My first job in marketing required 1-2 years of experience. I didn't have 1 year of experience and was on a 485 Graduate visa. Here's the complete timeline of how I did it.
The timeline, from company list to offer
Oct 27: Created a list of companies I wanted to work in.
Nov 7: Reached out to 5+ employees from each company on my list.
Nov 19: Secured and went on a coffee chat, just to learn.
Dec 14: Saw a junior marketing role at the same company as the person I talked to.
Dec 15: Reached out to that person to ask for a referral.
1 screening call and 2 rounds of interviews later, I got the offer on 17 Jan.
Why online applications weren't enough
In marketing there are 200+ candidates per role. We have to do so much more than online applications.
Your experience matters less than you think. Everyone has some sort of internship experience anyway, so the playing field is still level. You win if you are memorable.
How to make each step work
The outreach message. Don't mention more than 2 lines of your achievements or experience. The professionals you approach have done more themselves. What impresses them is your strong will to learn, your proactiveness and your passion to get into the field.
Who to message. Instead of the recruiter who receives 15 messages a day, reach out to someone in the team you want to join.
If you want to learn every step from someone in your target industry, book a free 15-minute call.
The coffee chat. When you reach out to learn from someone instead of asking for a job, they are far more willing to help, because you come across as proactive instead of transactional.
The referral. Never ask for a referral in the first 3 messages. Why would a stranger help you? Build rapport first. If the person genuinely likes you, they'll want to help.
9 months of trial and error
I only learnt how to make each step work after 9 months of trial and error.
For more on turning a cold message into a referral, read: Cold LinkedIn Referral Message: How to Turn Outreach Into a Job Referral.