Many management students from prestigious institutes in India like Indian Institute of Management think that they will land jobs with high-profile marketing roles, which include crafting brand narratives and overlooking large-scale campaigns, immediately after graduation. But that is mostly not the case. The reality of the job market can be quite different. It’s common for companies to require new marketing hires to first gain hands-on sales experience, which helps them understand market reality and consumer behavior to strengthen their base.
A recent discussion on Reddit’s r/IndianWorkplace highlighted this scenario. A user shared an experience where, at 21, they were assigned to work with an account executive who was a fresh graduate from a top IIM, earning a CTC of over 21 LPA with a Rs 2 lakh joining bonus. This new hire, expecting a marketing role, was instead tasked with sales responsibilities. After just ten days, he resigned.
“In my previous avatar as an Inside sales rep, when I was just 21, they assigned me an Account executive who was a management trainee straight out of top three IIM. His ctc was above 21 LPA with 2 lacs joining bonus. My territory then was across India covering NCR and surrounding cities along with some part of down south states. This bschool dude was all pumped on the first day and went to visit a distributor in Gurgaon. Ten days later, he put his resignation. When I asked him bhai kya hua he said ‘Yaar mai socha woh marketing mei hire kiye mujhe, and now I’m told to do sales for one year’,” the user wrote.
Have a look at the full post here:
Funny incident of an IIM grad
byu/Suspicious-Air1997 inIndianWorkplace
The fact that sales and marketing are intertwined cannot be missed. Marketing serves as a sales enabler. Without a deep understanding of sales processes and customer interactions, marketing strategies may not be as effective. Marketers need to be attuned to customer experiences and feedback – which are gathered through sales interrractions.
This was pointed out by a few people online who responded to the above post. Have a look:
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While the allure of high-profile marketing jobs is strong, the foundational experience gathered through sales is crucial.