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Marketers are quitting in droves. 

This week, one woman asked marketers if they had an “exit strategy” or backup career outside of marketing and got 100+ replies.

And, according to our own survey data, about half of Raisin Bread readers are planning to quit their marketing jobs this year. 

At this point, we’re fascinated by anyone staying in a marketing job. What’s keeping them? 

This week, we asked growth marketer Juda Borrayo. He’s currently a freelance consultant, but he’s also held full-time marketing roles he loved. Here’s what made them hard to leave. 

Flexible career paths

In some organizations, career paths are “very linear,” Borrayo noted. You find a specialty, like paid search, and gain seniority by sticking with it. 

There’s a logic to that, but Borrayo has always felt especially committed to full-time roles where he could grow in multiple directions. 

“You're doing like a little bit of this, a little bit of that,” he said. “It can… create a more well-rounded marketer.”

Breezy benefits

In full-time roles, you just tick a box and “automatically you get health insurance and 401ks.” 

That’s not just important to Borrayo — according to a Randstad study, benefits are a primary reason 78% of employees stay in their current roles.

Learning opportunities

Some marketing skills, you have to do 100 times to fully master, Borrayo said. Others, like scheduling an email send, you only have to do once or twice. 

Borrayo had a tough time leaving roles that let him constantly build and refine his skillset, even if he makes a few mistakes along the way. 

Spending too much time using skills he’s fully mastered, “I get bored,” he said.

A zero-minute commute

Employers that embraced remote work made Borrayo hyper-aware that he used to spend two hours a day commuting — and that he doesn’t want to do that again.

That much driving “makes you tired… [and] it’s harder to work out or do anything that you love.”

Mentorship

Borrayo has appreciated past mentors and managers who gave him thoughtful feedback on his strengths and weaknesses — not just in-the-moment feedback on specific assignments. 

Sometimes, they spotted potential in him that he didn’t see in himself, and gave him opportunities to realize it. 

“That's shaped me to be more of a professional,” he said. 

Our takeaway? 

Borrayo’s just one man — but we suspect the marketing teams that weather the Great Resignation will offer at least four of these five things. 

The others will lose talent to the $1.2 trillion freelance economy. ‍

P.S. You can apply to be part of that economy right here.