Prepare for jobs in digital marketing and e-commerce

You will engage in a series of interactive activities based on concepts you’ve explored and skills you’ve gained throughout the program. You’ll also explore job readiness skills, develop your resume, and practice interviewing for jobs.

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Dedication to study

• Videos: 1 h 01 min

• Leitura: 5 h 50 min

• Teste: 1 Teste com avaliação

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Learning Objectives

• Complete a portfolio scenario to prepare for job interviews.
• Find, apply for, and prepare for interviews and jobs.
• Put together a portfolio and/or resume to present to employers.
• Describe how to create a portfolio and present it to employers.
• Describe how to find, apply for, and interview for a job.

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Content

1. Apply your skills to a workplace scenario
2. Prepare a portfolio for job interviews
3. Prepare for digital and e-commerce interviews
4. Answer interview questions
5. Develop an elevator pitch
6. Review: Prepare for jobs in digital marketing and e-commerce
7. Course review: Satisfaction guaranteed: Develop customer loyalty online

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1. Apply your skills to a workplace scenario

Welcome to week 3

• Video Duration: 59 seconds

In 2020, global changes in the world forced people to stay in their homes. With many people not being able to shop in person, the demand for online sales rose significantly. A report in 2021 found that the number of digital buyers reached 2.14 billion. That is just over one-quarter of the world’s population. This large increase led to a growth in e-commerce jobs for candidates like you. Many of you who decided to take this program did so with intention of obtaining one of those new jobs. Now that you’ve learned a vast amount of knowledge about digital marketing and e-commerce, it’s time to get a job. In this section of the course, I’ll help you prepare for the job interview process. We’ll complete a project-based scenario, then we’ll explore the job interview process, including how to prepare a portfolio for a job application and how to create a resume. Then we’ll move on to prepare for the interview process and learn what you can expect during the interview. To wrap up, we’ll discuss common interview questions. We’re nearing the end of the program.

Project introduction

• Video Duration: 35 seconds

Are you ready for a challenge? Up until this point, I’ve been guiding you through videos that I have introduced or tested you on new concepts related to the best e-commerce business practices. Now it’s time for you to put those skills to the test. In this section of the course, you’ll complete a scenario-based project. The section is meant to prepare you for a future in e-commerce and digital marketing by giving you a glimpse of the duties or task you might encounter in the workplace. Once you’re finished, this project can also be used to demonstrate your knowledge to potential employers. Move on to the next course items to learn more about the expectations for this project

End of course project overview

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

Congratulations on making it to the last section of the course.

Coming up, you will complete a series of scenario-based activities. The purpose of these activities is to demonstrate your ability to apply the concepts you’ve learned throughout the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate to a roleplay scenario.

Scenario Overview

The Sinclair Verde Lamp Company is an in-store furniture retailer based in Phoenix, Arizona. What makes their company unique is that they are committed to reducing waste by transforming unwanted products into lamps in a process known as “upcycling.” A portion of each sale they make is donated to non-profit environmental support groups.

Recently, the company created an online store. Their overall goals for their online store are to create awareness of their brand and drive visits to their physical store.

To help achieve their goal, they’ve enlisted the help of Good Mercury Marketing—a digital marketing and e-commerce agency where you work as an entry-level employee—to create a digital marketing strategy plan.

Digital Marketing Strategy

The key details of the plan are listed in the table below:

Coming up

Your role is to support digital marketing and e-commerce efforts. Coming up, you will be asked to complete specific tasks to achieve your client’s marketing and sales objectives, including pre-launch and post-launch duties.

Activity: Create an internal marketing proposal

• Practice Quiz. 1 question. Grade: 100%
  • Access Quiz:

• On Step 1: Access the template

To use the template for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

Link to template: Internal marketing proposal

Activity Exemplar: Create an internal marketing proposal

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations for the activity.

Completed Exemplar

To review the exemplar for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

• Link to exemplar: Internal marketing proposal

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed internal marketing proposal. Review your work using each of the criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

Note: The exemplar represents one possible way to complete the activity. Your internal marketing proposal will likely differ in certain ways.

Let’s review each section of the internal marketing proposal:

• Step 1: Select up to two marketing strategies and explain

Summary: The strategies social media marketing and video marketing are selected and an explanation is given about what key facts lead to selecting these strategies.

• Step 2: Select one content bucket

Summary: In this section, the inspirational content bucket was selected. The explanation connects the strong brand message to its potential customers. The explanation also includes where the advertisements will appear and why.

Activity: Adjust your campaign keywords

• Practice Quiz. 1 question. Grade: 100%

  • Access Quiz:

• On Step 1: Access the template

To use the template for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

• Link to template: Keyword adjustment

Activity Exemplar: Adjust your campaign keywords

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations for the activity.

Completed Exemplar

To review the exemplar for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

• Link to exemplar: Keyword adjustment

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed keyword adjustment exemplar. Review your work using each of the criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

Note: The exemplar represents one possible way to complete the activity. Your presentation will likely differ in certain ways.

Let’s review the tabs of the keyword adjustment exemplar.

Keywords

Summary: On the Keywords sheet tab, there is a list of keywords and their predicted impressions, predicted clickthrough rate, predicted clicks, predicted cost per click, and predicted cost.

Keyword Planner tab

Summary: On the Keyword Planner sheet tab, there are five keywords selected from the dropdown menu in the keywords column. Once selected, the following columns are populated with their respective data. At the bottom of the sheet, impressions, clicks, and total cost are calculated.

The selected keywords are: craft shops, art shops, art shopping, art, and upcycling crafts. The first two words were selected because they were most relevant to the items being sold. The next three were selected one by one to achieve a total cost under the allotted budget of $1000 USD.

Case study: How ShearShare recovered from unsuccessful ads

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

In this course, you’ve learned how to create Google Ads and understand what successful Google Ads can do for a business. In this reading, you’ll learn about a not-so-successful Google Ads campaign and how a company can recover and grow from missing their target audience with their ads.

ShearShare background

Based in McKinney, Texas, ShearShare is a space-as-a-service business that connects salon, barbershop, and spa owners with beauty and barbering professionals in need of affordable workspace. For example, if a hairstylist needs a salon chair or station for the day to cut or style someone’s hair, they can use ShearShare’s platform to book it. ShearShare’s mission is to be the greatest engine of jobs in the beauty and barber industry and empower people to power their businesses. ShearShare is reimagining how, when and where beauty and barbering professionals work.

Founders Dr. Tye and Courtney Caldwell own a barbershop and salon in Texas. One day, someone approached them asking to rent out a chair in their space for a day. They agreed and realized that not only did they love the process, but that other professionals might also be looking for workspace available by the day. Since there were no other businesses on the market catering to this need, they created ShearShare.

When other beauty professionals started renting the Caldwell’s space, they had proof of concept, and they created an official platform to accommodate users, which the image below shows. After that, they just needed to advertise their business properly.

The challenge

When ShearShare began its digital marketing journey, the founders weren’t necessarily Google Ads experts. However, they knew that relying on physical “help wanted” signs in storefronts and postings on online marketplaces, like Craigslist, were more aligned to how traditional salons and barbershops advertise their available space.

The team began by creating a Google Ads campaign and placing a bid for the phrase “rentable chair” in Search ads. They encountered a very high volume of downloads and thought their ad campaigns were a complete success. However, eventually, they realized their app uninstall numbers were excessively high as well—something wasn’t right.

Their high uninstall numbers were discovered to be related to the keyword “rentable chair.” This keyword turned out to be too broad, causing users to feel unsure about what they were signing up for. Instead of beauty and barber professionals downloading the app to rent salon space for the day, they had users who needed to rent folding chairs for events and other miscellaneous things downloading the app. Because their Search ads were too broad, they were missing their target audience, which resulted in a high number of app uninstalls.

The approach

When ShearShare hired its Head of Growth, Rob Abney, they created a strategy to recover from its foiled Google Ads campaign.

Rob knew that to decrease the uninstall numbers, the company needed to adjust their Search ads so it was no longer attracting unqualified traffic, or the users who had no intention of using ShearShare. His goal was to find the simplest phrase that would be descriptive enough to explain what ShearShare could offer, while still attracting a high volume of qualified traffic.

ShearShare pivoted by adjusting its keyword phrase to: “salon chairs for rent.” By making a minor adjustment, ShearShare ensured its ads found their target audience: beauty and barber professionals.

The results

For ShearShare, the benchmarks for measuring success in digital campaigns vary depending on what they are trying to achieve. In this case, the way it tracked recovery and results during its pivot away from using the keywords “rentable chair” to “salon chair for rent,” was to compare their current number of uninstalls to the number of uninstalls from the previous ad.

As expected, ShearShare noticed that their uninstalls, which previously were almost at 70%, decreased to 25% over two quarters with the added clarity and specificity of the new keyword search ad. ShearShare has managed to maintain that lower uninstall percentage ever since.

Conclusion

ShearShare learned that the most important thing when an ad fails is to reflect on the metrics to figure out why it failed. In this case, the high volume of uninstalls was the indicator that something was wrong. Thinking through the potential downsides in your ad strategy is one way to prevent future ad failures.

As long as your business is flexible enough to pivot and recover from a failed ad, it can actually be a positive thing, because every failed ad is a lesson learned, just like in the case of ShearShare.

Activity: Create a marketing report presentation

• Practice Quiz. 1 question. Grade: 100%
  • Access Quiz:

• On Step 1: Access the template

To use the template for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

• Link to template: Marketing report presentation

• On Step 2: Access supporting materials

The following supporting materials will help you complete this activity. Keep them open as you proceed to the next steps.

To use the supporting materials for this course item, click the links below and select “Use Template.”

• Link to supporting materials: Digital marketing strategy

AND

• Link to supporting materials: Analysis report

Activity Exemplar: Create a marketing report presentation

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations for the activity.

Completed Exemplar

To review the exemplar for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

Link to exemplar: Marketing report presentation

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed marketing report presentation. Review your work using each of the criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

Note: The exemplar represents one possible way to complete the activity. Your presentation will likely differ in certain ways.

Let’s review each section of the marketing report presentation.

Slide 2: The agenda

Summary: Slide 2 lists the upcoming sections of the presentation, including the goal, end of year overview, holiday season report, and the conclusion.

Slide 4: The goal

Summary: Slide 4 lists the three goals as stated in the digital marketing strategy.

Slides 5 -14: End of year overview

Summary: Slides 5–14 include data found in the analysis report. This includes organic traffic, social media mentions, Instagram followers, Instagram engagement, Twitter followers, and Twitter engagement.

Slide 16: Holiday season report

Summary: Slides 16–17 focus on a holiday season report. It includes a completed table that compares the 2020 and 2021 holiday seasons.

Slide 18: Conclusion

Summary: Slide 18 includes a conclusion paragraph that analyzes the information from slides 4–16. It also includes a prediction about the next year.

Resources for the workplace

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

The digital marketing and e-commerce field is constantly changing. As you move into your career, you’ll want to stay on top of current trends and knowledge about your industry.

This reading will provide a list of resources for you to learn from after completing this program.

Resource types

Podcasts

A podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device to listen or read a transcription. Podcasts are a great way to learn new things about your interests or hobbies. Like a television series, podcasts offer a variety of genres or categories, with each podcast episode focusing on different topics within that category. Digital marketing podcasts have become popular among digital marketing professionals. These resources are helpful for learning new trends about the industry in an entertaining way.

The simplest way to listen or read transcripts of podcasts is on a web browser. You can also find a variety of podcasts through audio apps like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Blogs

A blog is a discussion or informational website published on the internet consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries. Digital marketing and e-commerce blogs are helpful for learning the latest news, trends and best practices across the industry. Some digital tools presented in this program, like Shopify, offer blog posts on how to use their tools for various needs.

Google Ads Help Center

Google Ads Help Center provides users information on how Google Ads works through a variety of articles. Users can get answers to frequently asked questions and a better understanding of how Google Ads work.

Resources

• A Better Lemonade Stand: This resource offers articles to help e-commerce entrepreneurs develop better business practices.

• HubSpot: HubSpot is an American developer and marketer of software products for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service. Their blog offers many resources about digital marketing.

• Practical Ecommerce: Practical Ecommerce is an independent online magazine, whose mission is to publish informative articles, commentary, webinars, and podcasts to help online merchants. The magazine is not affiliated with any e-commerce service, platform, or provider.

• Shopify blog : Shopify’s blog offers articles to help people achieve e-commerce independence. The blog’s goal is to make it easier for users to start, run, and grow an online business.

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2. Prepare a portfolio for job interviews

Tips to prepare a portfolio for job applications

• Video Duration: 5 minutes

Hi again, how did you enjoy creating your scenario project? I hope that it gave you insight into the tasks you’ll face in the digital marketing and ecommerce industry. If you’ve been taking the courses of this program in order, you may remember me from an earlier video. If this is our first time meeting, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Erika, a people consultant at Google, also known elsewhere as an HR business partner. My job involves helping managers, leaders, and Google employees, grow in their roles, to help our organization reach their goals. Over the next few videos, I’ll be taking over for Mike to guide you through some job readiness skills content. Let’s get started. It’s time to explore e-commerce portfolios and how you can use them in the future to impress your interviewers. A portfolio is an edited collection of an individual’s best projects intended to showcase work experience, style, or methods. You may be able to visualize what a portfolio for a photographer, painter, or a fashion designer may be. If the portfolio belongs to an artist, it might include paintings or photographs. For digital marketers and e-commerce professionals, this might be a little different. For this field, portfolio should visually communicate assets and items you’ve created that relate to your experience with digital marketing and e-commerce. These items can include ads, social media posts, campaigns, videos, email marketing examples, and much more. Portfolios can come in many forms, including websites, slideshow presentations, or even printed documents. Let’s review those. First, there are portfolio websites. These allow employers to access your work through a simple website URL. Portfolio websites can be created using website builders like Google Sites or Wix. Here is an example of what this might look like. In this mock portfolio website, the e-commerce analyst displays their work in a way that is visually interesting. Visitors to the website can select links to move from one project to the next. While these websites create a great professional appearance, they may require advanced knowledge or more time to cultivate. An alternative is slideshow presentations. Like portfolio websites, slideshow presentations allow employers to access your work online. However they require less time to create than websites. These can be created using presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint, or Google Slides. For example, using the same fictional e-commerce analyst as before, here is their work displayed on a slides presentation. Just like with a portfolio website, the link for the presentation can be shared. And finally, there are printed documents. Printed documents can be created using an application like Google Docs, Canva, or Adobe InDesign. The benefit to using printed documents is that they are portable, so they can be taken with you to interviews. However, they can’t be submitted to online resume portals, which is a huge disadvantage in a digitally connected industry. In a later reading, you’ll explore how to create a professional portfolio using one of these methods. Once you decide on the portfolio type that works best for you, it’s important for your portfolio to convey who you are and the types of jobs you’re interested in. The way you position your previous work in your portfolio will help communicate your identity as a digital marketer or e-commerce specialist. It will also help future employers evaluate you as a potential hire. Here are some tips to keep in mind as you create your portfolio. First, organize your projects. Organization is important as it speaks to which projects you’re most confident about. Put projects that best demonstrate your skills at the beginning of your portfolio. For example, if you were put in charge of creating a weekly newsletter for the company you interned for, you could add example images of the newsletters to your portfolio. With that in mind, be sure to add any projects you created in this certificate program to your portfolio. Next, summarize each project, including its goals and outcomes. For our newsletter example, you may add that the intended goal of the newsletter, was to inform customers about new products available on the store’s websites and the outcome was that the emails led to 80 new website visits a week. Next, highlight any transferable skills. For each project that you add, you want to tie it back to how it relates to the digital marketing or e-commerce industry. In our newsletter example, you can mention that the skills learned from this project relate to the field of, e-mail marketing and customer retention. Finally, demonstrate a willingness to learn. This can come across in your reflections on your own work. For example, instead of only highlighting everything you did well, it can be useful to identify mistakes you made during the process and things you’d do differently next time. The goal of your portfolio as an entry-level employee is to show potential, so don’t stress if it isn’t perfect just yet. You can always go back and add more to your portfolio, as you gain more skills.

Create a professional portfolio using Google Sites

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

You learned that a digital portfolio is an effective way to easily share your work with potential employers. This reading will introduce you to Google Sites, one of many digital portfolio tools available online.

Why create a portfolio using Google Sites?

Google Sites is a webpage creation tool included as part of Google Workspace, a collection of web-based productivity apps. In addition to creating a professional portfolio, you can use Google Sites to create public-facing websites or a blog for your business team.

While many website builder apps offer advanced features, they usually cost money and can be complex to use. The most notable benefit of using Google Sites is that it is free and does not require advanced skills to create a website.

Google Sites features

Google Sites has a variety of easy-to-use features to achieve your portfolio goals. These features include customizable layouts, responsive webpages, embedded content capabilities, and web publishing.

Customizable layouts

Google Sites operates on a grid-based design. Grids are a system for creating order among elements on a webpage. In Google Sites, you can use the drag-and-drop feature to place elements in your desired location. You can arrange elements such as text, images, and embedded content.

Responsive webpages

Responsive webpages adjust their content to fit a variety of devices and screen sizes to ensure usability and satisfaction. This is helpful because viewers can review your content using any device. Your media will be displayed just as you intended.

Embedded content capabilities

Google Sites also allows users to add embedded content, which is content imported into another platform using HTML code. You can even import files directly from Google Drive, such as PDFs and spreadsheets. When creating a portfolio, you can use this feature to upload documents like your resume.

Web publishing

The web publishing feature lets you adjust share settings for your portfolio site. You can make your website discoverable on search engines, or share your digital portfolio with the people you want. When you are ready, you can publish your website and receive a unique URL. You can add this link to your resume so your work can be viewed easily by hiring managers.

Key takeaways

Digital portfolios present a collection of your best projects. Using Google Sites or any other digital portfolio creation tool will help you convey who you are and what you’ve done to your future employer and colleagues.

For more information

To learn more about creating your own website, browse the Google Sites help topics provided on the Google Support page.

Finding your path and perfect role

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

As you begin your career, you’ll have to navigate your way to find the perfect role for you. While there is no one way to find your ideal role, there are some things to consider to help you better understand what direction you want to take. This reading will focus on a few of the options to consider as you start to search for a job.

Digital marketing vs. e-commerce

Throughout this program, you learned concepts and practices related to digital marketing and e-commerce. By now, you have probably noticed that there isn’t a distinct divide between the two fields. Digital marketing and e-commerce often work fluidly together to achieve some type of conversion goal. While lots of the concepts you’ve learned relate to both fields, some aspects are different between each field. The table below provides an overview of these differences

Neither of the two fields is better than the other. Instead, it’s about determining which field is a better fit for you and what you hope to achieve in your career. Keep in mind the aspects that you enjoyed learning about and those that you did not. Make a list to compare the two if you find it helpful.

As you apply to jobs, you shouldn’t feel forced to choose one field over the other. As an entry- level employee, you’ll more than likely work on tasks in both fields. Once you land a job, you can hone your skills and determine the field you like best.

Generalist vs. specialist

Another category to consider when attempting to find your right path is whether you want to work as a generalist or a specialist. A generalist is knowledgeable about many topics and has various interests, while a specialist is an expert in a specific field.

Generalists have broad, multifaceted roles that allow entry-level employees to gain experience in many different areas related to the field. Alternatively, specialists are focused on a singular aspect of either digital marketing (emails, social media, etc.), or e-commerce (campaigns, loyalty programs, etc.). The table below provides an overview of common generalist and specialist roles.

Please note that the word “specialist” is often used in job titles, even for roles that include generalist-like tasks. When reviewing a job listing, be sure to read the duties and responsibilities assigned to that role so that you have a clear understanding of what you will be doing if hired.

Choose your work environment

Choosing what type of environment works best for you is just as important as the type of role you select. Different types of environments have their own cultures and practices. As an entry-level employee, you’ll come across two types of workplaces: agency or in-house. You can also choose to work for yourself in a freelance role.

Agency vs. in-house teams

In the digital marketing and e-commerce fields, agencies help other businesses perform a specific function related to marketing, campaign development, or design. Agencies can support large or small companies and often work independently from the business they’ve been hired for outside of the determined needs.

As an entry-level employee, you can expect to work for several clients. This is because agencies often take on many different clients. It is common to work with a client for a short time. While doing agency work, it’s unlikely that you will decide on the direction of assignments since those are determined by the company that hired your agency’s services.

Alternatively, companies who create and distribute a product or a service may build an “in-house” team of internal employees to handle their marketing and e-commerce needs. There are many reasons companies choose this option, including reduced costs, full transparency between the team and the larger company, and concern for the privacy of their users and their personal information.

As an entry-level employee, you can expect to work on a team that is relatively smaller than the rest of the company. Unlike working at an agency, many employees on an in-house team have the opportunity to learn a great amount about the company they are performing digital marketing and e-commerce tasks for.

Freelancing

Freelancing is another option for people who want to leverage their experience in digital marketing and e-commerce skills. A freelancer is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term.

Like working in an agency, freelancers can work with multiple clients. However, unlike working at an agency or on an in-house team, freelancers can choose which roles they’d like to accept.

Freelancers are typically generalists. Having multiple skills and knowledge areas allows them to work with many companies since they have expertise in many different areas.

Taking on freelance projects is a good way to develop your skills and take the lead in your work at any point in your career, particularly at the beginning. However, those who want to freelance later in their career should consider gaining company experience at some point to understand the industry better.

Key takeaways

As you navigate your job search, think about what you want in a career. Establish the types of roles you want early on and the type of company you want to work for. Over time, your experience will help you make better-informed decisions related to your career direction.

Jade - Search and apply for jobs

• Video Duration: 2 minutes

Hi, I’m Jade and I’m a shopping specialist at google. I work with some of our largest advertisers and advise them on ad strategy across our shopping add products at google. I helped them drive more revenue, new customers and more sales to their business both E-commerce and physical stores. When I look to apply for a job, there’s three things I look for. The first thing I do is read the job requirements, make sure I can do the job. Then I read the job description. Sometimes they give you a good insight into what each day would be like. And I think to myself would I enjoy this job. And the last piece I really try to make myself do is read more about the company, its benefits, its culture to make sure I would be happy at a place like that. Once you find companies that are you’re interested in, I would absolutely recommend signing up to get their email notifications when jobs are posted so you could be the first to know. In terms of how to get noticed by companies, be discoverable. Be searchable, be found when they’re looking for you. So that means having a linkedin profile that’s up to date that says your skills that shows your accomplishments and interest on your resume. Have it really quantifiable and easy to understand at that first glance what you bring to the table. My recommendation for standing out in a job application process because we know recruiters are getting thousands, hundreds of these applications is to use numbers. Demonstrate your impact by quantifying it with numbers. If you waited tables talk about how many people you served, how busy it was, how big the staff you worked with. If you we’re a camp counselor, talk about the new initiatives you brought to the table, the activities you lead or how big your camp size was. When you quantify impact, it shows that you have that analytical skill. It also brings your experience to life and it shows that you’ll continue to be able to demonstrate you and your teams impact when you’re working for that company that you want to work for.

Create a resume

• Video Duration: 3 minutes

One of the first steps to applying for a job is creating or updating a resume. In this video, we’ll explore what job resumes for digital marketing and e-commerce should include to make you a competitive candidate among fellow job applicants. First, let’s define what a resume is. A resume is a document created and used by a person to present their background, skills, and accomplishments. They can be used for a variety of reasons, but most often resumes are used to secure employment. Generally, they are between 1-2 pages long. You may find that a resume is sometimes called a curriculum vitae or CV for short. A CV is a document that presents a full history of an applicant’s full academic credentials and professional experience. While oftentimes used interchangeably, a resume is shorter and presents a more concise picture of your skills and qualifications for a specific position, So the length tends to be shorter and dictated by years of experience. By comparison, resumes are different from portfolios because instead of showing an employer what you did with supporting material, graphics, and examples, resumes tell employers what you did using words. Resumes can be created on your own using word processing applications like Google Docs or Microsoft Word. Many people, however, find that it is helpful to start with the resume template. Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and online platforms like Canva, offer a variety of templates to choose from. Template save time and help your documents look professional. While these templates may look different, there are usually four sections. A personal information section that lists your name, email address, and phone number. An experience section that lists your work history. An education and training section that explains your education background. And a skills section that details what specific skills you have. If you are using a template, you should replace all of the pre-filled text with your information and qualifications. In the digital marketing and e-commerce field, hiring managers are searching for candidates with related experience and skills. You should include experiences and skills like the ones that you’ve acquired or developed in this program. These include but are not limited to creating email campaigns, knowledge of Google Ads, SEO strategies, and building shopping campaigns. This is the perfect time to reflect on what you enjoyed and did well during this program. You’ll want to spend more time developing these skills. You can include skills that you didn’t obtain in this program, like learning an additional language or your cultural fluencies. If you don’t have much experience in the digital marketing or e-commerce space, that’s okay! Be sure to also include any positions that have skills that can transfer to a new field. This is a sample resume for an e-commerce position that has all of the proper sections completed. In the experience section, it lists specific job roles and the actions that this candidate performed while in them. Coming up, you’ll learn more about how to prepare your application materials before applying to jobs.

Strengthen your resume

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

You have been introduced to the basic sections of a resume:

• Personal information

• Experience

• Education and training

• Skills

After you create a resume with these basic sections, you can work on customizing it. Submitting a resume that is customized to align with a particular role you’re interested in can be more effective than submitting a general-purpose resume. This reading provides additional details about customizing your resume. The main focus is customizing the Experience section of your resume to become a better match for the roles you’re applying for.

Customize your resume

A resume is a first impression. Recruiters and hiring managers select applicants to interview whose resumes describe people they can easily imagine doing the job. Two of the most effective methods of customizing a resume to enhance your perceived fit for a job are:

• Adding job-relevant context to your skills using the STAR method

• Matching your transferable skills to job requirements

Using these methods of customization helps to create a stronger connection between what you did in the past and what the job you’re applying for requires. You’ll probably create multiple customized versions of your resume when applying for different positions. Your goal is for recruiters and hiring managers to visualize YOU doing the job!

Add STAR power

You’re definitely the star of your resume! But in this case, STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. The STAR method is a structured way to respond to behavioral questions in interviews.You can also use the STAR method to present required skills in a resume more impactfully. The STAR method ensures valuable context is provided for the skills included in your resume by highlighting the actions you took and the results you achieved.

Consider a job description for a marketing associate role that begins with:

• We are looking for a dependable, client service-oriented marketing associate with excellent communication, time-management, and organizational skills.

Here’s an example of presenting organizational skills in a resume as a bulleted item with and without the STAR method. Which one appears to be more impactful?

• Without STAR method: Organized and shared reports in a timely manner.

AND

• With STAR method: Implemented new formats to improve organization and weekly availability of reports for 35 team members.

  • Situation: Reports were hard to read/find

  • Task: Improve the readability/availability of reports

  • Action: Created new formats for reports

  • Results: 35 people read/found reports more easily each week

Note: When you add STAR power to your resume, remember to adjust any wording for company size and culture. Mentioning a team of 35 is more relevant for a role in a small to medium-sized business than in a large company with teams numbering in the hundreds. When applying for a role in a larger company, you might substitute “for 35 team members” with “company-wide” so you don’t inadvertently exclude yourself from consideration.

The STAR method can also be used across multiple bulleted items in your resume. Using the previous example for organizational skills, if you were the person who identified the situation as an issue to be solved, you could have multiple bulleted items in your resume as follows:

• Shared reports and identified ongoing issues with their readability and access (Situation)

• Created new report formats to improve readability and availability (Task and Action combined)

• Improved the organization and weekly availability of reports for 35 team members (Result)

Map transferable skills to job requirements

If you’re changing careers and newly entering the field of digital marketing and e-commerce, you can customize your resume to show how your skills developed in another field are an advantage to have in the role you’re applying for.

For example, suppose someone with five years of experience as a high school teacher is applying for a marketing analyst position that requires the following skill:

• Work with teams to determine campaign profitability, Return on Investment (ROI), and other KPIs

Teaching is highly collaborative. Teachers constantly share information and standardize measurements to monitor student performance. Below are a few examples of bulleted items in a resume that map a teacher’s experience to the marketing job requirement of teamwork.

• Adapt strategies for teamwork in education to enable marketing teams to determine and improve campaign performance (Transferable: teamwork to improve performance)

• Coordinate and communicate with teams to establish uniform standards for KPI measurement (Transferable: standardized measurements)

• Collaborate with teams to achieve desired customer behaviors and KPIs (Transferable: desired behaviors and outcomes)

Although recent experience running campaigns and monitoring marketing KPIs might be lacking, a teaching job has important KPIs related to student success, such as:

• Retention rates

• Graduation rates

• Grade point averages

• Standardized test scores

Below is an example of a bulleted item in a resume that maps experience with educational KPIs to the job requirement of monitoring marketing-related KPIs.

• Use and apply experience monitoring educational KPIs, like student retention and graduation, to gainfully monitor marketing KPIs, such as customer conversion and retention

Format your resume

After you have completed the content and customization of your resume for a particular role or job, ensure that the format of your resume is error-free (no misspelled words) and has a clean look and feel. Limit your resume to one page and don’t include references in your resume. References should be in a separate document.

Personal information

Here are tips for the personal information section of your resume.

• Your name should be the largest-sized font

• If targeting a specific location, include the city and state to indicate to prospective employers that you’re local to the area; otherwise, your email and phone number is sufficient.

• (Optional) Add a link to your LinkedIn profile

• (Optional) Add a photo—a media-savvy startup may place a higher value on a photo, but a more established company may not; follow what you perceive as the current culture of the prospective employer.

Experience

The Experience section is in reverse chronological order with your most recent job listed first.

• Use bullets instead of paragraphs; bulleted points are easier to scan and read

• Include the name of each employer

• (Optional) Include the location of the employer; this may not be necessary if, for example, you were a remote worker

• Include your job title

• Include dates of employment as months and years; Example: May 2019 - August 2022

• Use a consistent formatting pattern; Example: if you use bold for an employer, all employers should be in bold.

• Don’t use ALL CAPS for anything

Education and training

List all degrees you have earned, but only the certificates that are relevant to the job. If you have partially completed a degree, you may include it with an anticipated completion date. Like the Experience section, these should be listed as bullets in reverse chronological order, or with the most relevant training first.

Skills

This section is reserved for advanced skills and areas of expertise. If you list a skill, anticipate questions that may probe your skill level during an interview.

• Effective examples: JavaScript, SQL, Google Ads (not everyone has these skills)

• Less effective examples: Word, Excel (many people have these skills)

Key takeaways

Customize your resume. Aligning it to a specific role using the STAR method and mapping your transferable skills to job requirements will help you stand out for an interview. Format each section of your resume to ensure there are no errors and your resume is easy to read. Investing the time to customize and format your resume will help recruiters and hiring managers visualize you as the right person for the job.

Resources to create your resume

For help creating a resume, refer to the following resources:

• Use a template to create a resume: Microsoft Support article with steps and link to templates

• Stand out with professional custom resumes: Canva’s resume homepage

• Resume templates: Canva’s resume templates

Rahul - Resume tips

• Video Duration: 2 minutes

My name is Rahul, and I’m an APMM, which is an Associate Product Marketing Manager here at Google. I actually fell into digital marketing. I didn’t actually really know what digital marketing or marketing was, but I actually realized I was doing it a lot of my life through one of my passions, which is street fashion. I would regularly blog on Instagram or other platforms and kind of think about how to really showcase that passion. I used to do keyword research and created around hashtags to really grow that out. I was actually studying computer science at university, and I decided to not pursue that as it wasn’t quite the best fit for me. Instead, I stumbled upon an apprenticeship within digital marketing at Google, CV and resume, they’re very interchangeable. It’s showcasing your education, your work experiences within your life. It’s your way of really describing your worth to an employer or a client. The goal from my point of view of having a good, strong resume is so you can showcase other people the blend between your corporate experiences and also your personal passions. Again, it’s a reflection of your personality, and I feel like your character needs to really come through within a CV. So I wouldn’t always go for a standardized template, per se. I always love to see an element of your personality just laid on top of it. Some common mistakes when it comes to resumes can be too much information. Crowding a CV can sometimes look a little bit bad. Recruiters and hiring managers and things like that have to read and sieve through many different CVs. Make sure that you’re very to the point when it comes to information on your CV. Showcase a structure that has your how, your what, and your why. Why you’re doing something, how you did it, and what the situation scenario was. If you find that you are looking for ways in which to fill up your CV and resume, I would highly recommend independently doing your own projects within that field. so you can really digest and understand all the information. And then you can utilize that off your own back to then create something fresh. The world of marketing has changed so much drastically within the last five, ten years. As the Internet and as technology tends to evolve, a lot of the processes,a lot of the technologies, and a lot of the tools have also changed as well. Even when you think to how a lot of marketing used to be in print, and used to be in magazine, and used to be in newspapers, and how that’s all changing ever so quickly. But so really understanding and taking a look at the way people market today and finding those overlapping passion points within your own life, and seeing, again, how you can create a community surrounded by that.

Sydney - Resume tips

• Video Duration: 3 minutes

Hey, I’m Sydney, I’m a recruiter at Google and I get to work with amazing teams and find amazing and stellar candidates like you and engage on in talent strategy. In my role as a marketing recruiter, I support a wide variety of organizations and teams and products. So I could be supporting YouTube marketing, I could be supporting ads marketing, consumer apps. As far as profiles go, it could be product marketers, partner marketers, program managers, a lot of really exciting work that the team ultimately gets to support. The things that I’m looking for in a resume are ultimately impact, formatting, grammar as well as key accomplishments. I think a lot of areas of improvement that folks can focus on in resume building is ultimately sharing that impact. When I’m looking for impact, what I mean is the size of the project, the teams that you worked with, the stakeholders that you managed, as well as what are the quantifiable metrics walking away from this project or accomplishment, did you increase sales by 50%, did you onboard new teammates? So really putting that quantifiable measurement together and there’s always something that you can tie back to you that’s quantifiable. Every resume that you put together should be unique for the role that you are applying to. For example, paying attention to those minimum qualifications, preferred qualifications where they call out campaign driving, project impact. Really paying attention to those key qualifications is really a roadmap to write the right resume for the role that you’re ultimately looking for and hoping to land. When you’re transitioning into a new career path and maybe you don’t have the exact experience the role requires. It’s really important to pay attention to those key competencies. So for example, if we’re looking for leadership and collaboration and the job description, where have you lead a team, where have you lead a project? When have you collaborated with others? Really bringing out those day-to-day experiences that you have can really elevate your resume and make it resonate with the right audience. Therefore, the hiring manager or the recruiter. Another way to make your resume standout is making sure you’re demonstrating key passion and interests in the area that you are excited about. Thinking about the Google certificate program, really bringing that to the forefront, highlighting the coursework that you’ve completed, the assignments you’ve completed. When I see a Google Career Certificate on a resume, I’m super eager to talk to you. It shows the recruiter or myself that you are interested in learning more in your suggested field. When you’re preparing for your next interview, remember that the team is so excited to meet you, they are on your side and they want to really hear about your great experiences. So really come in prepared, think about how you can review profiles online. Really know the job description backwards and forwards, have questions, unique questions for each one of your interviewer’s. And ultimately just make sure you share how passionate and interested you are about the role and leave that lasting impression. Another pro tip I have is thank-you notes. Always follow up after your interview and thank your interviewers for their time. If you don’t have email addresses and the recruiter can’t provide, no worries just follow up with your recruiter, and they’re happy to follow up with your interview panel. Leaving that last note, it goes a long way.

Activity: Create or update a resume

• Practice Quiz. 1 question. Grade: 100%
  • Access Quiz:

• On Step 1: Select a template

The formatting elements provided in a template—such as the layout and headings—are a helpful starting point when creating a new resume. To select a template for your resume, open the template gallery in Google Docs. Scroll down to the resumes section and compare several templates. Then click on one of the resume templates to open it. Rename the document “Resume [Your Name].”

• On Step 2: Research roles

Think about what you’ve learned about digital marketing and e-commerce roles in this program so far, and decide which type of role you would like to pursue. Refer back to the reading Finding your path and perfect role to review some of the different types of roles available in these fields. Consider the tasks and responsibilities that interest you, your current skill set, and your previous experience. Then, research roles on platforms like Indeed,LinkedIn Job Search, or CareerBuilder and identify a position that appeals to you.

Activity Exemplar: Create or update a resume

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations for the activity.

Completed Exemplar

To review the exemplar for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

• Link to exemplar: Resume

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed resume. Review your work using each of the criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

Note: The exemplar represents one possible way to complete the activity. Your resume will likely differ in certain ways. What’s important is that your resume clearly communicates a snapshot of your skills and experience and what value you would bring to the role.

Your resume should include the components listed below:

• Contact information: Your name, location, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn account URL (if you have one)

• Skills: A list of the skills you have that are most relevant to the position, including skills you’ve learned in this program, skills you’ve gained in previous positions, and your strengths and competencies

• Experience: A list of at least three of your past positions in reverse chronological order. Each listing should include the company name, the location, your job title, the dates you worked there, and a description of your responsibilities. Your descriptions should use active verbs and be tailored to the job description of the position you are seeking.

• Education and certifications: A list of any school you attended after high school in reverse chronological order. Each listing should include the school’s location; the degree, diploma, or certificate you earned; and the dates that you attended. It should also include internships, apprenticeships, and any professional certifications or credentials you hold, including the Google Career Certificate in Digital Marketing and E-commerce.

• Awards: A list of any awards you have received, who awarded them to you, and the date you received them. Alternatively, you can include a section like “languages,” “software,” “volunteer work,” “projects,” “hobbies and interests,” or “accomplishments,” or anything else that makes you unique and is relevant to the requirements of the role.

Your resume should also be:

• Free of spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors

• As concise as possible

• No more than 1–2 pages in length

Add relevant skills to your resume

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

An analysis performed by a job search site found that candidates who met fifty percent of a job description’s requirements had about the same opportunity to interview as candidates who met ninety percent or more of them. The key to being considered for an interview is to showcase your experience with tools you already know and to highlight a growth mindset for any tools you still need to learn. Someone with a growth mindset doesn’t have all the required skills but expresses a positive attitude to learn and grow. This reading provides guidance on tailoring your resume with relevant skills to achieve both objectives.

Basic or intermediate skills?

Entry-level and early career job descriptions in digital marketing and e-commerce will most likely specify a combination of basic and intermediate skills. To help you get a sense of the language used in job descriptions, refer to the table below, which breaks down the job requirements for a Google Analytics specialist role. The job requirements in the table could represent the desired skills for someone with three or fewer years of experience. Words like capture, analyze, and document tend to describe basic skills, while words like customize, recommend, and improve may indicate a more intermediate level of knowledge and skill.

Pro tip: In your resume, think about the language you will use to describe your skills and the level of expertise you would like to convey.

TABLE - “Table showing Job requirements”

Showcase what you know

This part of the reading provides ideas on how to showcase the skills you acquired from the certificate program in your resume. The job titles represented here are just a sampling of available roles. You can apply for positions with other job titles.

Email marketing coordinator

Sometimes a job description lists general activities without naming specific tools. Pairing your general skills with specific tools in your resume helps you stand out. Consider the following general responsibilities for an email marketing coordinator.

Responsibilities: Work with a team on mailing instructions, deliverables, segmentation, and data; review creative feedback from stakeholders; quality check daily campaigns; maintain and archive all emails

In the program, you were introduced to Mailchimp. How would you incorporate Mailchimp in your resume to showcase your ability to take on these responsibilities? Here are some ideas:

• Crafted and reviewed emails with Mailchimp

• Segmented email lists by geography, psychographic characteristics, demographic data, and behavioral data

You also learned how to work with data and stakeholders. How would you highlight your knowledge of working with data and stakeholders? Here are some ideas:

• Organized stakeholder feedback for email campaigns

• Summarized email campaign results using Google Slides (or Microsoft PowerPoint)

Digital marketing coordinator

Employers often include requirements in a job description that are nice to have in an applicant but may not be absolutely required. Sometimes a particular skill is identified as a “bonus” or a “plus.” Consider the following requirements for a digital marketing coordinator.

Requirements: Create and manage ads on paid search, social media, or display platforms; analyze and report on large datasets using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets; experience with Salesforce, Eloqua, or Marketo is a bonus

How would you showcase what you learned in the program about paid search, social media, and display ads? Here are some ideas:

• Created paid search, social media, and display ads

• Monitored Google Search results using Google Search Console

How would you showcase what you learned in the program about analyzing data using spreadsheets? Here are some ideas:

• Used sort, filter, and pivot table capabilities in Google Sheets to analyze large datasets

• Created charts in Google Sheets to report on large datasets with data visualization

In the program, you were introduced to Constant Contact as a solution for email marketing automation. How would you show a growth mindset for automation tools in your resume? In particular, how would you incorporate Constant Contact, listed as a bonus, into your resume? Here are some ideas:

• Familiar with the benefits of email marketing automation tools

• Eager to work on email marketing automation using Constant Contact

Google Ads specialist

Sometimes employers want cross-platform skills. Take, for example, the following requirements for a Google Ads specialist.

Requirements: Knowledge of Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads), and Google Analytics

You learned about Google Ads and Google Analytics in the program. Two out of three isn’t bad, but how can you address the Microsoft Advertising requirement? A search on the differences between Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising may be a good place to start.

Here are some ideas to show a growth mindset for Microsoft Advertising in your resume:

• Eager to apply experience with Google Ads to Microsoft Advertising campaigns

• Familiar with key differences managing ads on Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising platforms

Digital marketing analyst

Employers can also list tools as requirements without providing specific details on the skill level required for each. Suppose you find the following list of requirements in a job description for a digital marketing analyst, but there are no further details on how you would use them in the role.

Requirements: Web analytics tools, Tableau, Google Tag Manager, Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, database query, SQL queries, Qlik, Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools (BIRT), data visualization, and SEO

How would you showcase the experience with Google Analytics, data visualization, and SEO you gained by completing activities in the program? Here are some ideas:

• Analyzed acquisition, engagement, and monetization metrics in Google Analytics

• Used explorations in Google Analytics to identify correlations between professional conferences and online merchandise purchases

• Created pivot tables in spreadsheets to visualize conversion trends in Google Analytics

• Created charts in spreadsheets to visualize and report user session data

• Modified content elements to improve SEO and influence higher rankings

In the program, you were introduced to Tableau, Google Tag Manager, and SQL. How would you relay a growth mindset relating to your use of these tools? Here are some ideas:

• Familiar with Tableau and marketing dashboards to monitor metrics and KPIs

• Willingness to explore the use of Google Tag Manager over global site tagging

• Keen interest to work towards managing SQL queries for marketing data analysis

E-commerce associate

Some employers choose to keep job descriptions simple but offer a lot of room to grow. Associate-level e-commerce roles can involve detailed work with product inventory, product listings, and on-platform testing. Consider how you would tailor your resume for the responsibilities of an e-commerce associate.

Responsibilities: Write product listings with detailed, accurate, and trend-relevant descriptions and titles; pull products for online sale; support the inventory and fulfillment teams

For this role, here are some ideas on how to describe your experience from the program:

• Added product listings to a Shopify store

• Evaluated the checkout process for an e-commerce store

• Considered budget for a seasonal marketing campaign

Key takeaways

When applying for digital marketing and e-commerce roles, it’s important to remember that you don’t always need to have all the job requirements to apply. Surveys have shown that applicants can successfully obtain interviews even when they have only half of the job requirements. Furthermore, some straightforward job descriptions may not seem that interesting at first glance, but the job could offer great opportunities to learn. Focus on what you already know by carefully choosing the words in your resume. Then, add additional information to show prospective employers that you’re motivated to learn what you don’t know.

Write a cover letter

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

A cover letter—a personal introduction to promote yourself—serves as a companion document to a resume. Its main purpose is to elaborate on your professional skills, motivations, and why you should be viewed as the best candidate for a job.

There are three types of cover letters:

• Networking—Addressed to individuals to ask for their help finding a job at their company

• Prospecting—Addressed to companies to explore all open job opportunities

• Application—Addressed to hiring managers to emphasize your fit for a specific job

This reading focuses on helping you write application cover letters. Employers have “who, what, where, when, why, and how” types of questions when they gather information about job applicants. Your resume answers what (you have done), where (you worked), and when (you were employed). Your application cover letter describes in more detail who (you are), why (you want the job), and how (you will be successful in the role).

Prepare to write a cover letter

Pro tip: Not all job applications require a cover letter. When a cover letter is stated as being optional, it’s best to consider how much a cover letter might improve your standing. The following are common situations when people prefer to include a cover letter:

• When starting out in a career (early career applicant)

• When making a career transition

• When experience, education, or training isn’t an exact match with the listed requirements

• When entering a crowded field of applicants

Many people agree that no cover letter is better than a poorly written one! Even if a cover letter has no obvious errors, submitting a few paragraphs with very general statements isn’t going to help you that much. Before you write a cover letter, follow these steps to ensure you create a meaningful one.

Step 1: Research the company or organization

You can find out a lot about a company from these methods:

• Browse the company’s website

• Follow the company on social media including LinkedIn

• Perform a search on the company’s financial standing and investors, if applicable

• Perform a search on the company’s known competitors

• Ask your relatives, friends, and colleagues what they know about the company

Step 2: Inventory the required skills from the job description

Read the job description carefully and determine what you think are the most important skills for an applicant to have and why.

Step 3: Prioritize your matching skills from strongest to weakest

Based on the skills you identified in the previous step, identify your skills that match or are most closely aligned (associated) with them. Next, prioritize your matching skills from the strongest to the weakest. People often skip this ordering process. Ranking your skills enables you to emphasize your strongest skills first in your cover letter.

Parts of a cover letter

Pro tip: A cover letter is between 250-400 words in length and doesn’t exceed one page.

Review the goals for each section of a cover letter below.

Introduction

The primary goals of the introduction section of a cover letter are to:

• Identify the position you’re applying for

• Show your enthusiasm for the company

• Encourage people on the hiring team to learn more about you

Example: I’m applying for the e-commerce associate position and can’t imagine a more exciting role. As a frequent and avid consumer of your products, I’m eager to pursue this career opportunity.

Body

The goal of the body section of a cover letter is to describe how your skills apply to the open position. Suppose the job description has these qualifications:

• Write product listings with detailed, accurate, and trend-relevant descriptions and titles

• Pull products for online sale

• Support the inventory and fulfillment teams

The following example shows how you can map your experiences to these qualifications in the body of your cover letter.

Example: I completed the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce certificate and have previous retail experience assisting customers, helping with inventory, and pulling merchandise for clearance sales. I’m adept at creating product listings with rich, descriptive terms. With my attention to detail, anyone looking for a peacock blue table lamp will be able to find what they’re looking for.

Pro tip: Avoid the temptation to rehash the content of your resume. A warning sign is if your cover letter has essentially the same information as your resume but in a paragraph format.

Another..

Pro tip: Focus on what you can do for the company rather than on how you would benefit from being hired for that position. The difference between being company-focused and self-focused can be subtle, as in the following sentences:

I would like to develop exceptionally creative marketing content to increase awareness of your product’s sustainability. (company-focused; what you will do for the company)

I would like to grow my marketing skills by developing creative content for a sustainable product that I believe in. (self-focused; what you would like to gain by being in the role)

Closing

The goal of the closing section of a cover letter is to restate your interest in the company and position. It is also used to indicate your expectations, such as scheduling an interview, being considered for other jobs, or a timeframe for follow up.

Example: Thank you for taking the time to review my resume for this position. I’m confident I can excel in this role using my combined work experience and skills from the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce certificate. I’m looking forward to an interview and request the privilege to follow up on my application’s progress in the coming weeks.

Proofread your cover letter

Many errors in cover letters are caused by copying and pasting text from one cover letter to another. After you write your cover letter, proofread it carefully to catch these common things:

• Awkward formality—Few people call people Sir or Madam nowadays, so you shouldn’t use these in your cover letter either. Also refrain from using “To whom it may concern” which sounds highly impersonal. If you don’t know the name of the hiring manager, use “Dear Hiring Team.” Likewise, consider using “Best regards” instead of “Sincerely” which sounds a little outdated.

• Misspelled words (especially those that sound the same but are spelled differently). For example, “affect” and “effect,” “then” and “than,” and “your” and “you’re.”

• Mismatched skills—Make sure you aren’t incorporating skills for the wrong job description in your cover letter. This happens with copying and pasting.

• Passive voice—Use active voice whenever possible: “I revised the ads” instead of passive voice: “I ensured that the ads were revised.”

• Long anecdotes—Save stories that describe any past results you achieved for when you are being interviewed.

Key takeaways

Cover letters help introduce the best points about yourself to a potential employer. Make sure that your cover letter doesn’t simply rehash the skills outlined in your resume, but adds value by describing how your skills align with the job requirements and how you would be successful in the role. To write the best cover letters, it’s helpful to research the company, identify the most important skills from the job descriptions, and prioritize and include your matching and relevant skills.

Isela - Tips for creating a cover letter

• Video Duration: 3 minutes

My name is Isela, and I’m a Marketing Recruiter. A Marketing Recruiter helps to source and recruit marketing talent here at Google. So oftentimes that might be creatives or digital marketers, growth analysts, etc. I was a psychology major initially, and I thought I maybe would be a practitioner from there. Not a super straightforward path, but eventually got to where I am today. Pre-Google, I was recruiting at a lot of startups, usually recruiting for marketing and other various creative roles. A cover letter is a way for candidates to be able to brand themselves to potential employer. It’s a way to potentially be able to add a bit more context and color beyond just what’s on a resume. And it’s not technically always required, but it’s a good way to be able to go beyond just what’s on your resume. A basic cover letter to me is oftentimes going to be a letter addressed either directly to the hiring manager or a member of the hiring team. Usually, it’s going to highlight the reason why you want to apply for the role, what skills you’re bringing to the role, maybe what impact you’ve made in the past, or your desire to enter in the role. I also think a additional contexts that sometimes folks provide is like addressing gaps in resumes or why it is that you’re making a pivot or change in your career. There are a few ways that your cover letter can really stand out in the crowd. Number one, being clear and concise is the name of the game. My favorite cover letters are definitely one-pagers. Number two, I would recommend that they are well-researched. Look at the job description at hand and pair that with your own skills. Do you have actual skills or experience already in that field? Do you have certifications that you’ve already accomplished? Have you taken some course work? Do you have side hustles or other projects that you’ve been a part of? Let us know how you’re trying to bridge that gap between where you currently are and where you’re trying to go. Let us know how those marry together, and have that all compiled in one compelling case. It’s really an opportunity for you to have that personal touch directly to the hiring team. And then lastly, they’re going to be very individualized. It’s going to be your pitch to the team, and how that all comes together is it’s ultimately your personal branding to the employer, hopefully, of why it is that you’ll be a good addition to the team. I do think that what’s really helpful in these types of situations where you maybe have low or limited experience in this industry because it can help you advocate your case on why it is that you might be a good match for a potential role. It helps you tell the hiring manager why it is that you’re interested in this space and lets them know why it is that you’ve applied to their role. If you’ve never done a cover letter before, I would highly recommended to just start writing, even if it’s just a matter of stream of consciousness. The hardest part is just putting pen to paper or just begin to type. I highly recommend folks to just get started. It’s okay if it’s a little long or verbose. That way, then, you can go back and edit things down. Or maybe look at some examples of existing cover letters in the industry that you’re looking to work towards and see how that compares.

Share portfolio tips

• Discussion Prompt Duration: 10 minutes

Now that you have created or updated your resume, share any tips you’ve learned to improve a resume. The tips could be something you learned from a previous video or reading. The tips could also be from your own experience.

Please include a written response of 3–4 sentences. Then, read other learners’ responses, and comment on at least two of their posts.

Answer

If you have some knowledge about programming, Incorporate your programming experience with JavaScript and SQL into your resume under the skills section. Highlight how these technical skills are transferable to digital marketing and e-commerce, showcasing your ability to analyze data, optimize websites, and implement effective digital strategies. Consider providing specific examples of projects where you applied programming knowledge to enhance marketing efforts or streamline e-commerce processes. This will not only demonstrate your versatility but it might also set you apart as a candidate with a unique blend of technical and marketing expertise.

Mike - Find the role for you

• Video Duration: 2 minutes

Hey, I’m mike I’m a global performance curriculum manager at Google. So I work with advertisers and sales teams to develop learning and education curriculum around Google’s ad solutions. In terms of the process to kind of find my first job in interviewing and looking forward. It was definitely a lengthy process. I think one of the areas that took the most time was even just figuring out what I wanted to do. The school I went to, there was a big focus on kind of traditional business fields in terms of finance, banking and consulting. And for me, because I saw so many peers going down that road, I thought this is the path that I should take. And I learned pretty quickly on those interview processes that it wasn’t the path I should take, it probably was the path I wanted to take. Because as I went through the interviews they felt, very stressful, I was very nervous. I was very anxious and the interviews didn’t actually go that well and I didn’t get those jobs. The interviews that I experienced on the marketing side felt much more like interesting conversations when you’re interviewing for something. And it feels more like a two sided conversation is typically a good sign that you’re a good fit for that role and that role is probably a good fit for you as well. What I have found helpful as you go into the interview is just remembering that the person interviewing you wants you to do well. They’re spending the time talking to you and interviewing you because they think you’re likely to be a good fit. Your job is to prove them right. So in terms of applying to a role where you don’t meet all of the describe qualifications. I would say, what I try to tell myself is like don’t be the person that counts you out for it. Let the team you’re hiring for, let them tell you if you’re not qualified, you should always feel confident putting your name in. I think a lot of those qualifications are things that can be learned. What can’t be learned is your attitude, your drive, your energy, kind of, your, your passion for what you’re applying for. And so as you start to ask around everyone has had that feeling before of, maybe I’m not the right fit, maybe I’m not qualified. I don’t know how I snuck in here. It’s a natural feeling. I think it’s human nature to compare yourself to others and and see how you fit compared to others. For me, what’s helped get past it is honestly just being honest about it. I think just recognizing the way that I feel, acknowledging how I feel and then remembering how many times I felt like that before. And how I was able to overcome that previously, was always trusting yourself in the ability to learn those skills that you might not have. For me when I started in my marketing career, I was under the misconception that I needed to know everything and I had to do all the research. I had to read all the books, read all the blogs, do all the product trainings. What I realized was that it’s not always the most efficient way to learn or to grow. I think the best thing you can do is be curious, ask questions to your peers. Ask questions to teammates who might be more experienced in the field. That’s going to be typically your quickest way to learn and develop.

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3. Prepare for digital and e-commerce interviews

Introduction to the interview process

• Video Duration: 3 minutes

With the digital marketing and e-commerce market constantly evolving, there are a variety of different roles you may apply for in the future. While there isn’t any one specific job process for these many roles, there are some similarities when it comes to interviewing. First, is finding available jobs in online listings. With the development of global Internet accessibility over the last few decades, many job seekers turn to the internet to find roles that suit them. You may find luck on job board sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, or Google jobs. These sites allow companies to post job descriptions for candidates like you. This is an opportunity to help you understand what you can bring to the role. Before you begin, be sure to write down what you’re looking for in a job. Maybe it’s a certain salary range, or a specific daily task you’d like to complete. This way, you can filter jobs that don’t fit your idea of the job you’d like to have. Companies also have recruiters who are tasked with finding candidates to fill their job needs. If they believe that you fit their job qualifications, they will likely reach out to you on a professional website like LinkedIn and encourage you to fill out an application for their position. So, be sure to keep your information up to date! You can add this program to your list of experience or certificates. Hopefully, submitting an application leads to a job interview. However, it is common to submit many job applications and not hear back from any of them. Sometimes it takes dozens of applications to get even one interview. Don’t be discouraged if this happens to you. This is common and you will get better at the process of applying each time you try. Continue applying to as many positions as you find and try not to get too attached to a particular position. Keep an open mind. Eventually, you’ll find the right position. Once you get an interview, you’ll want to know what’s coming. How the interview process unfolds will be dependent on the employer. For smaller companies, there may only be one or two interviews. For larger organizations, however, there may be many rounds of interviews ahead of you. In most cases, the first interview called a preliminary interview, is a fast-paced meeting conducted over a phone call or video chat. The purpose of this interview is for someone at the company, like a recruiter, to gather basic information from you, like your name, and to review your resume to briefly go over your skills and experience. While preliminary interviews are usually casual, make sure that you put your best self forward. That is, make sure you present yourself as a viable candidate for the job. The second interview is usually called a follow-up interview. This is an in-depth meeting that will likely feature members of the team that you’ll be working with. This will be your time to make a great impression. In a later video, we will go into more detail about how you will accomplish this. For now, remember that follow-up interviews always require some preparation. Once you complete the interview process, you’ll receive a response in the following weeks. If the news is good, congratulations on your new role! If the process ends in rejection, don’t worry. I encourage you to take the time to reflect on what you can improve on in your next interview. However, there are often untold reasons why you may not have received a job offer that has nothing to do with you or your interview, so don’t get discouraged. Personally, I like to believe that a no is just one step closer to a yes. Just remember that there are a vast number of opportunities out there for you to apply to. The steps to getting a job offer isn’t a perfect science, but keep a positive attitude as you apply and soon you’ll find the position that is right for you.

Continue learning about the interview process

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

When you are contacted by a recruiter who’s reaching out to schedule a job interview, you might feel a surge of excitement—along with some nerves. It’s normal to feel a bit apprehensive about the interview process. If you have a better idea of what to expect, however, it can help you feel more confident and prepared. This reading will help you understand how the interview process typically works in the field of digital marketing and e-commerce. Although the interview process can vary widely from one company to another, the process covered in this reading is fairly common in the industry.

Getting contacted by a recruiter

After you apply for jobs, you may receive a call, email, or message from a recruiter expressing interest in your application and asking to schedule a call or meeting. It’s a good idea to reply to this message as soon as possible—preferably within 24 hours—to show that you are responsive and interested in the position.

Preliminary interview

In most cases, the first step in the interview process is a preliminary interview—sometimes called a screening. This usually involves a conversation with a recruiter over the phone, in person, or on a video call.

The preliminary interview is typically shorter than a regular interview and might only last 20 or 30 minutes. The recruiter will share information about the company and the job opening. Then they’ll ask you questions to help them get to know you better and understand your experience and skills. The recruiter will also hold time for you to ask questions about the job. It’s a good idea to have questions prepared beforehand since asking questions helps demonstrate your interest in the position. You might also think of more questions to ask during the interview.

At the end of the preliminary interview, the recruiter will thank you for your time and usually let you know the next steps. If they don’t mention the next steps, feel free to ask. You can also take this opportunity to thank the recruiter for meeting with you and express your interest in the position.

After the interview, send a thank-you note to the recruiter within 24 hours. Email is often the best way to do this. Express your gratitude for their time and briefly restate why you would be a good fit for the position.

Additional interviews

Once you’ve passed the preliminary interview stage, you may be invited for another interview. This interview is typically with the hiring manager, the employee in charge of deciding who will be hired. You may also meet with other individuals on the team, or other managers within the department, in a group interview.

This interview is often longer than the preliminary interview. It could be in person, over the phone, or on a video call.

The interview usually opens with introductions and a brief description of the company and job position. Then, the interviewer will ask you questions about your background, skills, experience, and how you work. Next, you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions about the company, the role, and job expectations.

Finally, you’ll hear about next steps and thank everyone for their time as the interview comes to an end.

There may be multiple rounds of interviews, depending on how the company’s interview process works. These additional interviews could be longer, include future teammates or other employees at the company, and feature questions that take more time and thought to answer.

As with the preliminary interview, send a thank you note to the people you interviewed with after each round of interviews. Your thank you note can also be an opportunity to follow up on anything discussed in the interview, such as highlighting a project you worked on, or anything you wish you’d said during the interview but didn’t think of until later.

Final offer

Now comes the exciting part: receiving a job offer from one or more of the companies you interviewed with. The company may reach out to you by phone or email. After the company extends their initial offer, you can negotiate salary or benefits. When the company provides their final offer, you’ll need to decide whether or not to accept it. Feel free to ask for a day or two to make your decision, but let the company know as soon as you’ve decided.

Building perseverance

If the company lets you know that you didn’t get the job, take a moment to process the emotions you might feel. If you’d like, you can let the company know that you appreciate the opportunity to have interviewed and that you’d be interested in any future roles that might be a good fit. You can also ask for feedback on what you could do better next time. Although you might not receive a reply, it demonstrates that you are eager to learn and grow.

Key takeaways

Interviews are a great opportunity to learn more about a job position and the company you’d be working for. By preparing for the interview process and continuing to persevere in your job search, you’ll be well on your way to building a career in digital marketing and e-commerce.

Get to know your interviewer

• Video Duration: 4 minutes

So you’ve responded to a job posting and they have reached out to you and want to set up an interview. What’s next? One of the most important things you can do to prepare for an interview is pre-interview research. You can conduct pre-interview research before and after you apply. It can be very tempting to go into an interview without completing any pre-interview research. However, it is important for determining if the company is aligned with your own interests and goals. The company you apply to could have different values than that of your own. Another benefit is that it allows you to learn more about a company’s positive or negative reputation. Reading what others have to say about a company is a great way to get an idea of what it’s like to work for that company. This allows you to view achievements or shortcomings a company may have. If the company you are interested in isn’t discussed positively, more research can illustrate how the company chose to respond to the situation. And finally, pre-interview research can help you during the application and interview process. Reference the information you learned during your pre-interview research in your cover letter, resume, and interview. It’ll show that you prepared for the interview and it’s a great way to let the employer know that you are serious about the role. Now that we’ve covered some benefits, let’s explore the next steps of completing pre-interview research. The first step is to explore the requirements and expectations of the job you’re applying for. To start, read and explore the requirements of the position before the interview. You can do this by reading the job description in detail. Or, you can reach out to someone who has the job or has worked in a similar role. If you don’t know someone personally, consider reaching out on a professional networking site like LinkedIn. Speaking with someone who has the job you’re applying for can help you get a sense of the background, knowledge, and skills that you’ll need to succeed in that job. Just remember to use your discretion on who you contact and how you talk to them. Be sure to keep your messages concise and professional. The second step in the pre-interview research process is to gather knowledge about the company you’re applying to and, if applicable, its products or services. To find specific information, explore the company’s website to learn about their values, their achievements, and company culture. You can also search for recent news articles related to the company. This step also includes exploring reviews on the company from current and former employees by visiting sites like Glassdoor or LinkedIn. Be aware: not all information like this is factual and could be biased based on the poster’s personal experience with the company. This information should be taken cautiously. If you apply and schedule an interview, the third step is to determine common interview questions that may be asked. Use a search engine to ask: “What are common interview questions for an e-commerce position?” Compare information from different sources until you get a general idea of the most common questions asked in an entry-level e-commerce interview. You can also use other sources, like reviews of the job interview process on sites like LinkedIn or Indeed, in order to gather additional information about questions that may be asked. After you schedule an interview, you can use these questions to help you prepare. You may even want to ask a friend or family member to help you practice for your interview by asking you questions from the list. Or, you can take time to practice your interview questions and answer in front of a mirror so that you can anticipate how you will come across to your interviewer. Whether you are deciding on applying for a position or have landed an interview, this information plays a major role in the application process. Coming up, we’ll explore more ways to get you interview ready.

Prepare for interviews at different types of companies

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

You have been exploring the interview process in digital marketing and e-commerce. You have also been learning about the types of research that will help you prepare for interviews in these fields. As we’ve discussed, no two companies are alike, so you will need to research each company with which you interview. As part of your research, you should learn the size of the company and how long it has been in business. This is because the interview process at larger, more-established companies can differ greatly from that of smaller companies and start-ups. In this reading, we will discuss the common differences between interviews at these types of companies. Knowing these differences can help you prepare and know what to expect, which can ultimately help you make a great impression.

Who conducts the interview

Established companies often have well-developed human resources (HR) departments. Interviews at these companies are likely to be designed or conducted by experienced HR professionals. The application process might involve a series of interviews—from a preliminary interview with an HR associate to interviews with potential teammates to an interview with the actual manager you would work for if you were hired.

Startups and smaller companies, however, may not have an HR department at all. Applicants are likely to be interviewed by someone high up in the company, such as senior leadership or the CEO. Startups are also unlikely to require as many rounds of interviews as larger companies due to limited resources and time constraints.

Structure of the interview

Interviewers at established companies will usually ask questions that relate to your technical skills and competence level. These companies want to determine if you will fit well into the available position. The interviewers will generally ask you a series of common interview questions about your experience, training, and how your past roles have prepared you for a position in a company of their size.

At startups and smaller companies, on the other hand, the interviewer may ask a few questions and then allow you to steer the interview’s direction. Interviewers at smaller companies may also pay more attention to your ability to fit into the company culture. Additionally, since these businesses often require that people perform their jobs with less supervision than at more established companies, they tend to seek employees who are independent and proactive. Being able to actively drive the conversation with your own ideas can help display these qualities.

Expectations for the role

The interviewer’s expectations for the role might differ based on the company’s size, and you will need to emphasize different competencies based on these expectations. At a small company, for example, you may be expected to take on many roles—perhaps acting as the entire marketing department. At a larger company, you might be asked to mostly perform one task that you do exceptionally well on many projects.

At a larger company, there may be more established processes to follow, and you may often need to get approval from stakeholders to move forward on tasks. At a smaller company, you might have fewer approvals processes to navigate, but you will need to be able to execute tasks with little guidance.

One way you can demonstrate these different competencies is in the way you respond to behavioral interview questions. These are types of questions that require you to share a time when you were faced with a particular situation or had to use a certain skill. In an upcoming activity, you will practice a strategy for responding to these types of questions.

Length of the process

Established organizations may require you to go through several interviews before making you a job offer. They do this because they can generally afford to take time to find the best fit for the role. These companies may take three weeks or more to screen and interview applicants.

Startups tend to have a much quicker interview-to-hire process—generally around two weeks. Because people higher up in the company conduct the interviews and make the hiring decisions, not as many rounds of interviews are typically required. Additionally, since smaller companies and startups may have fewer employees available to get the work done, they often aim to fill open positions quickly.

Level of formality

Interviews at established companies tend to be more formal and structured than interviews at startups. Since the interviewers generally want to assess all the applicants on the same basic criteria, the process can seem somewhat conventional. Your behavior, dress, and the language you use is generally expected to be more formal in interviews at these companies.

Interviews at startups tend to be more casual. The structure of the interview is looser, and the dress, behavior, and language you are expected to use may be less formal, as well.

Key takeaways

The norms discussed in this reading can vary from industry to industry and company to company, so be sure to research the specific company you are interviewing for ahead of time to learn what to expect. This will prepare you for the different aspects of the interview, such as what to wear and the kind of questions you may be asked. But regardless of the company’s size or how long they have been in business, you should always be prepared to share your qualifications and skills, convey what you know about the company and the role, and describe why you would be an excellent fit for the position.

Test your knowledge: The interview process

• Practice Quiz. 4 questions. Grade: 100%

Build rapport with interviewers

• Video Duration: 4 minutes

Every step in the interview process is an opportunity to build rapport, meaning a friendly, empathetic relationship that makes communication and connection easy. Building strong, memorable connections with hiring managers is much more impactful than just submitting an application and moving on. Let’s explore some tips for building rapport with your interviewer. Before your interview takes place, it can be helpful to understand who you will be meeting with and their background. To get to know your interviewers better, do a bit of research on them. Nothing extensive or invasive. Just enough to know who the person is and their professional experience. Don’t stray into their personal life by looking into their social media pages or other non-work related online activities. You can find this information on the company website and the interviewers professional website or LinkedIn profile. Smaller companies often have an “About” page on their company website where they’ll list team members. The company site can help you learn more about each interviewer’s role at the company. Once you’re in the interview, remember to be yourself. Every person you meet during an interview might be a future colleague that you’ll have a long-term professional relationship with. In the same way you want to know more about who they are, they want to know more about you. That means actively sharing things about yourself to build a relationship, while also being professional and respectful of their personal boundaries. Next, relax. If you find yourself nervous during an interview, remember, you’re not alone. Many people with years of experience still get nervous during the interview process. If this happens, remember that interviewers are interested in your knowledge, skills, and qualifications to advance you to this point in the process. So you’ve already proven that you’re a great candidate. To help you relax, take a few breaths before your interview begins and practice answering questions before your interview takes place. Fourth, ask questions. Remembering that your interview is a two-way street is important as it creates more opportunities for you to learn more about the person you’re communicating with, the job you’re interviewing for, and the company you’re considering joining. In addition to asking questions about the company culture and achievements, ask the interviewer questions about what they find rewarding about their job or what they enjoy most about the direction the company is going in. The answers that they provide will lead to more insight about the people you’d be working with and how they feel about the organization. Asking thoughtful questions also demonstrates that you’re interested in working for the organization and that you’re curious about how to make things better. And finally, learn about the culture of the company. While it’s important to follow certain social norms, you will still need to prepare so you know what to expect. Understanding the cultural norms of the company is key so that you can either be sure to match them as you interview or specifically share how you may be different. For instance, understanding how formally people dress in the office could help you decide what to wear for your interview, and it will also help you present yourself in a way that feels both respectful to the company and authentic to yourself. At some companies, wearing a suit to the interview might not be appropriate. And at other companies, wearing a suit might be a requirement. When in doubt, ask the recruiter. But it’s usually better to be dressed more formally than casual. In addition, use appropriate professional language at every point in your job search, even if they don’t. You want to build a rapport, but being too casual in your conversations could cause interviewers to misunderstand your ability to work in a professional environment. This could be the one thing that prevents them from recommending you for the position. Great! Now you know more about the people you’re meeting, and how to build a rapport with them. Move on to learn more about the interview process.

Jordon - Job interview guidance

• Video. Duration: 2 minutes

I’m Jordon and I’m on the talent partnerships team at Google. It means that we connect celebrities and thought leaders within marketing campaigns to bring the magic of Google to life through different figures all around the world. I remember my first interview for a digital marketing role. Of course, I was so nervous, which I think is a good thing. It means that you care, means that you really want something. First of all, to even get the interview is a huge accomplishment. You should feel a little bit of sense of pride that you even made it that far. But then in terms of preparation, I was very specific in my approach. Number one is I need to be an expert in this company. What are some recent launches? What are some big decisions that leadership has made? I followed executives on Twitter. I read all about their blogs. Read the blogs, their current, they tell you the priorities that that company is thinking about at that given moment in time. I almost envisioned myself as a member of that community. I already started my critical thinking about some decisions that would be made like, don’t think about yourself on the outside, put yourself in those shoes so that when you’re in the interview you can really be thinking like them already to begin with. In interviews these days, there’s a big trend to ask behavioral questions which are like, tell me about a time where you worked with a big group of people to accomplish something big. The trick and the key to answering these questions well is to in advance think about three projects that you’ve done that you can explain inside out where you’ve had very in-depth experiences. Things went well, things didn’t go well. You worked great with some people, not great with others. You would have done something differently, but you still had impact. This means that no matter what behavioral question they ask if it’s telling me about a time you worked well with others, launch something, would have done something differently, you can pull on one of those three examples and you’ve already thought about those stories in advance. I think the number one mistake candidates make when they’re applying for digital marketing interview is to pretend to be something they’re not. It is more than okay to lean on your own experiences and how you and your previous history and the work that you’ve done makes you a unique candidate and you should lean on that. Don’t try to give them an answer that you think that they want to hear. Give them truly your perspective because those are incredibly valuable. It’s your history and it’s your experiences that make you qualified in your own unique way for that particular role.

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4. Answer interview questions

Use STAR method to answer interview questions

• Video Duration: 3 minutes

In any good story there’s usually a strong beginning that sets up the narrative, an exciting middle that presents obstacles, and a resolution that wraps everything up. But imagine if the fairy tale Cinderella, which is an ancient Egyptian story popularized around the world by Walt Disney was told with major parts missing. Once upon a time there was a girl named Cinderella, something happened with a glass slipper, and she lived happily ever after. You’d be very confused and have a lot of questions. The same is true with answering interview questions. During the interview, you may be asked questions like: “Can you tell me about a time when you solved a problem related to buying and selling goods online?” Or, “What part of the e-commerce industry do you enjoy doing the most and why? To answer these questions as well as possible, it’s best to use a proper structure that provides the right amount of detail. A helpful strategy for answering interview questions is to use the STAR method. STAR stands for situation, task, action, result. Try to keep your responses short and focused on your main point. One or two sentences is usually enough for each part of the STAR method. For example, if an applicant with office management experience was asked “Describe a project that makes you proud.” Using the STAR method, they’ll want to structure their answer in a way that’s relevant and easy to follow. They’ll start with a situation that relates to that question. For example: “In my last job as an office manager, the small business I worked for was growing fast and needed to move to a bigger office space.” Next, they should relate that situation to the task that they were assigned. For example, they might say, “I was asked to help organize the move to a new office space so that it would be a smooth transition. My goal was to make sure there was very little disruption to the company’s day to day work throughout the process.” Then, they’ll share the action that they took to complete that task. For example: “I made a list of everything we would need for the packing and moving process and created a timeline for the project to ensure everything got done at the right time and in the right order. I also kept the company owner and employees updated on how things were progressing.” Finally, they’ll share the result that was achieved at the end of that situation. For example: “The move went smoothly and the employees were able to focus on their work, with only a few hours of disruption to get settled into the new office. Plus, the company owner was very happy not to have to deal with the logistics of the move on their own.” While answering questions using the STAR method, be sure to give the interviewers a sense of who you are and why you’re there. Be well prepared with specific points about how your unique background and experiences fit with the position. As you practice more and more, you’ll get better at responding to all types of questions.

Activity: Practice using the STAR method to answer interview questions

• Practice Quiz. 1 question
  • Access Quiz:

• On Step 1: Access the template

To use the template for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

• Link to template: STAR responses

• Link to template: Common Behavioral Interview Questions for Marketers

Activity Exemplar: Practice using the STAR method to answer interview questions

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations for the activity.

Completed Exemplar

To review the exemplar for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

• Link to exemplar: STAR responses

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed STAR responses. Review your work using each of the criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

Your STAR responses template should include:

• A description of three experiences that showcase your skills and align with skills listed in job descriptions for digital marketing or e-commerce roles

• Two interview questions to answer chosen from the Common Behavioral Interview Questions for Marketers list that would provide the opportunity to highlight your experiences

• A description of the following as it relates to each question:

  • 2–3 sentences describing a situation you experienced, providing enough detail to help the interviewer understand the context in which the situation took place

  • 1–2 sentences describing the task you were asked to do, how you were involved, or what you were responsible for in the situation

  • 2–4 sentences describing the action or actions you took to accomplish the task, including specific details that demonstrate your abilities and skills

  • 2–4 sentences discussing the result of the actions you took and the impact you had, including data, where applicable

Ask the interviewer questions

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

In addition to an interviewer asking you questions, it’s important that you ask the interviewer questions as well. Asking questions helps you learn more about the role and it shows your interest in the role.

In this reading, we list several questions you should consider asking your interviewer and explain why you should ask the question and the intention behind it.

Why ask your interviewer questions?

One reason to ask your interviewer questions is that it helps you determine if you are interested in the role. One mistake people make in interviews is believing they are the only one being interviewed. Remember, you are also interviewing the organization to determine if you would like to work there! Ask questions to help determine if the organization is a good fit for you.

Another reason to ask questions is that it shows your interest in the role. When possible, make your question specific to the company you are interviewing for. For example, imagine during your pre-interview research, you come across an article discussing the company’s entrepreneurial culture. You can mention that you read about the organization’s entrepreneurial culture. Then, ask how that culture gets represented in the company.

When to ask your interviewer questions?

Often, at the end of the interview, the interviewer will ask you if you have questions. This is the perfect time to ask your questions. The interview may end without any questions, that’s OK too. It’s typically best to respect the interview time frame rather than ask questions past the time.

If the interviewer doesn’t confirm they will allow time at the end for questions, one way to fit them in before time runs out is to ask during the interview. When asking during an interview, ensure the questions don’t disrupt the flow. For example, if the interviewer mentions available training for the role, you can comment that you are interested in the company’s training. You can then ask them what type of training is available for the position and its delivery.

Additionally, if you are unable to ask any questions during the interview, you can follow-up with an email. Make sure your questions are directly related to the role and related to something you are genuinely interested in.

Example questions to ask your interviewer

How do you evaluate success in this role?

This question helps you better understand what skills or qualities make someone successful in the role. If the interviewer mentions skills or qualities you have, you can then discuss how you applied them in your previous experience.

Can you describe the typical day of someone in this role?

It’s important to know the day-to-day activities of the position. Does this match with the type of role you’re interested in? If it doesn’t, the role may not be a fit for you. This question also confirms that the tasks for the role match the job description.

How would you describe the company’s culture?

A company culture is the attitudes and behaviors of the company and its employees. Asking this question helps you better understand if the company’s culture is a fit for you. For example, if you’d like to work for a company that supports creativity and encourages new ideas, look for that type of information when someone describes the culture.

What do you like about working here?

Similar to the question about culture, this question provides the positive qualities of a workplace. Ensure these qualities match with what you’re interested in for a work environment.

Is there any training for the role and how is the training delivered?

If you’re interested in receiving training for a role, consider asking this question. Additionally, you may want to ask how the training will be delivered, such as digitally, in-person, shadowing a current employee, or another method. Shadowing is when you closely observe another employee perform the role.

Do you have any questions or hesitations about my qualifications or experience?

If you ask this question at the end of an interview, it gives you a chance to address any concerns the interviewer has about your work background. Sometimes the interviewer is interested in an experience that you have, but you haven’t included on a resume. This is the perfect question to address that discrepancy.

Key takeaways

When interviewing, you should ask questions to learn more about the organization and show your interest in the role. When doing pre-interview research, write down any questions you may have for the organization or the role. It’s a best practice to have at least four questions prepared before the interview. If there is time available and the question seems appropriate, ask it!

Create questions to ask your interviewer

• Practice Quiz. 4 questions. Grade: 100%

Answers

Question 2

“What can you share about the company culture and the attitudes and behaviors that contribute to success within the team? How would you describe the working dynamic among employees and the values the company prioritizes?”

Question 3

“I’m eager to understand the day-to-day responsibilities associated with this role. Could you provide more insights into the key tasks and projects that the position entails? Additionally, how does the company measure success in this role, and what skills and experiences do you consider essential for someone to excel in this position?”

Question 4

“I’ve had a diverse range of experiences, including some nontraditional ones, such as running a side business. While my previous roles might not perfectly align with the qualifications, I believe my unique background has equipped me with valuable skills. How does the company approach candidates with varied experiences, and do you see potential for someone with my background to contribute effectively to this role?”

Answers 2

Question 2

Can you share insights into the company culture and the typical attitudes and behaviors that contribute to success within the team?

Question 3

Could you provide more details about the day-to-day responsibilities of this role and the skills and experiences that are particularly valued in performing these tasks effectively?

Question 4

While my previous job experiences may not perfectly align with the qualifications for this role, I have gained valuable skills and experiences from nontraditional avenues, such as running a side business. How does the company view candidates with diverse backgrounds, and do you think my unique experiences could bring a fresh perspective to the team?

Laura - Interview tips

• Video Duration: 4 minutes

Hi, my name is Laura, and I’m the Head of Marketing for Google Canada. So what that really means is that I am in charge of all the ways that we talk to our customers and consumers at Google in Canada. So if you saw a Simu Liu ad for the Pixel 6, or you heard that YouTube has a new format, a short form video format, called—what else—shorts, or you are in a store and you are told you should buy a Nest or a Chromebook, or if you’re taking a Google Career Certificate: those are all the ways that I work with my team to bring marketing to Canada. How many interviews have I conducted in my career? So many I can’t count. But what I can tell you is that the interviewer really wants to know not only do you have the knowledge and skills to do the job but that you understand their product, their brand, what they’re trying to do. So one of the pieces of advice I always give is make sure you’ve gone on their website, maybe if they have an e commerce store, you’ve tried to order a product even if you don’t buy it in the end, you’ve used their product. When I was at Twitter, I used to ask people in the interview, name a few of your favorite Twitter accounts. Well, who’s a brand that you like to follow on Twitter, and you would be surprised at how many times that stumped people, even though they were interviewing for a job at Twitter. And the reason I like to ask that kind of question is because I want to know that you’ve spent some time with the product before you come to an interview. Even if you just got your account two days ago, I’m okay with that. But I want to know that you’ve done a little work to understand what is the business that you’re coming into. So I think it’s really important to have examples and very practical things that you may have learned by doing a bit of upfront research about the company. But it’s not always about the hard skills, it’s also about how you show up in the interview and the pre-work that you’ve done. There may be times in an interview process when you don’t have the specific skills. When I was interviewing for that first job, I didn’t have any tech experience. But what you do have is the ability to learn. You’ve just gone through a rigorous process through this certificate program. You know how to take information, you know how to organize it, and you know how to drive outcomes. So you should be able to talk about that and maybe be prepared to give examples of how you might take on a project. So where do you start, how do you organize yourself? How do you deal with challenges? One of the other things I think you should be prepared to do in an interview is talk about yourself. And for some people, that may seem daunting. And you don’t have to share super personal details, but I think you should be prepared to talk about: What are you passionate about in life? What do you do when you’re not at work? What are things that you aspire to? What hobbies do you have? And maybe be able to give situations or examples of times you’ve worked on something that was challenging. How did you overcome it? What are the personality traits that allow you to be successful in the things that you want to do? When you’re talking about how to stand out in an interview, I think you want to come with your passion, and if you are doing the stuff that you’re doing taking these career certificates— maybe on the side of another job or another commitment that you have— you are passionate, and you do know how to show up. So bring that to the interview, talk to them about this Google Certificate, tell them the work that you’ve done, and show how that means that you really want to have this job and that you’re committed to continuing your learning journey. Talking about how you’ve invested in yourself and how you’re upscaling yourself really shows the interviewer that you’re committed to going on a journey with them and for yourself and to being inquisitive, learning, challenging ways of doing things and learning about new ways to do things, being vulnerable in the space of something you don’t know how to do but you can take on a challenge, learn, and deliver. If I think about what advice I might give my younger self for my first interviewing self, I might say it’s okay to pause, take a minute, and think about your answer. You don’t have to answer every question as soon as the interviewer has asked it. It actually shows that you’re taking the time to collect your thoughts, and then you can come up with a better answer. So I think that’s really important, and it sometimes feels weird, but the interviewer will appreciate it. One last tip is, inevitably the interviewer will say, do you have any questions for me? And the most important thing is that you do have questions for them. So prep a few in advance. Some may come up while you’re in the interview, but make sure you have a couple to ask at the end. So congratulations on all the hard work that you’ve put into this Google Certificate. I wish you all the best. Remember, be yourself, do your homework, and you’ll be great.

Prepare for interviews with Interview Warmup

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

Now that you have the skills and knowledge to work in e-commerce and digital marketing, it’s time to start preparing for interviews. Interview Warmup is a tool that helps you practice answering questions to get more confident and comfortable with interviewing.

Get started

Follow these steps to start a 5-question practice interview related to e-commerce and digital marketing:

1. Go to grow.google/certificates/interview-warmup.

2. Click Start practicing.

3. Select the “E-commerce” practice set.

4. Click Start.

It takes about 10 minutes, and the questions will be different every time. Each question set will have two background questions, one behavioral question, and two technical questions, simulating what you would encounter in a real interview. You can try as many practice interviews as you want.

You’ll also have the option to access the full list of interview questions if you’d like to review more of the questions available or focus on specific topics.

How it works

Interview Warmup asks interview questions for you to practice answering out loud. It transcribes your answer in real time so you can review what you said. You’ll also review insights, which are patterns detected by machine learning that can help you discover things about your answers and identify ways to keep improving.

Here are a few examples of questions the tool might ask:

• Why do you want to work in digital marketing?

• Could you share more about your knowledge and background in SEM?

• Please describe your experience with creating social media content.

• How do you measure the success of an email marketing campaign, and how do you identify areas for improvement?

• Tell me about a recent project or campaign you worked on.

• How would you investigate why a new product line missed its first two monthly sales targets?

Here are some of the insights that Interview Warmup provides:

• Talking points: The tool lets you know which topics you covered in your answer, such as your experience, skills, and goals. You’ll also be able to view other topics that you might want to consider covering.

• Most-used words: The tool highlights the words you used most often and suggests synonyms to broaden your word choices.

• Job-related terms: The tool highlights the words you used that are related to the role or industry in which you are preparing to work. You’ll also be able to view an entire list of job-related terms that you might want to consider including in your answer.

Interview Warmup gives you the space to practice and prepare for interviews on your own. Your responses will be visible only to you, and they won’t be graded or judged.

Key takeaways

Practicing for interviews is an important skill for your career in digital marketing and e-commerce. Using Interview Warmup can help you practice interview questions and receive feedback in real time. As you practice, you will gain confidence and be able to prepare more polished responses for common interview questions.

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5. Develop an elevator pitch

Develop an elevator pitch

• Video Duration: 3 minutes

Have you ever been asked the question, “Who are you?” At first It can seem like a pretty simple question, right? For example, I could simply answer by saying, “I am Erika.” To go one step further, I could even add my job title and the company I work for. Now, instead of simply saying, “Hi, I’m Erika.” I would say, “Hi, I am Erika, a people consultant at Google.” But even saying that isn’t a larger reflection of “who” I am. This is where elevator pitches can help! An elevator pitch is a short, memorable description that explains a concept in an easy-to-understand way. The idea is that you only have the attention of your audience for the duration of an elevator ride, so you have to be able to communicate the concept quickly and succinctly. Elevator pitches are particularly helpful for introducing yourself to career and business connections like at networking events or in the office. You may even notice that your elevator pitch will come in handy for other types of situations, like meeting new friends or new colleagues. For your purposes, the elevator pitch will focus on who you are, your experience, and what makes you unique as an entry-level digital marketing or e-commerce specialist. Let’s explore the different parts to an elevator pitch by using me as an example. Since I work in human resources, I’ll be pretending that I’m applying to an entry-level position in my field. Let’s get started. First, there’s the intro. It details who you are and your current role and a little bit about your professional background. Personally, I would say, “I’m Erica, and I’m a people consultant at Google with more than 10 years in the corporate environment. My current role is similar to that of a Human Resources business partner at other companies. My job involves helping managers, leaders and google employees grow in their roles to help our organization reach their goals.” Next is the most applicable part of my background that I bring to a job opportunity. For example: “In my time in this field I’ve worked with employees and leaders at all levels to help them achieve their career goals through professional development and coaching.” After that, I add in what makes me excited to be working in my industry and showcase my passion for the work that I’ve done. For example: “I love diving deep with employees and leaders to understand their goals, passions, and what keeps them engaged and excited at work. In collaboration, I help them map out career paths and development areas which can help them achieve their goals and support their teams, organizations, and the overall business.” Coming up, you’ll create your own elevator pitch. If done correctly, it will help you be more prepared when an interviewer asks you to tell them about yourself. Once you’ve perfected it, be sure to practice it every now and again. Also, be sure to update it once you achieve more accomplishments.

Learn more about developing an elevator pitch

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

When interviewing with potential employers, it’s important to communicate who you are, your value as an e-commerce or digital marketing professional, and what you’re searching for in a job. A simple way to do this is with an elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a short, memorable description that explains an idea, business, or service in an easy-to-understand way, typically in 60 seconds or less (the average amount of time of an elevator ride).

While an elevator pitch is usually specific to an idea or a product, you can also use it to sell yourself as a professional to potential employers. In an interview, a strong elevator pitch can be used to stand out to your interviewer. It can be used to help explain why you’re a good fit for the role or to answer the popular interview question “tell me about yourself.” This reading helps you prepare your elevator pitch to sell yourself and the value you can provide as a digital marketing coordinator or e-commerce analyst.

Provide an introduction

Start by providing an introduction. Introduce yourself and give a brief overview of your professional background. Explain some job roles you’ve had, your years of work experience, and the types of industries you’ve worked in. If this is your first job in digital marketing or e-commerce, mention some of your past roles that are unrelated.

Describe your work-related background

Even if you’re interviewing for your first internship or job in digital marketing or e-commerce, it’s important to clarify that this is what you want to do as a career.

For example, you could say, “I want to apply my excellent retail and customer service skills to create e-commerce shopping campaigns for shoppers worldwide.”

Show your excitement

This is where you share your passion for the field and why you want to work in the industry. If you’re motivated to sell products online, mention that. This is also a good time to talk about your goals.

For example, you could say, “I love digital marketing because it allows me to research keyword trends that people are interested in. Long term, I’d love to develop my knowledge of search engine optimization.”

Communicate your interest in the company

Communicating why you are interested in the company—and not just the role—is a great way to help the interviewer recognize that you are knowledgeable about the company.

For example, if you were interviewing for a position for Google’s Shopping team, you could say, “Google Shopping helps connect millions of people to the products they desire or need. As a long-time Google Shopping user, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of that mission and provide outstanding support.”

Elevator Pitch Examples

To bring the structure of an elevator pitch to life, check out two examples of elevator pitches at Google. The first is by Sean, a Marketing Manager on the Google Ads team. The second is by Joi, an Associate Product Marketing Manager.

Sean, Marketing Manager, Google Ads

I’m Sean, a Marketing Manager for Google Ads, with over a decade’s worth of experience in the field of digital marketing, most of that with Google.

When I went to school, I didn’t even know this industry existed. I majored in English because I liked reading and writing. My first employer in digital marketing took a chance on me because of my experience with client management and spreadsheets, and they figured they could teach me about digital marketing. I’m glad the industry and I found each other.

Google is always innovating, which means when you work in this field you never stop learning. My first company actually ran a blog all about the latest changes to Google Ads (then called AdWords), and because of my English degree, I took a keen interest in the blog. In a few months, I was managing the blog, and it was through my posts on that site that Google found me.

It’s been wonderful to be on the team that announces the latest changes and updates to Google Ads. Because of my hands-on experience buying ads myself, I can immediately see how somebody’s workflow will change after an announcement. I love being able to tell Google’s story to our advertisers so that companies of all sizes can continue to find success and grow their businesses.

Joi, Associate Product Marketing Manager

I’m Joi, an Associate Product Marketing Manager at Google with 10 years experience as a content creator for YouTube and organic social channels.

Outside of work, I run my own beauty e-commerce business, an experience that has helped me develop a plethora of skills around digital marketing and paid advertising, project management and operations.

My entrepreneurial mindset paired with my love for creativity is what led me to a company like Google. I thrive in ambiguity and love strategizing and solving problems from the ground up.

Key takeaways

Creating a 60 second or less elevator pitch is a great tool to use to quickly share who you are. Use an elevator pitch to introduce yourself to career and business connections in the future. You can even use your elevator pitch in other types of situations, like meeting new friends or new colleagues.

Activity: Draft an elevator pitch

• Practice Quiz. 1 question
  • Access Quiz:

• On Step 1: Access the template

To use the template for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

• Link to template: Elevator pitch

Activity Exemplar: Draft an elevator pitch

• Reading Duration: 10 minutes

Here is a completed exemplar along with an explanation of how the exemplar fulfills the expectations for the activity.

Completed Exemplar

To review the exemplar for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

• Link to exemplar: Elevator pitch

Assessment of Exemplar

Compare the exemplar to your completed elevator pitch. Review your work using each of the criteria in the exemplar. What did you do well? Where can you improve? Use your answers to these questions to guide you as you continue to progress through the course.

The job description section includes:

• Criteria to filter for in your job search

• The title and company name of the target role you identified

• Any relevant experience and skills you have that are similar to those listed in the job description

• A description of the company and its mission

The elevator pitch includes:

• An introduction that includes your name and provides a brief overview of your professional background (one to two sentences)

• An explanation of why the role interests you and why you want to work in the industry (one to two sentences)

• A description of your experience and skills that communicates the value you would bring to the position (two to four sentences)

• An indication that you understand the company’s mission and an explanation of why you want to work for them (one to two sentences)

Share your elevator pitch

• Discussion Prompt Duration: 10 minutes

As you have learned, an elevator pitch communicates important information about you and your experience to potential employers and other career connections in a short amount of time. An effective elevator pitch includes:

An introduction that provides a brief overview of your professional background

An expression of your interest in the role

A description of your relevant experience and skills

An indication of your interest in the company

You should be able to deliver your elevator pitch in the amount of time it takes to ride an elevator with someone—typically no more than 60 seconds.

Please paste the elevator pitch you developed in the previous activity, Draft an elevator pitch, in the space below. Or, write an elevator pitch of about 150–200 words. Then, go to the discussion forums and, applying what you have learned, comment on at least two other learners’ elevator pitches.

Answer

Hello, I’m José, a versatile professional with a background in Full Stack Development and a passion for transitioning into Digital Marketing. I’ve had the opportunity to lead projects in diverse tech environments, gaining a deep understanding of trends and user behavior. What excites me about Anquix is its mission to make a meaningful impact in the future of Digital Artificial intelligence. I’m inspired by the innovative approach your team takes to digital marketing, and I would love to contribute my adaptable skill set to help achieve your goals. I’m eager to bring a fresh perspective, a commitment to creativity, and a data-driven mindset to elevate Anquix’s digital presence. I believe my adaptability and enthusiasm align well with the dynamic environment here, and I’m keen to be a part of the team that drives Anquix’s mission forward.

Let’s discuss how my diverse background and passion for your mission can contribute to the continued success of Anquix.

Learn tips for interviewing remotely

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes

A remote interview is an interview that is done virtually. Typically, the interview is completed on a computer using a video platform. This type of interview provides challenges that face-to-face interviews do not, such as use of technology, lighting, and sound.

In this reading, you will learn tips to have a successful remote interview.

Test your technology

The first tip is to test your technology before the interview. Ideally, a day or two before. This allows you to resolve any technical issues you may have.

You should test your computer’s camera, microphone, and video platform software. If possible, test the video platform software with a friend. Ensure that your camera and microphone work well with the software.

Perfect your lighting

When interviewing remotely, ensure that you are well lit for the interview. You may need to rearrange your desk or furniture to ensure good lighting.

If possible, situate your desk or camera in front of a window with natural lighting. Always try to have light behind your camera so that it will shine on your face.

If you can’t position your desk next to a window or don’t have enough light coming from the window, consider using artificial light. Move a lamp or light fixture behind the camera.

You should avoid having a light or window directly behind you. Having a light source behind you may cause the video to be blurry and make it difficult to see your face.

Practice communicating through video

Communicating through video can be a challenge because there is less body language and a slight sound delay. The sound delay can make it difficult to know how long to wait for someone to stop speaking and for you to start. This is somewhat a learned skill and you will become comfortable with how long to pause with practice.

If you don’t have experience communicating through video, consider practicing with friends and family before the remote interview. This will help you learn how pauses affect video communication.

Look into the camera when speaking

When communicating through video, try to look into the camera when speaking instead of at the video of the person you’re speaking to. Looking into the camera gives the person you’re speaking with the feeling that you are maintaining eye contact. If you look down and speak at their image, it will appear on the video as if you are looking slightly down

Dress appropriately

Just because the interview isn’t in person doesn’t mean you should dress down for the occasion. Depending on the type of role and company you’re interviewing for, you may need to wear formal business attire. Whereas for another position, more casual clothing may be appropriate. Do research on the company to determine which type of interview outfit is suitable for the role and company.

Choose a professional interview location

Review your video background before the interview. Typically, you should avoid having an unorganized background or any objects that may distract the interviewer.

Depending on the video software, there may be virtual backgrounds available. A virtual background displays an image or video behind you during a meeting, which can provide you with privacy and a more professional look. Make sure to use a background that is professional and appropriate for the role and to test it out before going into the interview.

Sign in early

Ideally, before the interview, you should have already tested your technology and feel confident that everything will work. However, technology and software can be unpredictable. Sign in to your remote interview early to ensure everything is working properly.

Additionally, signing in early indicates to your interviewer that you respect the interviewer’s time and are a punctual person. These are two positive qualities that the interviewer may be interested in.

Key takeaways

If you’ve never interviewed remotely before, it can feel intimidating. Follow the tips in this reading to give yourself more confidence with the process. Always test your technology before the interview and, if possible, the video software as well. This will increase the likelihood the remote interview goes well, and you present yourself in the best way possible.

Nami - Job interview guidance

• Video Duration: 4 minutes

My name is Nami. I’m a People Partner at Google, otherwise known as an HR Business Partner in the external world. I get to really help leaders think about how to mobilize their people and their talent towards business objectives. So the first job that I applied for was actually at a large consulting firm, and there’s so much about that experience that I would have done differently now looking back at that some odd years later. I would have prepared and really learned more about the organization, the company that I was going to work for, and exactly how I was going to spend my day. I just didn’t ask enough questions about what my day-to-day would have looked like. I think sometimes as interviewees we often think about what we are bringing to the table and how to sell that, but we’re not often interviewing the company to understand whether they are the right fit for us in terms of where we’re trying to take our careers. Asking questions will help ensure that that is mutually there and that it will be an environment that you can really succeed in. There are so many different questions you can ask. If you’re talking to the recruiter, I would ask a lot of questions about the organization, the company, the hiring manager, the team, the role, what success could actually look like in that position. If you’re talking to the hiring manager, I would ask a lot of questions around the team, what success looks like, what their management style and approach is, who the peers will be, what the challenges are, and where they could make the most impact. I have done so many interviews— probably over hundreds, if not a thousand—at this point in my career. The biggest transferable skill that I actually look for with most candidates in any role is actually learning aptitude. What I cannot coach is will, but I can coach skill. I need to know that you have the proactivity, that you have the leadership, and that you have the tenacity to learn the space and learn new skills. Typical questions I would ask are along the lines of either behavioral or hypothetical questions. So if it is the first interview that I’m having with a candidate, I would definitely ask questions around why they’re looking to make the transition that they are, what they’re hoping to get out of their next career move, and what they’re interested about when it comes to digital marketing in the field that they’re applying for. So I will typically ask questions around things that I think are going to be really important for that field. So in this field, I would think that I would optimize for questions around transformation, innovation, wide and macro thinking, and being proactive. So specific questions I would ask are: Tell me about a time where you challenge the status quo. Tell me about a time where you successfully navigated a situation that had multiple perspectives or stakeholders. Everybody has life experience, and oftentimes when you don’t have the actual relevant experience or work experience to lean on, I would lean on experiences that you’ve had in family or in work or in school that you can actually give voice to and think big picture, right? The point is that you really want your interviewer to really understand the depth of information or knowledge that you have on the system— the way that you’ve been able to navigate different spaces and contexts. And so I would really ask yourself this question around “What do I really want to make sure that this interviewer walks away from understanding about me and my talent?” and make sure that you convey that through the interview process. The first piece of advice I would really give to somebody is to be clear on your story. But if you can really spend the time to really understand, what is your story? Who are you? What do you bring to the table? And then make sure that you think about how to convey that brand or that story to the interviewer, you will always typically be in a really great spot, and bring your most authentic and confident self to the table.

Jesse - Overcome imposter syndrome when preparing for interviews

• Video Duration: 5 minutes

My name is Jesse, and I’m the director of Grow with Google. We focus on giving job seekers and small businesses the digital skills they need to succeed in this increasingly digital world of ours. So we build programs, we forge partnerships to help job seekers find actual jobs, and of course, we have to tell everybody about this stuff. And that’s where marketing plays a huge role in what I do. My path to digital marketing was a windy one. When I graduated from college, I really wanted to be a teacher, and so that’s what I did. I was a high school history and English teacher. Teaching was great, but I knew it wasn’t going to be my forever career, and I was really intrigued by marketing. I had some friends who were doing marketing, and it seemed interesting. So I started getting curious about this field called marketing. I actually had an opportunity to go talk to a career counselor, and I showed her my resume with my teaching jobs on it, and she was not encouraging. She told me it was going to be difficult, and that I would have to get a job in an educational-type company. I wanted to work in tech, and I walked out of that meeting really depressed. Just for a little while. After that, I got a real fire in my belly. I said to myself, I can do this. I know I can do this and I guess I’m just going to have to figure it out on my own. I went to the internet and I googled the skills that you need for a marketing job. The things that came up were communication, problem-solving, creativity, data and analysis. I thought about my teaching job, and I thought about all those skills, and I realized that l was doing a lot of that stuff. So when I went into my first interview, I knew I didn’t have any marketing experience, but I knew a little bit about the skills that were required in a marketing role, and so what I did was try to connect the dots between my experience and those skills. So I talked a lot about communication, about writing, about my interpersonal skills, about creativity. These are all things that were super important in marketing roles. The data and analytics part was a tough one— that was a definite weakness for me— and as I went into interviews, I just owned that. I didn’t try to pretend to be something I wasn’t or have skills that I didn’t have, but I talked about how sometimes I would bring data into my history classes and how I was a really quick study and loved learning new things. I didn’t realize it at the time that what I was talking about was something called growth mindset, which is this belief that you can develop skills by practicing and learning. I think the key was that I was confident, or at least I projected confidence in the interview. I went in there thinking there’s no better background for a marketing job than to have been a high school history and English teacher. I just had to believe that for the interview, and if I didn’t believe it, then the person across the table definitely wasn’t going to believe it. I was very nervous walking into that interview. I just was worried they wouldn’t take me seriously. I didn’t have any real marketing experience, but I decided to try to push that fear down and fake it till you make it with a big smile and a confident vibe. It’s funny, I think that when we feel impostor syndrome, we feel like we’re the only one who doesn’t have that experience or the background or whatever it is, but chances are everyone around you or at least a good many folks around you are feeling the exact same way. So if you’re a career changer, like I was moving from something like teaching into marketing, which seem on the surface pretty different from one another, my advice to you is to dig to the layer below. Really try to understand by doing internet research, by talking to people, what are the skills that marketing requires, and are any of those skills the same as the skills required to do whatever the thing is that you’re doing now? My guess is that you’ll find some overlap. In the interview, your job is to connect the dots between the skills that you are using now to the skills that you know that employer needs you to have in the job that he or she is hiring for. And if you can sit down and practice and come up with a narrative that connects those dots, I think you’re going to have a pretty interesting conversation with your interviewer.

Activity: Create an e-commerce portfolio and present it to your peers

• Practice Peer-graded Assignment. Duration: 1 hour. Grade: 100%

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6. Review: Prepare for jobs in digital marketing and e-commerce

Wrap-up

• Video Duration: 1 minute

Great job navigating this section of the course. As a refresher, let’s take a moment to review what we learned. You started off by creating an e-commerce-based design project that applied what you learned over the course of the program. You then proceeded to explore job readiness skills, like building a portfolio and a resume. You finished by exploring common interview techniques. Now that you’ve learned what the interview process entails, feel confident as you apply to jobs in the future. Move on to wrap up the course.

Glossary terms from module 3

• Reading: Duration: 10 minutes
  • Access the glossary

Module 3 challenge

• Quiz: 10 questions. Grade: 90%
• Link to challenge 1

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7. Course review: Satisfaction guaranteed: Develop customer loyalty online

Course wrap-up

• Video Duration: 54 seconds

Big congratulations on finishing the last course of the program. Completing the work in this section of the program took hard work and dedication. Thank you for sticking with me through the last video. During this section of the course, we covered a lot of information. Let’s go back to review. We covered how to reach customers using e-commerce tools. Next, we navigated industry trends like seasonality to get an idea of what you can expect while being an e-commerce specialist. Then, we continued to examine how we could keep customer loyalty in mind with remarketing techniques. After that, you moved on to the final section of the course, where you explored career readiness through creating a portfolio and learning about interviewing techniques. Thank you for spending time with me. If you have completed this program in order, you now have the skills and tools to start or build your career in either the digital marketing or e-commerce field. Move on to the next section to finish this certificate program.

Course 7 glossary

• Reading Duration: 20 minutes
  • Access the glossary

Share your course experience

• Discussion Prompt Duration: 10 minutes

At this point in the program, you’ve learned how to reach customers using e-commerce tools.

You’ve navigated industry trends like seasonality and examined how to keep customer loyalty in mind with remarketing techniques. After that, you explored career readiness by creating a portfolio and learning interviewing techniques.

Now, you’re ready to apply what you’ve learned to the real world. Take some time to reflect and share your experience in the course:

What stood out to you the most and why?

What do you plan to take away from this course, and how will you apply it to your future career in digital marketing or e-commerce?

Please write a response of 3–4 sentences (60–80 words). Then, go to the discussion forums and comment on at least two posts from other learners

Answer

The most impactful aspect of the course was understanding the intersection of customer loyalty and remarketing techniques. Learning to navigate industry trends like seasonality provided valuable insights. I plan to apply this knowledge by implementing effective remarketing strategies to enhance customer retention in my future career in digital marketing. The course has equipped me with practical skills that I am eager to apply in the dynamic landscape of e-commerce.

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END! - Week 3 - Course 7

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