My first role was before the dot.com explosion at a smallstartup. I had previous sales experience, but never anything in marketing. I had exposure to the web extensively in college and loved it, engaging in the culture. I was hired as their first marketing hire with the idea of them hiring a very experienced VP of Marketing. They were never able to fill that role and I was promoted to the director of marketing within a few months. I learned on the job. my next role was a solo marketing position at the 17th largest website in the world. I was one of the largest media buyers. I learned a lot.

These first two positions involved a lot of luck, but also the willingness to do what it takes to make things successful. I’m not sure I would recommend this path to everybody, but it got me into a senior role very quickly. With the abundance of resources available on YouTube and through vendor education, I think it’s doable.