by Joe Escobedo
Looking for a new job this year? If so, you’re not alone. According to global research from Canada Life Group Insurance, 50% of employees will be looking for a new job in 2017.
Now some of you may be looking to get a digital marketing job. If that’s you, then keep reading as I’ve asked three senior marketers what they look for when hiring digital marketing roles.
Here’s their advice to you:
1. Know The Difference Between A Corporate And Regional Role
When hiring digital marketing talent, I look for technical (e.g. knowledge of social media platforms and analytics tools), as well as experience managing different platforms and reacting to consumer requests. The expertise needs to be relevant to the task and job reality.
Even though it's tempting to hire the most experienced and highest educated talent, it's important to match the person to the work environment.
For example:
- In a corporate head office, you'll have more creative freedom than a regional function.
- In a regional role, you have to follow corporate strategy and directive. That means, the room to manoeuvre is limited by guidelines given by the head office.
In short, it's creation versus execution.
Hence, it's important that a candidate has organizational awareness and experience in managing stakeholders with varying objectives.
For instance:
- The head office aims at having a consistent look and feel across all countries.
- A regional function needs to adapt the strategies on the ground which might mean you have to differ from a global approach.
Katharina Pohl, Head of Marketing (Asia) at Cotton On Group
2. Be Curious About What's Next In Digital
Curiosity is the key skill I look for in digital talent. Google and Facebook change their ad buying platforms and products so quickly that a good digital marketer needs to be open to change and curious about what's next.
You need to try new ad products, experiment, seek insights and repeat. That's why curiosity is a must to stay on top of trends and ahead in the industry.
The second thing you’ll need is confidence. Confidence to execute an idea or campaign when the opportunity is there.
In-house brand teams need someone who will act on real-time marketing news stories or even weather conditions. The confidence to propose ideas in real-time, act and then analyze can result in stronger engagement.
- Patrick Waller, Vice President APAC Marketing and E-commerce at OtterBox
3. Showcase Your Entrepreneurial Spirit
While it's easy to say we want employees with a great attitude, it's challenging to find that right attitude.
One way I get around this is I look for failed entrepreneurs. This at least validates their passion for building something, their risk-taking ability and their curiosity which are important traits for candidates.
Aside from experience, I look for people that are curious. Curious people are the most creative. And in digital your creativity is your biggest weapon.
Another important thing which I look for is strategic thinking. Marketing managers, especially in a startup, might fall into the trap of getting caught up in day-to day-execution. While tactics are where the “rubber meets the road,” we need someone who can come up with fresh ideas, with the analytical skills to decide what’s right for the brand and what's not worth trying.
For this I throw real-time challenges at candidates where they have to instantly come up with a plan.
Apart from this, I check their social profiles to assess:
- Their network
- The content they share
- What they follow
Imagine hiring a digital account manager with 180 LinkedIn connections? That's a big no-no!
- Sneh Sharma, Founder & CEO at Ittisa
Original source: Forbes
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