A marketing professional has offered career tips to graduates and entry-level professionals in the industry.

Becky Sheetz-Runkle, vice-president of client services at the agency Q2 Marketing, has 15 years' experience in the field.

She told the Examiner that when starting out in the marketing profession, graduates can expect a great deal of variation in their work. They day-to-day duties could include industry research, preparing client reports and clippings, building matrixes for speaking opportunities and awards, and carrying out market intelligence.

If they move into account management, they can expect client meetings and conference calls and working with third-party vendors to ensuring deliverables are on schedule.

In any marketing position, the ability to communicate effectively with clients, colleagues and external partners is vital, Ms Sheetz-Runkle added.

Graduates will also need a dedication to getting the job done, an ability to coordinate with others and thick skin. But while marketing jobs can be hard work involving long hours, Ms Sheetz-Runkle said they can also be rewarding careers that can lead to management and executive roles.

In 2006, there were 167,000 marketing managers in the United States.