Marketing admissions committees aren’t exactly looking for applicants with teaching experience. Marketing PhD programs are first and foremost research programs and adcoms want to avoid any pretense of being thought of as teacher training facilities. Nine out of ten people already think you’re getting a PhD so you can teach. Why perpetuate the stereotype?
So how should you approach teaching experience in your application?
If you have teaching experience, include it in your statement of purpose. Just don’t overplay it. It’s a positive signal to the admissions committees that you’re already comfortable in a classroom. After all, it is part of the academic job description and believe it or not, some researchers hate teaching. You’ll want to be sure that your statement of purpose doesn’t suggest that your purpose behind getting a PhD is to teach. This is just one effective form of self-sabotage.
As with work experience, if you don’t have teaching experience, don’t worry. It isn’t among the top set of important criteria that most admissions committees use when evaluating profiles. But look for opportunities to guest lecture or present at events and conferences whenever possible, because those skills will be put to good use throughout your career.
*I was fortunate to guest lecture at 3 different colleges before application season, so I knew that teaching was something I enjoyed. I got into it by e-mailing a professor I knew who started teaching internet marketing courses, just letting him know about my expertise with social media and offering to help his students if there were any opportunities. Other opportunities came about just by being known as an expert and by making friendships with people who teach college courses. Some of those guest lecturing opportunities snowballed into opportunities to speak to business groups, present at conferences, write, and do consulting. One of the biggest benefits to speaking, for me, has been learning how to package and prioritize my ideas to have maximum value while being limited on time. I’ve also gained a great love and appreciation for presentation design. Knowing how to put together a slick-looking PowerPoint presentation is a helpful skill.