Hiring marketing professionals

It can be challenging to know which new marketing hires will stick around and achieve their best work, but a candidate who gives good reasons for wanting to join a specific company has a better chance of both succeeding and staying. Candidates can use this chance to explain the reason for their current transition, outline transferable skills, or showcase some of the industry research they’ve done prior to the interview.

Content management systems, project management platforms, SEO tools, design tools, and other software enable marketing professionals to move the needle for their brand or clients. It can be helpful to know which of these tools the candidate has experience using — and which they’ve found to be successful.

Marketers are continuously learning, researching, and growing in their roles. Some companies disseminate information through meetings, in-person training, or teleconferences. Others share PDFs, slideshow presentations, and videos. Clients may conduct hands-on training with marketing teams to ensure their branding comes across in a very particular way.

A generous marketing budget doesn’t always suggest a successful campaign. But a tight marketing budget can indicate a flair for creativity and problem-solving — especially when the campaign was successful.

Candidates have all different definitions of “success,” based on values and personal experiences. Whether it’s traffic, sales, brand recognition, or achieving greater market share, a marketing professional should track one or more metrics to self-assess performance.  Candidates can also use this opportunity to discuss personal “successes,” such as problem-solving, obtaining a promotion, leading a team, receiving recognition, or learning.

Marketing involves a good deal of experimentation. No matter how capable a firm is, situations are bound to arise from time to time. Marketing professionals must be flexible enough to handle a crisis, whether it’s missing a target, losing potential revenue, an irate client, or a public relations disaster.

Marketers are often asked to adapt to market (or client) expectations, accommodate leadership/client whims, switch directions, problem-solve, and generally do more with less. This question explores the candidate’s resilience and adaptability to these kinds of changes.

Even the most junior marketing professionals are often tasked with leading smaller initiatives, or components of a larger campaign. This question will reveal the candidate’s aptitude for leadership — along with the requisite ownership and accountability it entailed.

Successful marketing professionals understand the importance of goal setting, devising an action plan, and measuring success. Personal goal tracking demonstrates soft skills like patience, organization, critical-thinking, and determination that are highly relevant to the role.