How do I break into marketing with a non-traditional resume?

The American Advertising Federation has local chapters all across the United States, and student chapters at many universities. Contact the advertising/marketing department at your school to see if they have a chapter, and join it. Look in the phone book under "Advertising Agencies and Counselers" and make some phone calls to find out some members of the local AAF chapter in your area. Show up at some of their meetings or mixers and make as many contacts as you can. Pass out a well-designed business card (you can even print it on perforated stock from Staples ... they won't care) that says "PhD for hire ... cheap!" then hand it out and use it as an ice breaker. Your education and enthusiasm will make you an attractive candidate.

I don't think it's going to be as difficult as you may think. In my experience I tend to think that advertising/PR people are more "Outside the Box" thinkers than other endeavors. I mean, you aren't approaching one of the big six accounting firms here. After college I worked for an advertising agency in their research department before I decided to get into sales. As I think about, I may have been in the minority with an actual degree in marketing. I'm trying to come up with a succinct way of conveying my point here, and finding myself largely unsuccessful. When you speak to an employer, they all want to know what you can bring to that particular organization. However, if it's a scientific endeavor or say, a law firm, naturally it's your knowledge or mastery of that particular field of endeavor they are interested in. Marketing, sales, or public relations is different. It's not technical, but rather, It's an endeavor of ideas, if you will. And with people of different backgrounds, you will have different approaches, and different ways of looking at things, and this is what they want. My question, though, Marketing, as it were, is such a broad field, as is advertising, do you know what you want to get into? You have a couple of avenues here. Is it possible to start with a pharmaceutical company, perhaps in their research department, then eventually move into their marketing department? I ask that because to me that would seem a more direct route than to start out at a PR firm or ad agency, then try to move to a pharmaceutical company. That would seem to me to be more of a hit or miss approach. With respect to your "how do I convince" question, I think you can have a lot of fun with it! Lay off the hand wringing for a moment and think about this logically. Or as I say, "Think about the guy on the other side of the desk!" How many times do you think this person has someone with a PhD in Applied Sciences (or whatever your PhD will be in) come in and apply for a position with thier ad agency? I think the situations I can conjure up could be hilarious! Do you really think you will have any problem convincing anyone that you really want to do this? Personally, I don't think you will have any problems at all!

looks like that PhD is really going to come in handy.