"We’re ready to start cranking up the marketing in 2013. We need to expand the marketing team!"
That's the assignment handed down from the CEO, division head, or other person who's ultimately responsible for growth. But... how to find the right person? Someone sends in a rocking great resume... but what did they actually DO? OK, so you set the interview and they arrive with a hefty portfolio... but what did they actually PRODUCE? How do you know that they'll be effective for your company? How can you tell?
I'm writing this for the hiring manager, the person who makes the final hiring decision and will likely be the direct manager of the marketer, not the human resources screener/recruiter. It's logical to assume that if the company is large enough to have first-level applicant screening via HR, those professionals and their software tools will do their job -- narrow down the resume pile in the most efficient manner. In effect, HR's role is to say "no" to a lot of applicants, in order to get to the most likely candidates for the hiring manager's review. HR handles a lot of screening out -- the hiring manager needs to find candidates to screen IN. (ABR -- Always Be Recruiting for exceptional talent; even if you cannot hire someone fantastic right now, you might be able to extend an offer to them a year from now, so stay in touch with winners! LinkedIn is an excellent tool for this.)
A Fast Company article a few years ago noted that the Chief Marketing Officer's job is "the most dangerous job in the C-suite" because the average CMO tenure is maybe half of the average CEO's ability to last in the job. A marketing leader needs to be sort of like the SEAL team that got Osama bin Laden: fast-moving, ruthless, relentlessly focused on achieving the mission. Whoever's driving marketing MUST make results happen quickly -- and part of those results will be the assembly of an effective team that gets results day after day, week after week.
As someone who has assembled marketing teams for most of my earning years, both B2B and B2C, I have some opinions on this that might be helpful. Since I've been both a creative agency owner, and have headed marketing teams inside companies large, medium and small, I have the street cred to pontificate a bit. My goal is to help you spot any hot air, smoke and mirrors being directed at you when you're trying to fill a marketing position. Or you might think I'm full of hot air... because, hey, didn't you notice that I am a marketer by trade?
I realize there is a ridiculous amount of conflicting advice online; just as with anything else, you need to go with what resonates best for your company and your unique situation. For example, here's a post I found called "A Geek's Guide to Hiring Marketing People" -- I agree with most of the author's comments, but not all of them. Plus it's a great example of how things change in 24 months: that post, written almost exactly two years ago, puts the #1 trait as "social media doer". That's back during the height of "social media is the New New Thing" and all sorts of social media consultants were proclaiming that it was the ONLY way to market. I disagreed then, and I still do -- and fortunately, the trend's catching up with me! YES, social media is important, YES, it's a tool. But even the top experts caution against putting all the eggs in that basket. The author cites the importance of frugality, customer love, devotion to measurement -- all very necessary things. But his last point is "branding is irrelevant" -- that's way off! Branding is the sum total of how your product is perceived by your audience -- it's the farthest thing from irrelevant. And it's not relegated only to huge product names like Coke or Toyota or Nike. Matter of fact, the smaller the company (and marketing budget), the more critical it is to build a solid base of wildly devoted fans, quickly.
How to Find or Attract Marketing Candidates, and How to Make a Competent Hiring Decision
Many marketers can be hard to pin down and sometimes intentionally vague. Here's a great example of this I saw recently -- I'm still honestly not sure what this guy's purpose for his blog post was... my point is that some marketers (especially less seasoned ones) can be like a ten year old taking granny's minivan out for a midnight spin: veering all over the road, and not really able to see the horizon above the dash. You'll need to be focused on how you will pin down your candidates before extending an offer.
I'm writing this for the hiring manager, the person who makes the final hiring decision and will likely be the direct manager of the marketer, not the human resources screener/recruiter. It's logical to assume that if the company is large enough to have first-level applicant screening via HR, those professionals and their software tools will do their job -- narrow down the resume pile in the most efficient manner. In effect, HR's role is to say "no" to a lot of applicants, in order to get to the most likely candidates for the hiring manager's review. HR handles a lot of screening out -- the hiring manager needs to find candidates to screen IN. (ABR -- Always Be Recruiting for exceptional talent; even if you cannot hire someone fantastic right now, you might be able to extend an offer to them a year from now, so stay in touch with winners! LinkedIn is an excellent tool for this.)
A Fast Company article a few years ago noted that the Chief Marketing Officer's job is "the most dangerous job in the C-suite" because the average CMO tenure is maybe half of the average CEO's ability to last in the job. A marketing leader needs to be sort of like the SEAL team that got Osama bin Laden: fast-moving, ruthless, relentlessly focused on achieving the mission. Whoever's driving marketing MUST make results happen quickly -- and part of those results will be the assembly of an effective team that gets results day after day, week after week.
As someone who has assembled marketing teams for most of my earning years, both B2B and B2C, I have some opinions on this that might be helpful. Since I've been both a creative agency owner, and have headed marketing teams inside companies large, medium and small, I have the street cred to pontificate a bit. My goal is to help you spot any hot air, smoke and mirrors being directed at you when you're trying to fill a marketing position. Or you might think I'm full of hot air... because, hey, didn't you notice that I am a marketer by trade?
I realize there is a ridiculous amount of conflicting advice online; just as with anything else, you need to go with what resonates best for your company and your unique situation. For example, here's a post I found called "A Geek's Guide to Hiring Marketing People" -- I agree with most of the author's comments, but not all of them. Plus it's a great example of how things change in 24 months: that post, written almost exactly two years ago, puts the #1 trait as "social media doer". That's back during the height of "social media is the New New Thing" and all sorts of social media consultants were proclaiming that it was the ONLY way to market. I disagreed then, and I still do -- and fortunately, the trend's catching up with me! YES, social media is important, YES, it's a tool. But even the top experts caution against putting all the eggs in that basket. The author cites the importance of frugality, customer love, devotion to measurement -- all very necessary things. But his last point is "branding is irrelevant" -- that's way off! Branding is the sum total of how your product is perceived by your audience -- it's the farthest thing from irrelevant. And it's not relegated only to huge product names like Coke or Toyota or Nike. Matter of fact, the smaller the company (and marketing budget), the more critical it is to build a solid base of wildly devoted fans, quickly.
How to Find or Attract Marketing Candidates, and How to Make a Competent Hiring Decision
Many marketers can be hard to pin down and sometimes intentionally vague. Here's a great example of this I saw recently -- I'm still honestly not sure what this guy's purpose for his blog post was... my point is that some marketers (especially less seasoned ones) can be like a ten year old taking granny's minivan out for a midnight spin: veering all over the road, and not really able to see the horizon above the dash. You'll need to be focused on how you will pin down your candidates before extending an offer.
- Do the right things right: hiring well starts with identifying what you really need
- Write an extremely clear job description that emphasizes outcome-based tasks & skills
- Character traits of a strong, competent marketer
- Locate likely marketing candidates: find their natural habitat
- What about a college degree?
- Interviewing: not what they've done before; what they'll do FOR YOU
- Compensation: expect to pay a lot -- and get what you pay for
- Remember: the end of hiring is the beginning of working
1. Do the right things right: hiring well starts with identifying what you really need
Where are you starting from? Do you already have a well-oiled machine of a marketing organization that only needs to be filled out, or are you going for the throat of the market, and looking for someone to helm a fast and aggressive marketing onslaught? Building a new team from scratch? Going from bootstrap "founder handles everything" to "finally we've got enough cash to hire one person to handle our marketing?" Those are vastly different skill sets -- and while many marketers can flex easily from one sort of assignment to another, a lot of people simply won't be able to.
So first, be extremely clear about your ultimate goal: what do you need to accomplish, and what time frame matters? Most companies say they need results fast -- define "results" and define "fast".
Be wary of transplanting someone from a very similar role in a very similar firm, especially someone who has worked more than 7 - 8 years or so in the same job at the same company: for a marketer, that is frequently a sign of someone who isn't willing or able to stretch and grow. (As the Fast Company article noted, marketers tend to be on the move more frequently than other professionals -- someone who doesn't move gets too comfortable.) Plus, they are less likely to bring you fresh and innovative thinking, because they'll go "back to the barn" as the saying goes -- they'll do what they're most comfortable doing. This might not show during the "honeymoon phase" (or, indeed, it might just appear like they're "fitting in really fast") -- but you'll see it start cropping up within the first year. Fitting into the status quo will not give you supercharged marketing and sales growth! Think of how much change has occurred in the past several years regarding how we interact and how we make buying decisions; no matter what level you're hiring for, you'll want someone who has stayed abreast of changes in the marketing field.
So first, be extremely clear about your ultimate goal: what do you need to accomplish, and what time frame matters? Most companies say they need results fast -- define "results" and define "fast".
Be wary of transplanting someone from a very similar role in a very similar firm, especially someone who has worked more than 7 - 8 years or so in the same job at the same company: for a marketer, that is frequently a sign of someone who isn't willing or able to stretch and grow. (As the Fast Company article noted, marketers tend to be on the move more frequently than other professionals -- someone who doesn't move gets too comfortable.) Plus, they are less likely to bring you fresh and innovative thinking, because they'll go "back to the barn" as the saying goes -- they'll do what they're most comfortable doing. This might not show during the "honeymoon phase" (or, indeed, it might just appear like they're "fitting in really fast") -- but you'll see it start cropping up within the first year. Fitting into the status quo will not give you supercharged marketing and sales growth! Think of how much change has occurred in the past several years regarding how we interact and how we make buying decisions; no matter what level you're hiring for, you'll want someone who has stayed abreast of changes in the marketing field.
2. Write an extremely clear job description that emphasizes outcome-based tasks & skills
I've read a lot of "kitchen sink" marketing job descriptions, and those usually won't get you what you really need, because they are too broad. Assuming you're clear on what you need, focus your job description on the outcome you'll want this person to deliver, and work backward from there. Think through what you want this new hire to accomplish, not what tasks you want them to perform. (For example, don't list "uses advanced Photoshop skills" -- say instead, "responsible for concept development and delivery of 10 - 15 completed advertising or collateral designs per month, including resizing existing ads for various online and print publications, using the Adobe Creative Suite" -- again, more specificity will net you more qualified candidates because you're painting a compelling picture of what output you expect.)
Actually, this advice works for most types of jobs -- just as the applicant's resume is their "advertisement" directed at you, the reverse is true: put some passion in your job description, and you'll attract passionate candidates. If the job description is boring and fuzzily written, you'll attract boring, fuzzy people. Believe me, you want marketers who are excited about your brand, so make the job description sizzle.Also, look for ways to smoke out anyone who might be inflexible or resistant/unable to change (because they will ALWAYS tell you that they thrive on change, of course).
Actually, this advice works for most types of jobs -- just as the applicant's resume is their "advertisement" directed at you, the reverse is true: put some passion in your job description, and you'll attract passionate candidates. If the job description is boring and fuzzily written, you'll attract boring, fuzzy people. Believe me, you want marketers who are excited about your brand, so make the job description sizzle.Also, look for ways to smoke out anyone who might be inflexible or resistant/unable to change (because they will ALWAYS tell you that they thrive on change, of course).
3. Character traits of a strong, competent marketer
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Non-marketers sometimes hold a stereotypical image of what marketers do: they go to parties, they give speeches, they swan about and chatter about "vision" and "message". In reality, marketing's a tough and frequently thankless job. (Try setting up for an outdoor event at 5:30 a.m. on a cold September Saturday, if you disagree.)
A great marketer makes the PRODUCT the star -- they fade into the background. When you're going to hire a marketer, you'll look for as many of the following traits and passions as you can possibly pin down. It's extremely rare to find the whole lot, but these are the traits I believe are quite important for a solid, high-performing marketer to possess: |
True character traits:
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Interests and passions:
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4. Locate likely marketing candidates: find their natural habitat
This is a
little bit different for every industry, but we all know the old adages about
hiring: nobody uses newspapers anymore; the big online job boards can
overwhelm you with thousands of resumes (and who has time to deal with that?);
personal referrals are the best; look for passive candidates… there’s so much
advice out there, it’s confusing. I've used the following approach in San Francisco, Seattle and Denver, but I believe
this will work in just about any metropolitan area.
- Birds of a feather. Find the online sites that marketers frequent – both to converse, and to jobhunt. In my current geographical location (Denver), the biggies are: Andrew Hudson’s Jobs List – www.andrewhudsonsjobslist.com, The Denver Egotist – www.thedenveregotist.com (there’s now a network of “Egotist” sites – more geared for agency and creative gigs, rather than client-side), and Colorado Nonprofit Association - http://www.coloradononprofits.org/career-center/nonprofit-jobs. Also, check industry trade association and national marketing association sites. Scanning these sites lets you know if your job description will resonate, plus several of them allow for job candidates to post their profiles. "But I'm hiring,not job-hunting, so why should I look at other job boards," you ask? Simple -- to look for change and turmoil. Companies that are hiring similar roles may be experiencing churn -- this may lead you to some possible candidates, just by cross-referencing those company names on LinkedIn -- look for likely candidates, and poach away.
- Amplify your message -- market to the marketers. Could you find your perfect fit from among your current customer base? Are you getting the word out that you're looking in every way you can think of, including adding it to your Web site, your email signature, signage if you're a brick-and-mortar location, via your company's other employees? Do you offer your employees a referral bonus?
- Mix and mingle, research and read. Get "somebody" (could be HR, could be the hiring manager) to scan your local happenings, such as trade shows or conferences, and the local newspaper and Business Journal. Sure, it's true that the traditional Classified Ad in a print newspaper has gone the way of the rotary-dial phone, but you can read articles about People on the Move, speakers at events, award recipients or nominees, etc. Remember, you're looking for turmoil and churn, to uncover candidates. Attend some marketing events and look for the stars (as opposed to the wallflowers; good marketers generally aren't the shy type).
- Look on LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers an excellent way to check someone out if you've received their resume and are considering contacting them, especially if you're looking for higher-end talent. Although many large companies prohibit their current employees from posting Recommendations on LinkedIn (or providing personal references), you should still be able to get a pretty solid sense of any candidate through their LinkedIn profile. How do they pop up in LI Groups? Do they contribute? Do they understand social media tools? Some companies are not thrilled when their employees are highly visible via social media, so take that into account. Employees of highly traditional and risk-averse industries such as health care or financial services might not seem that visible via social media; that's not necessarily a negative, as long as they understand the tools. You can certainly uncover that in the interview.
- Search out resumes on Indeed.com. I LOVE this tool. Yes, you can find resumes most job boards, but Indeed.com has really pared down their interface and their advanced search functionality is excellent -- you can very easily find active or passive candidates in your market. Personally, I think people who use Indeed.com tend to be a bit more savvy about online tools, anyway.
5. What about a college degree?
Unless you are hiring for a company whose products are so complex that you truly require it, don't immediately choke your candidate pool by using words like these: Bachelor's degree required, MBA/master's degree preferred. (Boom! Lots of people will stop reading here, especially those with six-figure educations and probably a corresponding hefty student loan debt.) If you're hiring a software engineer, mathematician, attorney or medical practitioner, certainly a degree is essential -- learning theory-based skills mandates institutional training, as does any profession requiring X amount of education in order to be licensed to practice. Generally, that's not marketing, though.
For most marketing job descriptions, after "bachelor's degree required, advanced degree preferred" add these magic words: "...or equivalent combination of education and experience." This will net you the best set of candidates for most positions. Most of the truly amazing marketers I know either went to college for something else entirely, or dropped out and jumped right into working with people. If you're good at what you do, you'll demonstrate your communication skills, planning and management, and ability to do the right things right.
I'm always puzzled why so many marketing job descriptions say "Bachelor's degree required, master's degree a plus" -- why? I've never had a hiring manager articulate the exact reasons the degree mattered so much; it's more of a knee-jerk response that gets slapped on a white-collar job description. I'm a bit biased in favor of people who sent themselves back to finish college as adults, because there's a lot more riding on you when (a) you're paying the bills yourself, and (b) you have other important demands on your time, like a full-time job and a family. Managing that juggling act really shows determination and gumption.
I want to see the following attributes in a job candidate before I will extend them an offer:
When I worked for Microsoft, this skill set had a specific name: INTELLECTUAL HORSEPOWER. (By the way, when they hired me, I had maybe 15 college credits under my belt and a kickass portfolio of work. No degree was required to obtain a marketing manager job at Microsoft -- and my role was marketing enterprise server software products!)
Matter of fact, here is the entire list of Microsoft's Success Factors. I still see this as the gold standard of how to operate, especially for a technology-focused marketer:
For most marketing job descriptions, after "bachelor's degree required, advanced degree preferred" add these magic words: "...or equivalent combination of education and experience." This will net you the best set of candidates for most positions. Most of the truly amazing marketers I know either went to college for something else entirely, or dropped out and jumped right into working with people. If you're good at what you do, you'll demonstrate your communication skills, planning and management, and ability to do the right things right.
I'm always puzzled why so many marketing job descriptions say "Bachelor's degree required, master's degree a plus" -- why? I've never had a hiring manager articulate the exact reasons the degree mattered so much; it's more of a knee-jerk response that gets slapped on a white-collar job description. I'm a bit biased in favor of people who sent themselves back to finish college as adults, because there's a lot more riding on you when (a) you're paying the bills yourself, and (b) you have other important demands on your time, like a full-time job and a family. Managing that juggling act really shows determination and gumption.
I want to see the following attributes in a job candidate before I will extend them an offer:
- they know how to research and immerse themselves swiftly in a new field,
- synthesize that information, and
- apply their knowledge and experience to the current challenge.
When I worked for Microsoft, this skill set had a specific name: INTELLECTUAL HORSEPOWER. (By the way, when they hired me, I had maybe 15 college credits under my belt and a kickass portfolio of work. No degree was required to obtain a marketing manager job at Microsoft -- and my role was marketing enterprise server software products!)
Matter of fact, here is the entire list of Microsoft's Success Factors. I still see this as the gold standard of how to operate, especially for a technology-focused marketer:
Microsoft's Core Competencies:
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Customer Feedback
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Long-Term Approach
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Teamwork
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6. Interviewing: not what they've done before; what they'll do FOR YOU
My hobbies? Well, I blog. Yep. It's a hog blog.
There are countless interviewing tactics, theories, methodologies, approaches out there -- so many that you could asphyxiate in the gasses produced from the experts who propose them. Behavioral, targeted selection, stress, group, phone, video, audition, skills-based, you name it. You may work for a company that mandates a specific approach; you may have a standardized interview guide that must be used. So, okay, use it.
You'll naturally use many of the same interview tactics you'd use for any position -- you'll review their resume again right before the interview, you'll mark any items that are particularly pertinent to what you need; come up with your person-specific questions for this candidate in addition to whatever you're using for all candidates, etc. Your job with a marketing candidate is to have them CONVINCE YOU that they are able to do the job. Hopefully, you'll even end up with multiple A+ candidates, but for me there is usually either one total standout, or I have to keep looking. I have been pushed to hire "just okay" candidates in the past (the "Ack! We need a warm body in here immediately!" boss directive) -- but it rarely gets you what you need, especially if you're at a smaller firm. Big companies can more easily afford to carry an underperformer, even though they shouldn't. Find your total ROCK STAR candidate however you can, even if you need to do multiple rounds of discussions with the person. But really, when you meet a killer candidate, you will usually know it during the first meeting.
No matter what, do NOT agree to extend a job offer UNTIL you've really dug to the heart of the matter, and are completely convinced this person can give you what you need:
You'll naturally use many of the same interview tactics you'd use for any position -- you'll review their resume again right before the interview, you'll mark any items that are particularly pertinent to what you need; come up with your person-specific questions for this candidate in addition to whatever you're using for all candidates, etc. Your job with a marketing candidate is to have them CONVINCE YOU that they are able to do the job. Hopefully, you'll even end up with multiple A+ candidates, but for me there is usually either one total standout, or I have to keep looking. I have been pushed to hire "just okay" candidates in the past (the "Ack! We need a warm body in here immediately!" boss directive) -- but it rarely gets you what you need, especially if you're at a smaller firm. Big companies can more easily afford to carry an underperformer, even though they shouldn't. Find your total ROCK STAR candidate however you can, even if you need to do multiple rounds of discussions with the person. But really, when you meet a killer candidate, you will usually know it during the first meeting.
No matter what, do NOT agree to extend a job offer UNTIL you've really dug to the heart of the matter, and are completely convinced this person can give you what you need:
- Has the candidate provided you with enough evidence that shows they truly did do the work they claimed to have done? (ie, did they explain in detail HOW they've completed specific projects or tasks, to the point that you believe them?) Yes, you want to smoke out their specific contributions, but don't spend the entire interview drilling into their past -- you really want to know how they will contribute to YOU; every excruciating detail of what they did eight years back won't help you tomorrow. The important takeaway you'll get from this portion of the interview is their credibility and honesty.
- Are you positive that this candidate wants to work FOR YOUR COMPANY -- have they shown you that YOUR company matters to them? How do you know? Did they research more deeply than just scanning your Web site? How do you know?
- Did they WOW you? Did they do something you weren't expecting that shows they really want THIS job? Did they bring in any evidence that they did some extra digging into your company's market, customer base, goals? Do they "get" what you need? Did they ask smart questions?
- Are you positive they can bring true value to your business? Watch out for this one -- don't let a marketer weasel out of giving you very specific answers to questions on this topic.They'd better be able to articulate a really strong statement about how they can deliver bottom-line value. And, are you committed to giving them the necessary tools required to be successful?
- Do you like their personality? If you will be the new hire's direct manager, you'll spend a lot of time with this person -- if you have ANY doubts about your ability to get along with them, keep looking. You don't need to invite the person to Thanksgiving dinner or Karaoke Night, but work always goes more smoothly when coworkers are compatible. I know this is one of those areas that can turn into thin ice legally; you'd never want to document "likability" issues, and you can't ask personal questions of a job candidate. But everyone has a pretty good gut reaction to people, and if you ignore your intuition and hire someone in spite of that flutter of doubt about their personality, it will not end well. Sooner or later, you will regret the hire! Again, this is one of those super-sensitive areas that can never be mentioned aloud, but it matters enormously. So chose wisely. (Don't believe this? Check out this INC. article on how personality impacts the workplace: "Are Your Employees Destroying your Business?")
Last bit of advice: don't dither. If you need to hire a marketing person, don't drag out the process for months. Light a fire and whip up a sense of urgency to get it done. Paradoxically, I'm urging you to be picky and avoid settling while at the same time I recommend you push hard to make a decision and fill the role. That's why it's important to cast your net widely: you want to attract qualified potential candidates however you can, and you want enough candidates to have a reasonably good chance of finding a winner. Do your due diligence and make a decision -- don't lost sight of why you're trying to fill this role in the first place: to drive demand and positively impact growth. There's an opportunity cost for every day you delay. Ultimately, just be a good capitalist and HIRE SOMEONE! If you've selected a qualified candidate that you get along with and who can deliver value to your organization -- you'll start seeing results quickly. And RESULTS are the name of the game.
7. Compensation: expect to pay a lot -- and get what you pay for
I had someone ask me recently what I expect in terms of compensation -- I pointed them to Salary.com, which is one of the most accurate salary information aggregators available. I love the transparency of it; and Kenexa, Salary.com's parent company, is absolutely focused on providing effective and reliable systems for compensation management. In some ways, it's easier to discuss compensation with a candidate today than it's ever been, due to the number of tools that provide greater transparency into market value for workers.
That's one of the cool things about hiring or being hired today: sites like Salary.com. Payscale.com, and Glassdoor.com give you a fairly accurate view of what a particular position is worth in your area. I find Salary.com's methodology to be more trustworthy because their salary figures are derived from 100 percent employer-reported information and are updated on a monthly basis. Other sites incorporate trade association summaries along with survey results from site visitors answering questions about what they are paid -- there's no true verification of accuracy, and many trade association surveys are annual (meaning the information can be trailing in excess of 12 months depending on when it's updated). But some of the anecdotal information is useful.
However, there are multiple ways to approach compensation; it's not just salary alone that matters. Savvy candidates will look at the whole picture. A great benefits package can offset a lower salary; incentive bonuses, car allowance, tuition reimbursement, more paid time off, product discounts... these all matter. As an employer, your #1 goal is to be certain you are making the RIGHT HIRE: and in this regard, you have a bit of leverage with a rock star marketing candidate. Especially if you're hiring to fill a leadership role, you'll be laser-focused on whether or not the candidate can provide multiples of value compared to compensation. For example, on Salary.com, median salary for a Marketing Director in my area is $138K; for a VP of Marketing, it's $207K -- both estimating 15+ years of experience. Add on a standard benefits package, and that Marketing Director's total comp is north of $200K. That's not pocket change! It's a significant investment.
But if their work nets you millions you wouldn't have otherwise made...??? Worth it.
If you believe you've found your perfect match,but you're nervous about the cost, think about what else you can offer as incentive. A CEO I know suggested offering equity, shadow stock, or even a quarterly pay-gap-filling bonus assuming the company and/or the candidate hit certain benchmarks. A marketer worth his/her salt will be confident enough in their abilities to consider a compensation structure that requires them to walk their talk, and deliver on their promises. Plus, it gives a hiring manager some leeway to engage quality talent, AND provide serious incentive for rapid performance. (Which, honestly, a good marketer will deliver no matter what! They should be wired to perform.)
That's one of the cool things about hiring or being hired today: sites like Salary.com. Payscale.com, and Glassdoor.com give you a fairly accurate view of what a particular position is worth in your area. I find Salary.com's methodology to be more trustworthy because their salary figures are derived from 100 percent employer-reported information and are updated on a monthly basis. Other sites incorporate trade association summaries along with survey results from site visitors answering questions about what they are paid -- there's no true verification of accuracy, and many trade association surveys are annual (meaning the information can be trailing in excess of 12 months depending on when it's updated). But some of the anecdotal information is useful.
However, there are multiple ways to approach compensation; it's not just salary alone that matters. Savvy candidates will look at the whole picture. A great benefits package can offset a lower salary; incentive bonuses, car allowance, tuition reimbursement, more paid time off, product discounts... these all matter. As an employer, your #1 goal is to be certain you are making the RIGHT HIRE: and in this regard, you have a bit of leverage with a rock star marketing candidate. Especially if you're hiring to fill a leadership role, you'll be laser-focused on whether or not the candidate can provide multiples of value compared to compensation. For example, on Salary.com, median salary for a Marketing Director in my area is $138K; for a VP of Marketing, it's $207K -- both estimating 15+ years of experience. Add on a standard benefits package, and that Marketing Director's total comp is north of $200K. That's not pocket change! It's a significant investment.
But if their work nets you millions you wouldn't have otherwise made...??? Worth it.
If you believe you've found your perfect match,but you're nervous about the cost, think about what else you can offer as incentive. A CEO I know suggested offering equity, shadow stock, or even a quarterly pay-gap-filling bonus assuming the company and/or the candidate hit certain benchmarks. A marketer worth his/her salt will be confident enough in their abilities to consider a compensation structure that requires them to walk their talk, and deliver on their promises. Plus, it gives a hiring manager some leeway to engage quality talent, AND provide serious incentive for rapid performance. (Which, honestly, a good marketer will deliver no matter what! They should be wired to perform.)
8. Remember: the end of hiring is the beginning of working
OK, cut to the chase. You're convinced, they're convinced; you made the offer, they accepted the offer; you're thrilled, they're thrilled... now what? Now that you've got a newly hired marketing employee, what do you, as the hiring manager, need to do to ensure you'll see rapid results? I hope you'll do this:
- Load them up. Most people need to give two to three weeks' notice before they can begin; could be longer if a relocation is involved. Don't waste that time -- get them on the clock immediately. Get your nondisclosure agreement signed (if you haven't already done so) and then bombard your new hire with everything you can think of that might be helpful to a marketing person. All of your current collateral, links to all your social media or other online presences (NOTE -- a good marketer will have already found at least 90% of this stuff before the final interview), important internal documentation such as budgets, product roadmaps, launch plans, org chart, info on key employees and customers, etc. Believe me, they'll be eager to get it and get started becoming an insider.
- Set touch base meetings. A good boss is there to remove roadblocks and answer questions -- and that's needed mostly in the first month, so make sure you're available. Make sure you are available/accessible in the first few weeks, and that you let your new hire understand what your priorities are, what their level of authority is, etc.
- Pave the way -- and let 'em run. Introduce the new hire to their team mates and all key internal customers. Open the doors they'll need to go through in order to be successful -- or at least point them out. Make sure colleagues understand the new person's role and their first assignments. Have their back, especially at first.
Remember, hiring a marketing person won't be the same experience as hiring someone from another discipline. Financial analysts, software engineers, frontline customer service staff, backoffice support staff... none of these need to approach their jobs the same way a marketer does. A marketer's job is to amplify the brand; they need to make your customers and target customers fall in love with your products; and they must enlarge your customer pool by increasing awareness. An effective marketing executive balances right-brained creativity and emotional intelligence with left-brained ability to target, track and measure results -- but no matter what level you're hiring for, the best marketing staff tend to be happy, upbeat, optimistic people who truly believe in what you're selling. They are a mirror that will reflect back to the customer -- so make certain before you finalize that job offer that you're convinced this person can deliver the goods.
Other articles on how to hire a marketer from around the Web:
(You'll notice that there are many different perspectives on who to hire! Ultimately, you do what makes the most sense for YOUR business.)
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I'd really like to hear your comments about this piece -- please email me at laura@laurahiggins.com, or phone me at 303-335-9944.
And feel free to share this article with anyone you know that's going to be hiring marketers in 2013. Here's to a prosperous New Year!
And feel free to share this article with anyone you know that's going to be hiring marketers in 2013. Here's to a prosperous New Year!
