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Former CBA student communications team member offers 11 reflections on preparing for a marketing career
Kennedy Burns has a running list in her phone of things she wishes she had known about marketing before graduating.
Now the assistant director of digital engagement for the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association, the Central Michigan University marketing graduate has been adding to that list as she puts her skills to work. Recently, she sent her reflections back to the College of Business Administration student communications team, offering a look at what she uses every day and what she would encourage current students to explore.
Burns knows that team well. As a student employee, she helped build the college’s social media accounts and shape the communications team that continues its work today. She also coached and mentored fellow students, including Ava Mahon, who now serves as the student team lead.
She worked closely with Kurt Baringer, the college’s multimedia manager and instructor, and Alisha Draper, director of marketing and communications. Her experience gave her opportunities to develop her creative skills while helping other students find their footing.
“Kennedy represents the very best of what a CMU student can become. From a freshman in my BUS 100 course exploring career options to a leader on our communications team, she continually embraced new challenges and opportunities,” said Baringer. “Watching her discover a passion for marketing, lead our social media efforts and ultimately return to my classroom as an upperclassman to share her expertise with other students was incredibly rewarding. Her journey is a true success story.”
Her advice grew from that student experience and the lessons she has learned since entering the working world. Here are 11 reflections and tips from Burns, shared in her own words with light edits for grammar and clarity.
I wish I had spent more time discovering the different niches within marketing. There is so much out there. Knowing early what kind of marketing you’re interested in or good at, whether that’s social media, experiential marketing, analytics, or branding, can really help. For me, that ended up being higher education. Knowing that earlier would have helped me be more intentional about the experiences I wanted to build before graduating and, ultimately, helped me stand out in a pool of fresh grads. If you’re interested in the sports industry, for example, find ways to get involved with CMU Athletics or local high school sports, or volunteer at sporting events. It doesn’t have to be a formal internship to be valuable experience.
Spend more time building your portfolio. Even if you’re not interested in a creative marketing role, nine times out of 10, a marketing job you apply for will ask for a portfolio or examples of your work. Start building it early. If you don’t think you have anything to add yet, earn free certifications, use projects from your marketing classes, or give yourself made-up projects for fictional brands. Show off all of your skills!
I wish I had more design experience. We use Adobe pretty heavily at my job, and I wish I had been more fluent in InDesign and Photoshop coming out of college. You don’t necessarily need to become a graphic designer, but a basic understanding of design and some comfort with programs like Adobe and Canva can make you much more valuable as a marketer. Spend some time taking online courses, watching tutorials, or honestly just opening the programs and teaching yourself.
I wish I had learned more about paid advertising and Meta Business Suite. I use these tools pretty much every week in my job. So much goes into a successful paid ad campaign beyond just putting money behind a post. Understanding audiences, placements, budgets, creative, objectives, reporting, and optimization is really valuable. Even a basic understanding of how paid social works can set you apart.
Don’t rely on AI. Yes, it’s a tool, and yes, it can be incredibly useful. But at least in my creative line of work, I think it’s more valuable to know how to use AI as a tool rather than as a replacement for your own creativity and critical thinking. The more you rely on it for basic things, the less you retain, at least in my experience. It’s also becoming pretty obvious when a caption, piece of copy, or creative work was generated entirely by AI. I use AI in my job, but more for things like competitive research, brainstorming, organizing information, or looking at what other institutions are doing. I still want the actual creative thinking to come from me.
Network. Build relationships with professors, alumni, people in industries you’re interested in, and even people you meet through internships or part-time jobs. Ask questions and be genuinely interested in what people do. You never know who might connect you to your next opportunity.
Learn how to read and explain marketing data. You don’t need to be a data scientist, but I wish I had been more comfortable reading metrics and data before graduating. Being able to look at analytics and answer the questions “So what?” and “Now what?” is so important.
Get really good at writing. I write so much more after graduation than I ever thought I would. In a world of AI-generated copy, being able to make things sound human is such a skill.
Learn to present your ideas. I’m glad CMU gave me so many opportunities to present in college because I feel like that practice has made me a much better marketer after graduation. Coming up with ideas is one thing, but being able to explain concisely why they make sense, back them up with data, and get people excited and on board is another thing entirely.
Don’t be afraid to say yes to opportunities that aren’t your “dream job.” Your first internship or even your first job after graduation doesn’t have to match exactly what you want to do forever. I’m glad I worked so many jobs and internships in college because those experiences taught me what I don’t like and gave me skills that have been extremely valuable after graduation. Get experience wherever you can, and pay attention to which parts of the job you like and don’t like.
Certifications from HubSpot, Hootsuite, Google, Meta, or X will stand out!
For current students, Burns’ reflections offer practical ways to build on what they are learning in class. A class project can become a portfolio piece. A student organization or campus job can help them explore an industry. An unfamiliar assignment can reveal a skill they want to develop further.
Burns helped other students grow while she was part of the CBA communications team. By sharing what she is learning in her career, she is continuing that mentorship and giving the next group of students a clearer view of what comes after graduation.
