Experience Is Not Always King When It Comes to Digital Marketing
By Matthew Ward, Founder and Director14 July 2022
Every marketer is learning on the job, at every stage of their career. Digital marketing in particular moves fast enough that staying sharp matters more than how many years someone has clocked up. Loving the work is what keeps people genuinely good at it, not tenure alone.
Demanding years of experience for every digital marketing hire, including graduate roles, often rules out exactly the people who'd do the job well. What actually predicts good work is proof, not years.
The experience trap in hiring
Digital marketing covers a huge range of roles and skill sets, dozens of distinct job titles between senior strategists and hands-on creative roles. Without a clear idea of what you actually need, hiring becomes guesswork. It's a trap we see often: graduate roles advertised asking for four or five years of experience, or a single job listing that's really three roles stitched together, expecting one person to manage social media, design and video production all at once.
Unless the budget stretches to finding that rare all-rounder, the better move is to step back and get clear on strategy and goals first. Hiring without that clarity means managing expectations blind, and it usually shows in the results.
What marketing graduates actually bring
Graduates bring fresh, current practice, the latest terminology, platforms and strategic thinking, applied without years of habits to unlearn. Businesses and customers have never been more connected, and graduate talent tends to adapt fastest to how quickly digital expectations shift. Given the chance, that combination of fresh knowledge and genuine ambition drives a marketing strategy forward just as effectively as a more senior hire, often at a fraction of the cost. It is the thinking behind Freelance Marketing Graduates, skilled marketers who use AI every day, working with businesses month to month.
What we actually look for
We don't look for years, we look for proof. Has this person freelanced? Worked in an agency or an in-house team? Completed a placement year as part of their degree? Been building a personal brand on social media? Done relevant internships? None of that requires five years to demonstrate, and a marketing degree alone doesn't make someone a good marketer, but it's a strong starting point combined with genuine industry engagement.
We ask what publications someone reads, what industry news has caught their attention recently. Someone who can answer confidently is usually more genuinely invested in the work than someone who can't, and that shows up in the quality of what they produce.
The portfolio matters more than the CV
A portfolio tells you more than a list of past job titles ever will. It shows how someone thinks, how they present their work, and whether they've been proactive about building experience even outside a formal role. In an industry built around standing out, a marketer's own portfolio should reflect exactly that.
If you're hiring a marketing graduate and want help finding someone who fits, not just someone with a long CV, get in touch with Lead Kinetics and we'll help you find the right person. For a closer look at what to actually ask candidates once you're at that stage, see graduate hires: what to look for and what questions to ask.
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