Digital Marketing and Communication Skills Needed at Marketing Employers

Employers want ready made marketing graduates that have the skills to start work quickly upon hire. Research has found that two primary skills are missing in higher education that could impact the ability of graduates to effectively work on the job. 

The most important employer needs of marketing graduates includes 1.) digital marketing specialties; and, 2.) effective communication skills (primarily writing) (McArthur, et. al. 2017). 

Digital marketing specialties include the ability to function with specific technologies common to employers. This may be social media tools, data bases, and other online methods of "getting the word out". 

Communication skills is important in any office setting but is very important in marketing where small changes in word usage could impact the meaning of the entire message. Marketing graduates will need strong written communication tools to effectively compete. 

McArthur, E., Krzysztof, K., Pang, B. & Alcaraz, C. (2017). The Employers’ View of “Work-Ready” Graduates: A Study of Advertisements for Marketing Jobs in Australia. Journal of Marketing Education, 39 (2).