How I'd Land a Content Marketing Job in 2025

Happy Tuesday!

If you're reading this, I hope you're not doom-scrolling LinkedIn job posts for the 47th time this week. The market feels brutal right now. I get it. You're qualified, you're applying, and you're getting ghosted.

Here's the thing though—getting a content marketing job in 2025 isn't as impossible as it looks. The problem isn't demand. Companies still need strong content people. The problem is how you're packaging yourself.

Before I get into the tactical stuff, let me be clear about something. There are two reasons people struggle to land content roles:

1. They're not actually as strong at content as they think they are

2. They ARE strong, but they package themselves like it's 2019

This deep dive is for people in bucket two. If you're serious about getting good at content and just need to fix how you present yourself, keep reading.

Your portfolio probably feels outdated (even if you updated it last month)

I review a lot of portfolios when we're hiring. Here's what I see constantly: "Increased organic traffic by 300%" and "Wrote 50+ SEO-optimized blog posts for B2B SaaS companies."

That's fine. SEO matters. But in 2025, if you lead with SEO blog writing and bury your social content (or don't have any), you're positioning yourself for roles that are increasingly hard to find.

Founders and marketing leaders want content that drives attention and demand. LinkedIn posts that start conversations. Thought leadership that positions their company differently. Social campaigns that actually move the needle on pipeline.

When I'm hiring, I want to see someone who can help our founders build their presence on LinkedIn and turn it into a growth channel. That's where the value is.

If your portfolio leads with "blog posts" and "keyword research," you're making me work to figure out if you can do the things I actually need.

Make LinkedIn competence impossible to miss

Here's what should be front and center in your portfolio and resume:

Ghostwriting for executives. If you've written LinkedIn posts for founders or execs, say that explicitly. Include metrics if you have them—follower growth, engagement rates, pipeline generated.

Social campaigns that drove real outcomes. Did you run a LinkedIn campaign that drove event registrations? Built an audience from zero? Generated qualified leads? Lead with that.

Thought leadership systems. Have you built or managed a repurposing system? Taken webinars and turned them into 20 pieces of social content? That's what teams need.

The goal is simple—when someone skims your LinkedIn profile or portfolio, they should immediately think "this person gets modern B2B content."

Stop giving me link dumps. Show me how you think.

Most portfolios are just a list of URLs. Maybe a sentence like "LinkedIn post I wrote for a SaaS founder." That's better than nothing, but it's a massive missed opportunity.

Hiring managers don't just want to see your finished work. We want to understand how you think. We want to know if you can repeat your wins because you actually understand the underlying strategy.

Here's the upgrade—treat your portfolio like a designer's case study. For each major piece, add 3-5 lines of context:

What was the goal? Who was this for and what was it meant to accomplish?

Why this hook? What made you choose this angle or opening?

How did you adapt tone? How did you match the brand voice or the executive's style?

What were the constraints? Client preferences, approval processes, industry regulations—whatever made it harder.

What happened? Engagement numbers, replies, traffic, leads—whatever you can measure.

Here's a before and after:

Before: "LinkedIn post I wrote for a B2B SaaS founder"

After: "LinkedIn post for Series A SaaS founder launching a new product feature. Goal was to drive demo requests from mid-market buyers. Led with a contrarian take on how most companies approach the problem. Matched his direct, slightly sarcastic tone while staying professional. Got 47k impressions, 320+ reactions, and generated 12 qualified demo requests in 48 hours."

See the difference? The second version shows you can think strategically, adapt to context, and tie content to outcomes.

Do this for 3-5 of your best pieces and you'll stand out from 90% of other candidates.

If you don't have the portfolio yet, build one by breaking down other people's content

I know what you're thinking—"I don't have enough social content to showcase yet."

Fair. Here's the workaround: demonstrate your strategic thinking by analyzing content from brands and creators who are doing it well.

Pick 3-5 companies or founders in your space who are crushing it on LinkedIn. Study their last 20 posts. Then publish breakdowns that show you understand what makes their content work.

What to analyze:

The hook. Why does their opening line make you stop scrolling?

Topic selection. Why does this topic resonate with their specific audience?

Structure and flow. How do they move from hook to value to CTA?

Use of media. How do they use carousels, screenshots, or video to support the message?

Here's the key—frame these as learning exercises, not as "I've cracked the secret formula to their $10M business." Be curious and thoughtful, not presumptuous.

Good framing: "3 things I noticed about how [Company] structures their LinkedIn carousels"

Bad framing: "The secret strategy [Founder] used to build a 100k audience in 6 months"

The first one shows you're learning. The second one makes you sound like a guru who hasn't done the work.

When you publish these breakdowns (on LinkedIn, ideally), you're building public proof that you can think critically about content. You're showing pattern recognition. You're demonstrating that you understand what works and why.

Even if your own portfolio is thin, this shows hiring managers you have the brain they're looking for.

You need a personal brand (but not the way you think)

Let me clear something up—you don't need 50k followers to get hired. You don't need to post every day. You don't need to become a full-time content creator.

But you DO need a visible record of your thinking.

Your personal brand isn't about being an influencer. It's about making it easy for hiring managers to evaluate you. When they Google your name or check your LinkedIn, they should see someone who clearly understands modern content.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

Platform: LinkedIn. That's where the hiring managers are.

Frequency: 1-2 posts per week. That's enough to build credibility without burning out.

What to post:

• Mini case studies of your work (with context, like we talked about earlier)

• Breakdowns of content you're learning from

• Lessons from campaigns you've run or been part of

• Thoughtful takes on what's working (or not working) in B2B content right now

Profile basics:

• Clean headshot (doesn't need to be professional, just clear)

• Header image that supports your positioning

• About section that says who you help, what you do, and includes proof points

• Experience section focused on outcomes and social-led work, not just responsibilities

Quick note on the "Open to work" badge—some founders see it as a negative signal. I don't love that take, but I've heard it enough times to mention it. Better strategy: let your work speak so loud that opportunities come to you.

Make it effortless for them to see you know what you're doing

Here's what I want you to remember—your job isn't to be perfect. Your job is to make it as easy as possible for a hiring manager to quickly understand that you know your stuff.

When someone looks at your LinkedIn profile, skims your featured posts, glances at your portfolio, and reads one or two of your breakdowns, they should immediately think: "This person gets modern content."

Not "this person wrote some blog posts."

Not "this person is trying really hard."

"This person understands how content works in 2025."

That's the standard. Everything you do—your portfolio, your LinkedIn presence, your breakdowns—should make that conclusion obvious and undeniable.

Do one thing this week

Don't try to overhaul everything at once. Pick one concrete action and ship it this week:

Upgrade one portfolio piece with strategic context (goal, hook, thinking, outcome)

OR

Publish a breakdown of a brand or founder's content on LinkedIn

OR

Write a post walking through your thinking on something you created

Just one. Get it out there. That's how you build momentum.

The market is tough, but the opportunities are there for people who position themselves correctly. Most candidates are still packaging themselves like it's 2019. You're not going to be one of them.

That's all for this week. If you found this helpful, hit reply and let me know what you're working on. I read every response.

I'll see you next Tuesday.

— Will