Ken Schmitt, Founder and CEO or TurningPoint Executive Search, recently sat down with Mary Beth McCabe, National University Lead Faculty and Owner of Sun Marketing, to discuss the necessary skills and experiences her Master of Science in Marketing students need to be ready and relevant in the ever-changing world of digital and traditional marketing.
“As a 20+ year veteran professor, I am passionate about closing the gap between education and employment. I’m always looking at the bigger strategic picture and my program reflects that. Each course requires students to identify, demonstrate, and master the skills necessary to be successful,” says McCabe.
Owning a firm that works directly with employers looking to hire top Marketing talent, Ken has a lot of insight to share. During their discussion, he emphasized the importance of strong verbal and written communication skills, noting written skills are sorely lacking and organizations are taking notice. Collaboration and integration experience are two more skills in high demand, says Ken. Recognizing that marketing is no longer simply about branding, collaboration with other departments outside marketing is imperative.
“Marketing continues to evolve. To be competitive in the job market, graduates have to have both technical knowledge of and hands-on experience with all facets, from product development, product marketing, and sales enablement to lead/demand generation, social media/digital marketing, and paid vs earned content. Additionally, thought leadership and technical writing in both short-form and long-form, as well as expertise in learning how to use visuals to tell a company’s story, will make a candidate stand out miles above the competition,” Schmitt said.
These are the real-world skills and experiences McCabe used to revamp her Masters program. “If the content is not relevant to the working world, it’s gone,” she says. Her program’s high graduation/completion rate demonstrates that her students find the coursework both interesting and beneficial.
Contact Ken to discuss building and growing your marketing team.
For more information on Mary Beth McCabe’s Master of Science in Marketing program, click here.
