Careers

Number of marketing/advertising internships you do. You need to complete at least one internship, preferably two, during your college career. (If you didn't do any internships, one way to start your marketing or advertising career is to do a post-graduate internship to gain some experience in order to make yourself more competitive with other college graduates.) The more work experiences you have, the more competitive you'll be. You have to do internships whether your university gives you academic credit or not. Through internships you also produce work that helps to demonstrate to companies that you can do what you say you can do. Showing potential employers what you can do is better than telling them.

Number of activities outside the classroom you participate in. Have you joined your college chapter of the American Marketing Association? Do you volunteer for a community organization, e.g. Habitat for Humanity, Red Cross? Are you a doer vs. a joiner? Selecting one or two activities outside the classroom and really getting involved is beneficial to your future career. Employers want doers. Outside activities stress what you can do for the company: contribute to the bottomline of the company's profits and increase goodwill toward your company through your volunteer activities.

Number of professionals you keep in touch with. Networking with professionals is key. Start with staying in touch with your internship supervisors. They know or know someone else who knows where the job openings are and, in turn, can alert you to them. Networking is the best way to know where the opportunities are throughout your career. A social network that's great for professional networking and learning about relevant career opportunities is LinkedIn. Sign up today. Start networking. Keep networking. Never stop networking.

Number of professors in your program who know you. You need to form good connections with your professors. Getting to know your professors and vice versa is critical because your professors are needed as references for internships and jobs. If you don't list professors as references, professionals who know them will call anyway and ask what they think of your potential. Get to know your professors.

Number of job boards bookmarked on your laptop. The American Marketing Association has a job board. Check it often. Next, talk to a representative at your university's Career Center, and get recommendations on other good job boards. (Professionals at your Career Center also can help you with your cover letters and résumés, answer all kinds of questions, as well as run you through practice interviews.) Avoid putting yourself out on job boards such as Career Builder and Monster. You'll get better results on jobs sites that cater to marketing and advertising professionals.