Finding and hiring a marketer worth their salt is fast becoming a challenge for businesses aiming to stay ahead of the competition. For that reason, hiring a marketer that is right for your brand should be a top priority. But how do you go about doing that?
In this blog post, we will delve into practical strategies to streamline your recruitment process and attract top marketing talent in 2023.
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Leverage LinkedIn for Hiring a Marketer
According to HubSpot, 76% of marketers say that marketing has changed more in the last 3 years than the last 50. Which is why hiring and retaining top talent remains high on the list of challenges that marketers face this year:
LinkedIn offers an abundance of opportunities to connect with talented marketing professionals. Here are a few ways you can use LinkedIn to headhunt for top-shelf marketing talent this year:
Join Relevant Groups
LinkedIn hosts numerous groups that cater to virtually any profession or interest, including marketing. By joining these groups, you will have an opportunity to engage with other group members, participate in discussions, and share relevant content.
You can find groups by using the search bar at the top of the LinkedIn homepage, then selecting “Groups” from the dropdown menu. Some suggested groups might include “Digital Marketing” or “Marketing Professionals Worldwide”. By being active and contributing valuable insights in these groups, you can connect and network with marketing professionals who share similar interests.
Leverage Advanced Search Features
LinkedIn’s advanced search feature is a powerful tool that can help you find marketing professionals based on specific criteria. You can search by location, industry, current company, past company, school, and other factors.
For example, if you’re interested in connecting with marketing professionals who work in tech startups in your area, you can input these criteria and LinkedIn will show you a list of relevant professionals.
Once you’ve found some potential connections, don’t just send a generic connection request. Instead, write a personalized note explaining why you’d like to connect. This makes you stand out and increases the likelihood that the person will accept your connection request.
Tap into Competitor Success
Another approach is to research your competitors on LinkedIn. Look for individuals who have excelled in marketing roles within those companies, particularly those who have received multiple promotions. This indicates their value and competence.
By tapping into competitor success, you are essentially leveraging the professional networking site to gain insight into the skillsets, strategies and approaches that have proven successful in similar industries or markets. The high-performing individuals in these competitor companies can potentially provide inspiration or valuable lessons that can be applied to your own marketing efforts.
Moreover, establishing connections with these professionals might foster knowledge exchanges, potential collaborations or even spark healthy competition, pushing you to elevate your own game.
Related Content: LinkedIn Ads for Enterprise B2B SaaS: The Only Guide You’ll Need
Expand Your Network for Talent Discovery
While LinkedIn is an excellent resource, exploring additional avenues can yield exceptional marketing talent.
Here are some alternative strategies to consider:
- Leverage other Social Media Platforms: Other social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, can also be valuable tools for talent discovery. Use these platforms to share job postings, showcase your company culture and values, and engage with potential candidates.
- Professional Organization Networks: In addition to LinkedIn, joining industry-specific groups and professional organizations can be a game-changer for talent discovery. Groups like Entrepreneurs Organization or the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) provide opportunities to connect with high-caliber individuals who possess valuable marketing expertise:
Engaging with these communities allows you to build relationships and share job openings, creating a powerful network of potential candidates. To further boost your network, consider offering referral incentives within these groups, encouraging members to recommend talented individuals they know.
- Collaborate with Marketing Agencies: Establishing partnerships with specialized marketing agencies can open doors to a vast network of experienced marketers. These agencies often have connections with talented professionals who may be seeking new opportunities. Keep an eye out for potential collaborations or even explore opportunities to co-create marketing campaigns. Such partnerships not only expand your network but also provide a platform for cross-pollination of ideas and talent.
- Attend Industry Events and Conferences: Industry events and conferences offer valuable opportunities to network with marketing professionals from various backgrounds. By attending these events, you can connect with individuals who are passionate about their work and stay updated on the latest trends and innovations in the field. Engage in conversations, participate in panel discussions, and seize networking breaks to establish connections with potential candidates.
- Employee Referral Programs: Encourage your existing employees to actively participate in the talent acquisition process by implementing an employee referral program. Motivate them to refer qualified candidates from their own networks by offering incentives such as referral bonuses or recognition. Your employees can serve as brand ambassadors and effectively reach out to their connections, leveraging their relationships to identify top-notch marketing talent.
- Use Online Job Boards and Platforms: While LinkedIn remains a primary platform for professional networking, don’t overlook the power of online job boards and industry-specific platforms. Websites like Indeed, Glassdoor, and industry-specific job boards can attract a diverse pool of talent actively seeking new opportunities. Post detailed job descriptions highlighting the specific skills and qualifications you are looking for.
Additionally, consider utilizing niche platforms that cater specifically to the marketing industry, as they may attract candidates with specialized marketing knowledge and experience, such as:
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- MarketingHire: Offers jobs in a variety of marketing disciplines, including digital marketing, SEO, content marketing, and more.
- TalentZoo: Has job postings for roles in marketing, advertising, digital marketing, and social media. It also provides resources like career advice and industry news.
- Adrants: Provides job listings in the advertising and marketing industries, and also includes news and commentary on current marketing and advertising trends.
- CreativeGuild: This is a global directory of creative companies and job opportunities, and includes marketing roles. It is run by The CreativeMornings, a free, monthly breakfast lecture series for the creative community.
- AngelList: While not solely for marketers, AngelList can be a great platform for those looking to find marketing roles in startups.
Craft Compelling Job Requests
Effectively communicating your job openings is paramount to attracting top marketing talent. Consider the following guidelines when crafting your direct message to your prospect:
- Clarity and Specificity: Clearly define the marketing role you are looking to fill, whether it’s a paid media specialist, SEO expert, or social media manager. Outline the desired qualifications, skills, and responsibilities. This clarity helps candidates determine if they are a good fit.
- Showcasing Your Company’s Value Proposition: Highlight what sets your company apart from competitors. Emphasize the culture, growth opportunities, exciting projects, and any unique perks or benefits. Paint a compelling picture that makes candidates envision themselves thriving in your dynamic team.
- Encouraging Referrals: Leverage your existing network to identify potential candidates. Encourage employees, industry peers, and professional connections to refer qualified individuals. Offering referral bonuses or rewards demonstrates your appreciation for their support.
Here’s an example from our own careers page:
Use Data and Analytics in Hiring
The apps and technology of today make talent acquisition a lot easier than it was fifteen or twenty years ago. We now have a window into whole databases of candidates, compiling their skills, experience levels, job history and more.
For instance, your brand can subscribe to an applicant tracking software (ATS) to streamline the hiring process and manage candidate data efficiently. These systems allow you to track applicant information, resumes, and communication history, making it easier to identify qualified candidates and maintain organized records.
Here are a few more ways that data and analytics plays a part in significantly improving the hiring process:
- Skills Matching: By analyzing the data from your job postings (such as which skills and qualifications attracted the most qualified applicants), you can fine-tune your requirements to better match the ideal candidate profile.
- Performance Metrics: Use performance data from existing employees to identify which skills, experiences, and characteristics correlate with high performance in a marketing role in your organization. This can help you identify the key traits to look for in applicants.
- Candidate Source Analysis: Data can show you where your best candidates are coming from. This could be a specific job board, LinkedIn, industry groups, or referrals. By understanding the most effective sources, you can focus your recruitment efforts there.
- Predictive Analytics: More advanced HR systems offer predictive analytics, which use data and algorithms to predict which candidates will be the most successful based on past hiring and performance data.
- Assessment Analysis: Many companies use assessments or tests during the hiring process, particularly for roles like marketing that require specific skills. Analyzing the results of these assessments can provide additional data points to consider when making a hiring decision.
By leveraging data and analytics, you can make more informed decisions, reducing the risk of poor hires and increasing the likelihood of finding the right marketing professional for your needs.
Learn More: How to Hire a CMO Who Is a Perfect Fit for Your Company
Emphasizing Soft Skills and Culture Fit
While technical skills are essential, soft skills and cultural fit are equally valuable in building a successful marketing team and identifying the right person to bring into your ranks.
Soft skills are personal attributes, rather than skills you might go to school for, that enable a person to interact effectively with others and fit into the company culture. Some common and desirable soft skills are:
- communication
- time management
- empathy
- critical thinking
- proactiveness
Let’s look at some of the building blocks that go into selecting the right person based on their demeanor and personableness:
- Communication and Collaboration: Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, are vital for marketers to effectively convey messages and collaborate with team members, clients, and stakeholders. Look for candidates who can articulate their ideas clearly and demonstrate the ability to work well within a team.
- Adaptability and Creativity: Marketing is a rapidly evolving field, so seek candidates who are adaptable and open to embracing new technologies, trends, and strategies. Creativity is also crucial, as it enables marketers to develop innovative campaigns and stand out in a crowded marketplace.
- Cultural Fit Assessment: During the interview process, assess candidates for their alignment with your company’s values, mission, and culture. A strong cultural fit ensures that marketers will integrate seamlessly into your team and contribute positively to the overall work environment.
Streamlining the Selection Process
Efficiency is key when it comes to hiring exceptional marketers. Here are a couple of key suggestions to streamline your selection process.
Develop a Standardized Interview Process
A structured interview process is a crucial component of hiring top marketers.
By developing a standardized approach, you can ensure fairness, consistency and effectiveness in evaluating candidates’ suitability for the role. This involves designing specific questions that target key areas such as marketing knowledge, problem-solving abilities and cultural fit.
A well-designed interview process enables you to assess candidates’ depth of understanding in marketing concepts, including strategies, and industry trends. It helps identify their ability to think critically and solve complex problems that may arise in their role.
If you repeatedly ask the same consistent questions to all candidates, you will create a level playing field for evaluation, making it easier to compare their responses objectively.
Use Skill-Based Assessments
Your goal must be to identify the most qualified fullstack marketers during the selection process, incorporating skill-based assessments that can provide valuable insights into candidates’ practical abilities:
These assessments go beyond traditional interviews and resume reviews, allowing you to evaluate candidates’ proficiency in specific marketing areas.
Here are some strategies to consider when implementing skill-based assessments:
- Assign Realistic Marketing Projects: Provide candidates with a simulated marketing project that closely resembles real-world scenarios they will encounter in their role. This could involve developing a marketing campaign, creating content, optimizing social media strategies, or conducting market research. Assignments like these enable candidates to showcase their creativity, strategic thinking, and problem-solving skills.
- Evaluate Analytical and Data Interpretation Skills: Marketing professionals need to be proficient in analyzing data and drawing meaningful insights. Incorporate assessments that evaluate candidates’ ability to interpret marketing analytics, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. This could involve analyzing campaign performance metrics, conducting A/B testing, or interpreting customer segmentation data.
- Test Writing and Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills are essential for effective marketing. Incorporate assessments that evaluate candidates’ writing abilities by requesting them to create compelling marketing copy, draft blog posts, or develop social media content. Additionally, consider conducting role-playing scenarios or interviews to assess candidates’ interpersonal and presentation skills.
- Assess Technical Proficiency: Digital marketing relies heavily on various tools and technologies. Assess candidates’ proficiency in relevant software and platforms commonly used in marketing, such as Google Analytics, SEO tools, social media management platforms, and email marketing software. You can do this by incorporating practical exercises or providing hypothetical situations where candidates must demonstrate their technical knowledge.
- Collaborative Exercises: Marketing often involves collaboration within teams. Design assessments that allow candidates to work together on a project or solve a marketing challenge as a team. This provides insights into their ability to collaborate, communicate ideas, and contribute effectively within a group setting.
Learn More: How to Hire the Right VP of Marketing for Your Company
Closing Thoughts on Hiring a Marketer in 2023
Hiring top marketing talent requires a multifaceted approach.
As you embark on the journey of hiring top marketing talent, remember to adapt your strategies to the evolving industry landscape. Continuously refine your recruitment process and nurture a positive employer brand that resonates with top marketers.
Tap into LinkedIn, craft compelling yet non-intrusive job requests, do your due diligence in researching your candidates, emphasize soft skills and culture fit, and streamline your selection process. If you do all of these things, you should be able to attract and secure exceptional marketers who are eager to join your team and will drive your business forward.
If you’re ready to level up your business by hiring a marketer, Single Grain’s marketing experts can help!👇
Repurposed from our Marketing School podcast.
