One Month Into my Career Journey: My mistakes and lessons

It’s been one month since I decided to seriously pursue digital marketing as a career. I’ve built a portfolio blog, written 10 articles, set up Google Analytics, created a lead magnet, and learned more about SEO than I ever thought I’d need to know.

I’ve also made plenty of mistakes.

This isn’t a victory lap. This is an audit: what’s working, what isn’t, and what I’m changing before I start applying to jobs in earnest.

If you’re considering a career change at 30+, I hope that my missteps can save you some time.

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The Reality Check: What Job Postings Actually Want

I started feeling skeptical about my strategy about two weeks in. I didn’t know enough about digital marketing to be sure I was headed in the right direction. Then it hit me: why don’t I just search for entry-level digital marketing jobs and see what they’re actually looking for?

That’s when I realized I had a problem.

Most job postings in my area want social media experience such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and experience with content calendars.

Social media wasn’t anywhere in my strategy. I had focused heavily on SEO and content marketing based on the initial guidance I got from Claude, but the market was telling me something different.

I’ve put significant time into this blog, so I’m not starting over. But I am actively figuring out ways to incorporate social media without abandoning the work I’ve done.

The lesson: don’t build your entire strategy on assumptions. Check what employers actually want first.

Why I’m Finishing the Google Certificate (Even Though I Questioned It)

In my review of the Google Digital Marketing Certificate, I was honest about its limitations. It won’t get you hired on its own. But I’ve decided to finish it anyway.

Here’s why:

I have a degree in English, not marketing. While my degree shows I can write and communicate, it doesn’t signal that I understand marketing fundamentals. A few things changed my perspective:

Job postings frequently mention wanting a degree in marketing or business. Going back to school isn’t in my plan right now, so a Coursera certificate is the next best thing. It’s a formality, but formalities matter when you’re a career changer competing against people with marketing degrees.

I want to prove I’m familiar with the jargon. The certificate gives employers reassurance that I’m not a complete newbie who doesn’t understand basic marketing concepts. It’s about reducing their perceived risk in hiring me.

It’s a checkbox. Sometimes you just need to check the boxes, even if you know the real learning happens elsewhere.

Working With AI: What I Got Wrong About Claude

I’ve been using Claude AI to help build this portfolio. It’s been incredibly useful, but I also made the mistake of trusting it’s advice too much early on.

The breaking point came when I realized my entire strategy might be flawed.

Claude’s original suggestion was to make a personal website to host my portfolio. This evolved into my personal site becoming my portfolio via a blog. Then I realized two problems:

1. The blog needed a niche
2. I had seemingly no metric to analyze

I brought these concerns to Claude, and we pivoted to “career change” as the niche. It sounded solid, was a competitive search term, and I felt it was timely with the new year approaching.

But then I hit an awkward problem: What gives me authority to speak on career change when I haven’t accomplished my goal yet?

It is awkward, but my hope is that by being honest about what works and doesn’t work, I will prove my authority with hard earned experience.

Looking for Guidance through Community

I started networking on Reddit’s digital marketing community and got feedback from actual professionals. They advised me to measure site traffic and convert users through a lead magnet. So I created the “Career Change Toolkit” which includes a resume template, email scripts, and interview guide.

I felt that this approach saved me from having to scrap everything and start over while still giving me a metric to analyze and optimize for, something I was told recruiters would be impressed by.

The lesson: AI is a tool, not a strategy. It can execute your plan brilliantly, but it can’t tell you if your plan makes sense. You need real human feedback for that.

Other AI limitations I’ve discovered:

• Claude doesn’t always pick reliable sources and often doesn’t link directly to studies
• It tends to cite business blog pages that don’t cite their own sources
• It was too focused on SEO when most entry-level jobs don’t hire SEO specialists
• It doesn’t automatically identify focus key phrases for Yoast SEO (you have to specifically ask)

I’ve learned to manage AI better. I give it constraints, I verify its sources, and I make the strategic decisions myself.

The SEO Evolution: Why I Changed My Approach

I started supplementing my Coursera education with YouTube videos from actual digital marketers (such as this one from Neil Patel). The Coursera course taught me jargon and business standards, but I knew there was no way the material was current with industry trends.

What I found: SEO has fundamentally changed.

Since Google rolled out AI overviews in search results, the game shifted. Users often don’t scroll past the AI-generated answer anymore. The goal posts moved, and now it’s crucial to consider how AI will interpret and summarize your content.

AI values “semantic SEO” over old-school keyword stuffing. Instead of casting a wide net trying to rank for dozens of keyphrases, you need to:

• Understand user intent
• Actually answer their query in the first paragraph
• Make your site easy to navigate and parse
• Create comprehensive topic clusters, not isolated articles

I was pleased to discover this shift incentivizes higher quality content. We have to consider what users actually need, not just what keywords they might type.

Format-First Writing: Building the Skeleton Before Adding Meat

This represents an overarching lesson I’m learning about digital marketing: the first step is often the most important, but you don’t see its value until you’re halfway through the process.

I used to write in a stream of consciousness, unsure what structure would emerge until I’d written most of what I wanted to say.

The editing phase then became a trial of corralling scattered thoughts into coherent categories.

Now I build the skeleton first – H2s and H3s before any body text.

This approach forces me to think from the user’s perspective. What are they looking for? What’s the logical flow of information? How do I make this scannable?

We as creators must always consider the audience.

The audience using Google is looking for answers. If they can’t find them quickly, they’ll look elsewhere.

Topic SEO: Building Authority Through Comprehensive Coverage

This ties into the format-first approach. Instead of writing individual articles targeting isolated keywords, I’m thinking about comprehensive topic coverage.

The old approach: Write 10 separate articles about resume writing, each targeting a different keyphrase.

The new approach: Create one comprehensive guide on career-change resumes with strategic internal linking to subtopics.

For example, if you run a lawn care service, you don’t need 50 blog posts about different grass types. You need one authoritative guide on lawn care that’s well-organized with clear sections and internal links to your services.

Applied to my site, this means structuring content around “Making a Career Change at 30” as the main topic, with subtopics like resume writing, applying for jobs, using AI as a career coach, and job interviews all interconnected.

Google now rewards topical authority, not keyword density.

Finding My Career Narrative

Before, I had no narrative. I had a laundry list of experience and hoped employers would read between the lines and see my value. Writing these articles forced me to actively tell a story using numbers to sell that story.

My narrative now: I’m a food industry professional pivoting years of customer service experience into digital marketing. I frame all my experience in terms and keyphrases relevant to the marketing industry with data to back it up when possible.

I wasn’t just a bartender; I was a brand ambassador who guided guests through the marketing funnel, from awareness to conversion.

I didn’t just make drinks; I used data analysis to track sales patterns and optimize inventory.

This constant drilling into my experience and relating it to marketing helps me rehearse the career narrative I need to sell in interviews.

What I’d Do Differently: Start With a Clear Goal

If I could start over one month ago knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t make a personal website hosting a blog about my journey.

I would create a landing page for a service or product (real or fake) and pick one metric to obsess over such as lead magnet downloads, email signups, form submissions, whatever.

I’m not far off from this now with my Career Change Toolkit, but it’s been a process of pivoting and reframing content I already created. It’s workable but awkward. It’s less straightforward than starting with a clear conversion goal from day one.

The professional who audited my approach said it best: “A blog about switching careers is fine for writing practice, but it doesn’t prove marketing impact very well. Hiring managers care less about the journey and more about decisions, tradeoffs, and outcomes.”

He’s right. I’m course-correcting now, but I could have saved time.

What’s Actually Working: Community and Consistency

Despite the pivots and mistakes, I’m not losing sleep over having a less-than-optimized approach. It’s expected that career changers make mistakes.

What feels solid:

The blog is taking shape. While there’s more work ahead, plenty of elbow grease and tedious optimization, I’m confident the final product will be impressive.

Niching down to career change was smart. I have an endless well of content since I’m documenting my journey in real time. Every mistake becomes an article. Every pivot becomes a lesson.

Joining online communities accelerated my learning. The digital marketing subreddit has been invaluable. Real professionals gave me feedback Claude couldn’t provide. They told me my strategy was too inward-focused, that I needed measurable outcomes, that social media mattered more than I thought.

I’d highly recommend to anyone learning anything: become a community member somewhere. Follow digital marketers on LinkedIn. Join relevant subreddits. Subscribe to industry newsletters. Find small ways to incorporate what you’re learning into your everyday routine.

I’m excited to drive traffic and start testing conversion rates. Google Analytics is set up. The lead magnet is almost finished. I have work to do on the backend before a hard launch, but I’m feeling confident about where this is heading.

The Plan Going Forward

Here’s what I’m prioritizing for the next month:

Finish my “Career Change Toolkit” lead magnet. The resume template is done. I still need to complete the email scripts and interview prep guide so the automated delivery actually works.

Add social media to my strategy. Probably Instagram for the blog; posting article quotes, career change tips, behind-the-scenes content. I need proof I understand social platforms even if I prefer SEO and content marketing.

Restructure content around topic clusters. My 10 articles need better internal linking and clearer topical organization. Right now they’re somewhat scattered.

Test different lead magnet CTAs. Once the toolkit is complete, I’ll experiment with different headlines, button copy, and placement to see what converts best.

Start applying to jobs while building. I don’t need a perfect portfolio before I start applying. Good enough is good enough. I’ll refine as I go based on feedback from actual applications and interviews.

Questions About One Month of Career Change Progress

Is one month enough time to build a portfolio?

No, but it’s enough to start. My portfolio isn’t finished – I’m still optimizing, still adding, still learning. But I have proof I can create content, understand SEO basics, and think strategically about conversion. That’s more than most career changers can show after one month.

Should you finish certifications before starting your portfolio?

No. Build in parallel. The Google certificate teaches concepts, but building forces you to apply them. I’ve learned more in one month of doing than I did in three weeks of passive learning. Finish the certificate, but don’t wait for it before you start creating.

How do you know if your strategy is working?

You don’t, not yet. One month is too early for meaningful traffic or conversions. What you can evaluate: Are you learning? Are you creating consistently? Are real professionals (not just AI) giving you feedback? If yes to all three, you’re probably on track even if you’re making mistakes.

What if you realize your approach is wrong after investing significant time?

Pivot, don’t quit. I invested three weeks building content before realizing I needed a clearer conversion goal. Rather than start over, I’m retrofitting what I built with a lead magnet and better internal structure. Most of the work is salvageable if you’re willing to adapt.