Sales and Marketing Internship: Salary, Description, Career Paths
Written by Adam Grossman
An ordained rabbi, who has founded multiple ventures focused on workforce development, he is a cofounder and the Chief Development Officer at The Selling Factory.
The future appears bright for a career in sales and marketing. The number of high-paying managerial jobs in the space is expected to grow by 10% through 2031 — a rate faster than the national average.
Moreover, did you know that advertising, promotions, and marketing managers earn more than $133,000 per year on average? With a bachelor’s degree, graduates can also find themselves earning a high salary in a relatively short period of time.
For many, a successful career starts at the internship level. Check out our comprehensive guide about how to get a sales and marketing internship:
Sales and Marketing Job Description
First, it’s important to talk about sales and marketing jobs. While the two disciplines are related, and often work closely with one another, they don’t serve the same function. That said, sales and marketing teams have the same ultimate goal: Increase the company’s bottom line through sales.
In the sales and marketing field, jobs are often focused around reaching prospective clients. This is achieved by identifying potential customers and marketing products or services to them. Conversely, it can be achieved by reaching out to a less-targeted audience and then qualifying potential customers as they express interest.
There are also different types of sales and marketing. In marketing, you might categorize things by medium or platform, such as print advertising or digital marketing. In sales, you could divide things by inbound and outbound. However, each industry (and each company) can have its own angle and approach to sales and marketing functions, which is why learning on the job through an internship can be so valuable.
What Does a Sales and Marketing Intern Do?
If you’re interested in a sales and marketing career, you’re probably curious about what an intern in this field does and how it can help you.
The primary objective for a sales and marketing intern is to learn about the industry and company they’re interning with, as well as the type of sales and marketing process being leveraged.
Typically, a sales and marketing intern will shadow a manager or experienced sales representative. These managers will educate interns and dictate specific tasks, offering support that allows interns to gain real-world experience.
What Are Some Sales and Marketing Career Paths?
Many people aren’t aware that companies across the world spend roughly $1 trillion on marketing. This is because the hunt for sales growth is always on and a successful marketing campaign generates more revenue than it costs.
With sizable budgets, companies are hiring more marketing specialists and sales representatives.
An internship is a great way to get started with an organization. Upon completion, interns can move on to entry level positions, such as assistant, coordinator, associate, agent, representative, analyst, or specialist.
Sales and marketing managers are higher up the organization hierarchy. Directors sit above managers, before moving onto executive roles like VP (Vice President) and SVP (Senior Vice President). Positions such as Head of Business Development and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) often sit at the top of the department, reporting to the President or CEO (Chief Executive Officer).
How to Get a Sales and Marketing Internship?
In order to secure an internship, you need to prepare a sales and marketing intern resume. As an entry-level worker, you probably don’t have much work experience to cite, so your primary focus will often be your education. You’ll use the education section of your resume to discuss what college you graduated from, degrees you’ve attained, and knowledge gained.
Many employers have a grade point average (GPA) requirement for new hires. You should highlight your GPA in the resume as well.
Since you likely don’t have much work experience, use your resume space to highlight special projects that you’ve completed.
Many employers are intrigued by the college-level projects with a sales and marketing focus.
Extracurricular activities are also valuable. They demonstrate to employers that you can multitask and know how to work on a team.
Sales and Marketing Internship Interviews
With your resume complete, you can start applying for sales and marketing internships. For standout resumes, employers will call for an in-person or virtual interview.
An employer can ask about any number of topics, but questions about what you want to do with your career are common. It’s important to showcase that you’ve given this some thought – even if you’re not entirely sure what industry you want to end up in or job title you want to have.
Interviewers are also likely to ask specific questions about what you learned in school, as well as any specific sales or marketing projects you worked on. Of course, questions about prior work experience are also likely – even if the jobs seem unrelated to the internship you’re applying for.
Some companies may be interested in how you might market or sell their goods so be sure to read their mission statement, research their products and/or services, and check out their current marketing campaigns. They may also present hypothetical situations or test for soft skills to see how you would respond as an employee.
Sales and Marketing Internship Wages
If your interview goes well, you might be offered an internship. The next step will be accepting an offer with details on salary and potential benefits.
Interns don’t earn a lot of money. The average intern salary is $15 per hour nationwide. However, this hourly rate may increase depending on several factors. Location and prior work experience could increase the rate to $20 per hour.
Which Internship Is Best for Sales and Marketing?
The best internships are springboards for the career you want to pursue. They can also help you gain skills that port well to other paths.
The Selling Factory offers internships that give college students real-world experience while getting paid – all built around a flexible schedule. Interns learn the art of selling, which is an invaluable tool no matter what career you ultimately choose.
Members of The Selling Factory alumni have gone on to get jobs at major companies like KPMG, VMware, EY, Deloitte, Oracle, Gartner, Chewy, and more. If you’re interested in a sales and marketing internship with The Selling Factory, apply here to get your career started.
