Job Opportunities Abound with a Background in Marketing and Journalism

OXFORD, MS – Students pursing degrees in Journalism and Integrated Marketing Communications have plenty of job opportunities waiting for them after completion of graduation or even as they pursue a summer internship while obtaining their degree.

Sarah Sapp, manager of marketing and communications in the School of Applied Sciences, received a bachelor’s in Integrated Marketing Communications and her Master of Arts in journalism from the University of Mississippi.

“You can apply for a wide variety of jobs, from content creation and news or PR writing to advertising and marketing positions,” Sapp said. “Every industry needs good communicators, not just advertising agencies or news organizations. Everything from hospitality and tourism to healthcare and education—every business needs someone who can communicate clearly the features and benefits of what the business is offering. Social media is huge, so many organizations are hiring digital media specialists who can handle the demands of the public to see a company presence across channels.”

As students seek out what is next for them in their career or next job opportunity there are multiple directions that these degrees will take you. Those who find themselves working in this industry are not limited to what they can do. The future is bright in the field of marketing and journalism.

“I see all these fields growing every day,” Sapp said. “Savvy customers expect great advertising, marketing, social media, direct mail, so there is a need for great communicators. With the explosive growth of smaller, independent online retailers, digital advertising and social media are especially important for reaching potential customers.”

There is great upside for job candidates who have a marketing and journalism background because they carry a wide variety of skills. Having a background in both fields sets you up for great success because the candidate understands how to market the company and then can translate that into a news release into marketing language for the public relations side of the company.

“The benefit of having a background in marketing and journalism is that you are able to understand the business and market research side of integrated marketing communications, and you are a great writer,” Sapp said.

“There are a lot of potential employees looking for work who only have one of the two skill sets but having both offers you the opportunity to apply for jobs that use a convergence method of IMC, meaning they hire one worker to manage print, direct mail, email, public relations, and advertising. As someone who has hired people for jobs in communications, I only have interest in candidates who can write ad copy and news stories, as my office functions with the convergence method.”

As someone who has background in both integrated marketing communications and journalism, she has been a great asset to the employers that she has worked for throughout her career.

“Since day one in my very first job and almost every job since, I have been tasked with writing public relations news stories and advertising/marketing language,” Sapp said. “Having both degrees ensured that I had the confidence to do both. Being able to work across disciplines opened big opportunities for me to lead an entire communications division in the community college setting and then return to Ole Miss where I do the same thing for the School of Applied Sciences.”

In a world where companies are relying on social media and digital marketing more than ever in the history of our country, job opportunities in marketing and journalism are not declining any time soon.