product, brand or marketing manager with one company may have completely different responsibilities than one from another in the same industry. For example, although now they are part of the same company, Nabisco product managers would be given P & L responsibility and could run the brand or area that was their individual fiefdom almost as if it was their business, while Kraft people had responsibility for only one or two things.
2. New MBAs, get hired for these spots, despite the fact that most MBA marketing concentrations teach little relevant information.
3. The company's sales force. Many packaged goods companies switch people back and forth between sales and marketing to broaden their experience and this I think is a good thing. The sales people have at least detailed knowledge of the product line. However, although this a good thing, those transfered out of sales without marketing experience do suffer fom a knowledge gap.
4. Those who come from advertising agencies and other marketing and media service organizations. Generally, people in this category, have had the potential employer as a client (which increases the likelyhood of this type of person being hired) or atleast have worked with accounts in the same industry. I'm in this category. Despite this being a relatively common practice, many HR people ignore this and only accept cookie cutter people, even if the person with the advertising industry background spells out everywhere that they have more experience in every component in the marketing mix than someone from a competing comp-any who got the job right out of B school a couple of years before and worked for a company with the Kraft model as oppossed to the Nabisco model. Or if they do consider people with marketing service backgrounds, they ingnore people who haven't worked for big name shops, despite the fact that a person's skill set may be better in terms of diversity and depth in specific areas than someone with biggername shop. |
| Message: |
Good point about the MBA. In trying to cover every aspect of business, they sacfifice depth, so that even their "concentration" is very shallow. An MS is really a better bet, but only after acquiring several years of experience first.
Also, R2, I must say that the entire posting is very well done -- perhaps your best ever. See what can happen when you stop calling people pinheads?
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