Hiring a marketer can be a complex process, and knowing what red flags to look out for is crucial. Seven experts, including CEOs and SEO Heads, share their insights on this topic. From considering experience in similar settings to assessing communication skills, these are the key points to keep in mind.

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Contents

1 Consider Experience in Similar Settings
2 Demand Concrete Campaign Examples When Hiring A Marketer
3 Beware of Solo Achievers
4 Check for a Digital Footprint
5 Avoid a Narrow Marketing Focus
6 Value Transparency and Consistency
7 Assess Communication Skills

Consider Experience in Similar Settings

A significant red flag for hiring managers to be aware of when recruiting a marketer is a lack of experience in a similar company setting. Differentiating between B2C and B2B marketing expertise is key, as the strategies and audience engagement methods can vary significantly.

Additionally, the size of the company plays a role; marketing for a start-up requires a different skill set than for a large corporation. Industry-specific knowledge can also be crucial, as marketing in the tech sector, for instance, may differ from the fashion or healthcare sectors. Hiring good marketers in the wrong role can lead to problems. It’s vital to ensure the candidate’s experience aligns with the company’s specific needs and context Before hiring a marketer.

Joe Kevens, Founder and Director of Demand Gen, B2B SaaS Reviews

Demand Concrete Campaign Examples When Hiring A Marketer

A red flag that hiring managers should look for when hiring a marketer is when the marketer can’t give you exact examples of how they’ve succeeded with different marketing campaigns and what the results of those campaigns were. Every marketer should be able to give you an example of where they’ve succeeded and what made them succeed. If they can’t, something isn’t right, or they don’t pay enough attention to assessing results and using those results to improve.

Whenever we create marketing campaigns, whether they succeed or fail in terms of reaching our goals, we go through the results with the marketing team to see how we can improve next time, where we may have fallen short, and what we should keep doing. They then learn the importance of this information and can use it to not only improve our company’s marketing, but to improve their own skills too.

Michael Maroney, Marketing Director and Lead Biologist, Infinite Outdoors

Beware of Solo Achievers

A critical red flag that hiring managers should be wary of when hiring a marketer is an overemphasis on personal achievements without demonstrating a clear understanding of collaboration and teamwork.

While individual accomplishments are important, marketing is often a collaborative effort that requires coordination across various teams and departments. If a marketer focuses solely on their personal achievements without acknowledging the importance of cross-functional collaboration, it could indicate a potential lack of teamwork skills.

Effective marketing campaigns often require input from diverse perspectives, such as design, sales, analytics, and more. A candidate who can’t effectively collaborate might struggle to integrate their efforts into a cohesive marketing strategy that aligns with the overall business goals.

Harsh Verma, SEO Head, CodeDesign

Check for a Digital Footprint

The major red flag I’ve encountered when hiring a marketer is when they lack an online digital footprint. I’ve conducted interviews where online evidence of actual delivery was weak.

Can you identify thought-leadership blogs they’ve written? Do they have their own basic marketing website? Are they active on social media like LinkedIn and X? Most marketers, save for the most junior ones, tend to have active digital footprints where you can search their name and find evidence of their work. If you can’t find any online evidence of marketing content or collateral they’ve produced, it is worth trying to ascertain why.

Alan Gleeson, CEO, Contento

Avoid a Narrow Marketing Focus

A crucial red flag for hiring managers to consider when hiring a marketer is a narrow focus on one specific aspect of marketing. While specialization is valuable, a candidate who lacks a well-rounded understanding of various marketing channels and strategies might struggle to adapt to different campaign needs.

During the interview, inquire about their familiarity with a range of marketing techniques, such as content marketing, social media, SEO, paid advertising, and more. A candidate with a broader skill set can better tailor their approach to meet diverse business goals and navigate the complexities of today’s integrated marketing landscape.

Look for versatility to ensure your chosen marketer can handle a variety of challenges effectively.

Pallavi Goyal, AGM-BD and Ops, SilverPeople

Value Transparency and Consistency

Before hiring a marketer It’s important to look at provable consistency with processes and a way of working that is transparent, not centered around jargon that is done only to confuse. The more open and transparent a marketer is, the better you’ll be able to work with them to outline strategy requirements (and understand their process better, too).

Wendy Makinson, HR Manager, Joloda Hydraroll

Assess Communication Skills

Poor communication skills during the interview. While interpersonal communication isn’t an absolute must for a hiring a marketer, I find that it does tend to correlate with their ability to create relatable campaigns and materials.

This is because it just happens to be a sign of an overall strong communicator. You want someone who can break down complicated concepts into the simplest and most appealing terms. Therefore, not being able to market yourself during the interview is a big red flag for me.