Hi there. My name is Erika, and I'm a people consultant here at Google, known elsewhere in the industry as an HR business partner. I help employees, leaders, and managers solve problems and focus on their career goals. I also provide guidance along the way, and I'll be doing the same thing for you in this program. My journey to working in HR wasn't a straight line. Early in my career I held several roles in other industries, including restaurant-server and cashier. I even handled auto insurance claims for awhile. These jobs might seem really different, but they all taught me something about myself and what I wanted to do. When I realized I had a passion for helping others in the area of learning and development, my path became really clear. Now, I'm excited to share my knowledge with you as you embark on the next stage of your own career. I'll be popping in occasionally to introduce career resources and discuss job searching and interview tips to help you on your journey. In this video, we'll cover some things you should know about the job landscape and a few things you can start to do right now that will help you advance your career. Digital marketing and e-commerce are some of the fastest growing industries out there today. Right now, there are thousands of open roles around the world and millions of people are already working in similar positions. Many of those jobs didn't even exist five or 10 years ago, and even more will develop as new technologies emerge. If you search any job board, you'll find digital marketing and e-commerce roles at organizations of all sizes in just about every industry, not just retail and consumer goods. With opportunities in so many fields, people in these roles can make an impact in a lot of different areas, from education to healthcare, and finance. It also means you can pursue jobs and industries you care about. Love fashion, technology, entertainment, all those industries need digital marketing and e-commerce specialists. At the same time, try to keep an open mind when searching for jobs. Your next role probably won't be your last. Even if you don't start out in your ideal industry, it can still help you build the career you want. In addition to targeting certain industries, you might also find you prefer some aspects of digital marketing or e-commerce more than others, and that's great. The strongest candidates have a broad knowledge of the fundamentals and a deep understanding of one or two specific areas. As you move through the program, pay close attention to the topics and courses that engage you the most. Reflect on your strengths and think about what you want to do with them. You might not have the answer yet, but these questions will help you target roles that align with your career interests later. Even if you're not quite ready for a job search, there are things you can do during this program to improve your prospects later on. For example, it's never too early to explore job descriptions for open roles. As you consider your skills and the parts of the program you like best, search job boards for roles in those areas. Make note of terms and skills that come up frequently. For example, you might find that certain roles often mention data analysis and reporting. This information will help you learn industry terminology and find out where you might want to expand your skills. Once you have an idea of the roles you want to target, you can start to identify past samples of work that demonstrate relevant experience. Have you written an essay or a story, designed a website, managed a budget or organized information in a spreadsheet? You'll build a portfolio later in the program. Keep track of these items in case you want to include them. If you don't have any samples yet, that's okay too. You'll create some as you complete the activities in the upcoming courses. By the end of this program, you'll have concrete examples of work that can help you demonstrate your experience to potential employers. Another way you can put what you're learning into action is by starting to shape your public persona as a digital marketing or e-commerce specialists. In other words, by building your personal brand. You can demonstrate your knowledge and skills through your social media accounts or personal website and might even end up with a few samples of work for your portfolio. Finally, be sure to keep up with this program bit by bit until you reach the end. By completing this series of courses, you're investing in yourself, your skills, and your future. You're doing it right now. Just keep going. Good luck, and I'll check in with you again near the end of this course.