Career Journeys - Marketing

Understanding what consumers want by designing experiments and surveys and analyzing market data is essential. One study suggested that 83 percent of CMOs are responsible for analyzing and measuring the effectiveness of their marketing spending and 72 percent are responsible for conducting marketing research.

CMOs also need to think and act strategically by understanding what consumers want and finding unique market positions for their companies to capture. 94 percent of CMOs are primarily responsible for developing their company’s marketing strategy and 83 percent their brand strategy.

As a manager with functional responsibility, it is important for marketing executives to know how to get things done. One study suggested 93 percent of CMOs are responsible for implementing their company’s marketing strategy and 78 percent for their marketing communications and media plan.

In addition to the general areas listed above, you want to think about how you can get off to a fast start by developing industry-specific knowledge and skills. For example, if you want a marketing career in health care, you might consider some of the following electives:

Alternatively, if you are considering a marketing career in the technology sector, you might start as a product manager and consider taking a few of the following courses:

The technology-career elective guide can help you develop a more comprehensive point of view.

Senior Marketing Executives emphasize the importance of leadership and interpersonal skills. One survey of marketing recruiters suggested leadership and communication skills were both hard-to-find and highly desired by companies. It also indicated that the ability to work collaboratively was critical.

Darden offers a wide variety of SY electives that help support your development as a leader and effective team member. Here is a short list of courses cited by recent graduates. There are many more from which to choose. "Marketing Leadership" might be particularly relevant, but many of the previously listed marketing courses will help you develop leadership skills too.

Your choices should reflect your needs for personal growth. Consider taking a few from the list:

The Business Analytics concentration will prepare students to participate in organizations that make abundant use of data/quantitative/mathematical techniques (“data science”) as part of their business processes.  It is a more general version of the “Market Analytics” concentration in that the areas of application are more than marketing.  We expect completion of this concentration to be a useful signal to potential employers of the analytic and quantitative abilities of the student.

Faculty Contact: Robert Carraway

Concentration Requirements

A student will be recognized as having completed this concentration when they have met the following constraints:

• Completed at least 9.0 hours of the courses listed below.
• Completed at least 1.5 hours of an Independent Study with a Quantitative Analysis faculty member.

Note: Not all courses may be offered in a given year.

Specific Required Courses: None. Although we expect students will take Data Analysis and Optimization (7600) as it is a pre-requisite for some of the courses below.

Sustainable success requires organizations to innovate and grow to maintain or increase profitability. Students in this concentration will learn the fundamentals of managing innovation, organic growth, and acquisition and integration of mergers and acquisitions.

Faculty Contact: Jeanne Liedtka

Concentration Requirements

A student will be recognized as having this concentration when they have completed 9.0 credit hours from the courses listed below.

Note: Not all courses may be offered in a given year.

The marketing concentration prepares students for careers in marketing by helping them understand how to manage customer relationships (e.g. in consumer packaged goods, consumer durables, consumer services, consulting firms, Not for Profits (NFPs), industrial goods and technology products). Through this series of courses, students will gain insight into how customer-based marketing decisions can create loyal, engaged customers.

Faculty Contact: Raj Venkatesan

Concentration Requirements

A student will be recognized as having this concentration when they have completed 7.5 credit hours from the courses listed below.

Note: Not all courses may be offered in a given year.

For students who want to add a quantitative and analytical focus to the general management curriculum, Darden offers a management science specialization. This specialization requires that students earn 12 credits from a select group of electives. It also carries a STEM designation, which gives international students in F-1 status who meet certain requirements the possibility of 36 months of work authorization in the U.S. after graduation.

In one year and 30 credit hours, students in Darden's M.S. in business analytics degree develop the portfolio of skills needed to leverage and communicate insights into strategic corporate actions, solutions and results. 

Darden's Master of Business Administration/Master of Science in Data Science (MBA/MSDS) provides robust training and cutting-edge tools ideal for students who plan to pursue a variety of career fields, ranging from technology to entrepreneurship to consulting. 

Through Darden’s Career Center and Alumni Career Services, you’ll gain career guidance from the moment you enroll and for wherever your career takes you after graduation. Here’s what you can expect:

• Darden-facilitated opportunities for networking, meeting alumni and industry leaders, and interviewing
• Access to advanced analytics and data to craft recruiting marketing materials such as resume, LinkedIn, and more
• NYC and West Coast job treks
• Resume and cover letter reviews
• Industry- and employer-specific database for interview prep and salary research
• Case interview prep
• Mock interviews
• Employer case competitions
• Negotiation skill-building
• Executives-in-Residence Program

Darden Marketing Club

The Marketing Club at Darden seeks to establish a strong marketing reputation for the School, provide a forum to educate and enhance members' understanding of marketing, assist members in exploring marketing employment opportunities, and encourage interaction between students, companies and faculty. 

Darden Marketing, General Management and Tech (MGMT) Conference

Darden's MGMT Conference provides a unique opportunity for three of the School's largest career clubs to host and engage with top employers hiring Darden talent.