Technology has placed marketing as a coveted profession again. From social media and Internet to AI and machine learning, companies are seeing the value derived from the evolving communications, openness, automation, and data generated. Eager to take advantage, companies are investing in their marketing resources to up their game.

It’s only natural that professionals from all walks of life are flocking towards marketing functions and departments.

People with technical backgrounds, e.g., programmers, are in high demand, and they are answering the call. Welcome aboard. Nevertheless, having those skills does not automatically guarantee their performance as marketers.

We all have to be careful here; forgetting what a marketer is — foundationally — poses a risk that looms when everyone is so caught up in the latest fad and trend.

Marketing is not for everybody. If this is how you think or sound during an interview, it may reveal that marketing is the wrong fit for you:

1) “I think I can come up with a machine learning algorithm that will minimize human conversations with clients and the need to listen to whiny consumers.”

Client relations and consumer insights are cornerstone in marketing. Marketers look for efficient ways to interact and listen more, not less. Marketers are sales people first.

2) — “So tell me, what is a hashtag? — “A hashtag is a symbol we use to tell the operating system with which program to run the script.” — “I see. Are you on social media?” — “Well, I don’t have a Facebook or Instagram account, but I have one on GitHub.”

Marketers know what is going on in the world around them. Marketers are curious knowledge-seekers that can see the forest for the trees.

3) “Function is everything! The packaging, aesthetics, and ‘form’ are just the container and vehicle to deliver the function.”

Marketers are brand builders. They give as much weight to form as to function. Marketers sell experiences, not just technical specs.

4) “…Some clients click on buy and some others don’t, but that’s the way it is. It’s normal.”

Marketers understand that customers behave differently. Nevertheless, they are obsessed with understanding the why behind the what. Marketers are analytical and nonconformists.

5) “I apply the ‘rule of 3’: if it doesn’t happen by the third attempt, it’s not meant to be.”

Marketing is a long game, creating brand awareness and generating demand and revenue takes time. Marketers are persistent.

6) “I need absolute silence to work.”

Marketing departments are not a WWE show, but they are not graveyards either. Marketers are social creatures that interact daily with teammates and other departments.

If you are interested in switching to a marketing career or are starting out in any capacity at a company, use these simple scenarios to compare with your beliefs and internal dialogue, and see if you are, essentially, a marketer.

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