Employer Disclosures

          Considering that 49 states are “At Will”, there should be a lot more disclosure when employers post/list job opportunities; wouldn’t you agree? Why is there so much secrecy about a job listing, are they hiding what you are actually doing, that you get no personal time to spend with your family and to have a life, that they expect everything of you and only give you what the absolutely have to? Nowhere near enough of us are asking important questions in job interviews, nor are we demanding that more, particular, information is given before and during the interviews, and hopefully I am not the only one that has asked the employer to initial next to my initials and sign under my name, so they are also held accountable for things listed in contracts.

          The follow is a copy of compensation and responsibilities for a “marketing specialist” job posted on indeed. I will italicize the copied material, and provide my personal insight beside it inside of brackets…

Compensation

Will vary depending on experience. [Range: $40K-$70K…] [this, is a decent salary range, until you explore the responsibilities.]

Responsibilities

· Conduct market research to find answers about consumer requirements, habits, and trends… [This is a completely different position, which is an analyst or research position.]

· Brainstorm and develop ideas for creative marketing campaigns… [This is a legitimate role for this position]

· Assist in outbound or inbound marketing activities by demonstrating expertise in various areas (content development and optimization, advertising, events planning etc.)… [Again, another legitimate role]

· Liaise with external vendors to execute promotional events and campaigns… [Now, this one is a little tricky, and will vary depending on the size of your company {or potential company}. There are several different positions which could in fact be responsible for this position. I recommend finding out the hierarchy of the company and then making this determination.]

· Collaborate with marketing and other professionals to coordinate brand awareness and marketing efforts… [Yet another legitimate responsibility for the “specialist” position.]

· Plan and execute initiatives to reach the target audience through appropriate channels (social media, e-mail, TV etc.)… [This is an entirely different field. Something that I am presently learning. There is a huge difference in marketing and DIGITAL MARKETING, which is what this description should be tailored towards. I can talk to people, I can talk to a crowd, I can gain trust and build relationships in person easily enough. But let’s try this, turn to the wall, wherever it is. Now talk to it, introduce yourself, try to have a conversation, attempt to get feedback from it. About the only thing you can somewhat do is get the feedback, and that will be in the form of determining your tone and volume. That is what starting in the social media marketing {SMM} is like. Until you get interactions and build an audience so you can better tailor your content.]

· Assist in analyzing marketing data (campaign results, conversion rates, traffic etc.) to help shape future marketing strategies… [Yet another responsibility that is designed for a different position. Same as before though, analyst or research]

· Undertake individual tasks of a marketing plan as assigned… [You have to LOVE descriptions like this… is a pretty much stating that you will be doing whatever is assigned to you, whenever it is assigned, experience or not, no extra pay, but if you mess it up you’re gone. Another way you will see this is “completely other tasks as assigned by supervisor”. ALWAYS be cautious of the ‘etc.’]

· Coordinate and implement any HR needs assigned by the Director… [I mean seriously, the job is spelled out right in the description. HR, human resources.]

· Implement internal needs such as Flu Clinics, company events, etc… [This one could be another job for HR, but the advertising of said job would fall under marketing specialist, unless it is strictly internal… then it is HR].

          So now let’s revisit that initial salary, for simplicity I am going to average the salaries…

*Marketing Specialist= 55k/yr

Marketing Analyst= 49.5k/yr (ziprecruiter)

Marketing Research= 53k/yr (money.usnew)

HR Coordinator= 48.5k/yr (ziprecruiter)

          Using the median of these four salaries, and rounding down, that equals approximately 117k/yr. A GROSS underpayment of 77k-47k/yr. Yet, you have to go in everyday knowing this, with a smile on, working ungodly hours, getting little if any credit, and seldom getting any type of recognition. Now, I use to be one of those that didn’t like or want recognition, but with experience, I have now a better appreciation for it. I don’t want to work for you for years with no recognition, so no knowledge if I’m doing a good job, need to improve, or just need to rethink my career choices, until you go in on Monday and get let go of… Welcome to the “At Will” work culture of the United States.

          Employers should be required to provide as much of the job as humanly possible. There of course will be aspects that they may forget or may not know, because it’s not their job. This is understandable. Too many of them though, are too comfortable with the “etc” portion of the job description though, and not enough of us are requiring more information.

          Salaries, duties, hours and days, holidays, vacation, these are things that they SHOULD know and share. Growth potential, whether it be vertical, lateral, or even the opportunity to learn A new position in general, these should be disclosed as well. Not everyone wants all the money. For some of us, the knowledge is a little more important. So, if I’m only making 55k a year for you, doing four jobs, I am going to gather as much knowledge as I possibly can. I will take as many notes as possible and be a part of as many meetings as allowed. So, if the day comes and my position is eliminated for what ever reason, instead of looking for another marketing specialist position, I am now looking for Business Planning, Marketing Manager, Advertising Manager, and anything else I can think of that I can use my newly procured skills to land. Perhaps even switching fields, to HR now that I am familiar with that, or Data Analyst?

          Supervisors think of managers, managers think of store managers, and the chain goes up… the grunts, the ones doing the work, making the sales, helping the people. They tend to think of not getting fired so they can take their family to a circus, or the fair, or go to a movie theatre to see that new movie the kids have been wanting to see, or any number of other things, to include the people they are helping. The hierarchy needs to remember that without them, their easy life gets a lot harder and dirtier if they must return to the sales floor, where they know virtually nothing. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am sure there are owners out there that take pride in staying close with their staff and patrons, this is not to them. This is for us, the workers, that make their lives possible. I hope this encourages you to stand up. Take your life back into your hands. Walmart may now value you, but target might. Lowes may not value you, but Home Depot might. These are just examples, for all I know they may all be horrible or all great. I know, Walmart isn’t that great, but they do offer you knowledge. I started as an Unloader over nights, and withing a few months was offered dept. manager. Little did I Know though that the dept was awful, and only a couple of people actually willing to work would be there. But I got to learn product display which led to advertising and sparked my interest in marketing.

          Let me leave you with this… if you leave any job and feel like it did absolutely nothing for you, you waisted the time of your life while you where there. You could have been learning. 100K/yr may seem like a decent amount, but it means nothing if you do not know how to spend it. Learn a different job, different responsibilities, learn patience, learn how to approach, and speak to people. You can learn just about anything from almost every job if you just WANT TO. So, for that next job interview, don’t stop at “how much will I make”, add in “what will I have the opportunity to learn” and ask, “what is the growth potential”. I promise, you will have a better chance of getting the job then, with those 2 simple questions, because that interviewer is going to remember you.