What To Look For in Marketing Managers
The hiring manager is thrilled; she’s just made the perfect hire. The new marketing manager for the company, which is a B2B focused creative agency, graduated at the top of her class from a well-known private university. She interned at a big corporate agency during her summer vacations, and she’s bilingual.
When the newest marketing manager reports for her first day, she’s bright and cooperative and seems to have a great handle on the concepts of her job description. The hiring manager checks another successful hire on her list and moves on to the next task on her schedule. But a few months later, something isn’t quite right. The new marketing manager isn’t bad at her job. She turns in all of her projects early, never calls in sick, and has the respect of her team. So what gives?
Creativity. It’s one of the best characteristics a marketing professional should employ. But not every professional is creative, and this often manifests itself after the qualifications on paper have been approved. So, what are some ways to truly hire the best creative marketer that a business can find?
First, it’s important to understand that qualifications and paper resumes only tell a portion of the applicant’s story. So many factors can affect the performance of an employee. Life experiences, upbringing, social life, relationships — all of these and more can affect a person’s worldview. Take the time to thoroughly interview a candidate about more than just their work experience or education. Find out what they’ve done, what they’ve seen, how they feel. All of these can give a hiring manager more perspective on who this applicant truly is, and how this can translate into their work. Of course, performance potential is important when it comes to making a hiring decision. How can a hiring manager get a good sense of this during the interview and screening process?
Ask to see samples of previous work or campaigns managed by the candidate. Present them with some scenarios involving work that would need to be done by the marketing manager within this specific business. Find ways for the candidate to show their experience and creativity, as these factors don’t always manifest in the form of resume bullet points.
When going through the hiring process, it’s important to look at the candidate’s whole picture instead of focusing only on their on-paper qualifications. Missing out on a creative candidate who may not have the most robust resume or educational qualifications is common misstep hiring managers make.
When it comes down to it, a good hire may look different depending on the role, the company, and the mission behind the job. Finding qualified candidates isn’t difficult, but finding those who will truly own the position and run with it can be tedious. So get creative! Find ways to bring in the most creative thinkers, the biggest self-starters, and suddenly the candidate pool may be even more rich, diverse and full of possibilities.
