I’d like to share advanced tips on how you can land your next digital marketing job. Before we get into the tips, however, I’d like to share some background trends that directly affect the job market.

Background Trend 1: The Economy

We are certainly progressing in the economic cycle. We are almost 7-years into the economic upswing that started on January 1, 2009 when the S&P 500 bottomed at 797.87. Fast forward to September 23, 2015 and the S&P 500 is at 1,938.76, an increase of 143% from the low. (Data compliments of Yahoo! Finance.) Currently, the S&P 500 is hovering around all-time highs.

What does all of this mean? Investors are starting to get cautious. While the economy always marches forward, it’s not always in a uniform, straight line. That forward march is marked with peaks and troughs. As you get close to a peak (many think we are getting close now), investors tend to remain cautious. They tend to park cash on the sidelines in anticipation of uncertain times and potential future deals.

In my opinion, employers are a class of investors. Instead of investing in stocks, they invest in people, projects, and technology. Companies have a fixed investment budget, and that budget may be getting a little more cautious than it was a few years back. Of course, this does not apply to all situations, I’m speaking more in general. Also, it’s worth noting that this generalization is really difficult to apply to Silicon Valley tech scene that always seems to march onward and upward!

Background Trend 2: Our Profession

Digital marketing has matured as a career path. Back when I started in 2004, nobody had heard of digital marketing. It was the Wild West! I’ll never forget that it was nearly impossible to explain my job to others.

In the last 11+ years, a lot has happened. Our profession is the darling of job seekers everywhere. There are a lot of digital marketers out there. The talent pool is strong, and getting stronger every single day. I equate it to getting into Stanford. While it was incredibly, incredibly difficult getting into Stanford when I applied and attended, I’m sure it’s even more difficult now. The trend is towards more competition.

The Solution: Differentiate Yourself

Now, let’s say you’re in the market for a new digital marketing job. Are you going to let these trends frighten you? Are you going to give up? As someone who just started a new job a few months back, I personally encourage everyone reading to pursue your dreams. Your dream job may be your current one. Or, it may be something completely different!

How can you stand out in today’s dynamic job market? I just wrote an incredibly thorough guest blog post on this very topic over at the incomparable Acquisio blog! Please head on over and read my post on Ways To Stand Out In the Digital Marketing Job Market. I hope you enjoy the post!