How to hire and attract top marketing talent

Marketing teams are often the first within a company to take a hit when a financial crisis strikes, and the Covid-19 pandemic was no different. But with the economy now almost entirely reopened, the sector has bounced back to growth, with recruiters reporting a substantial rise in the number of marketing opportunities available. Recent data from Marketing Week revealed that job vacancies in the sector are at an all-time high and have more than tripled since the onset of the pandemic. 

With a rise in marketing and digital jobs, top talent now have the pick of the bunch when it comes to finding a new, exciting role and an attractive employment package to go with it. With that in mind, what can your business do to maximise its recruitment process to attract top marketing and digital talent in 2021 and into 2022? Here are some of our top tips. 

Writing a stand out marketing job description 

With lots of marketing opportunities currently available, what makes a job at your company stand out from the rest? An effective job description should not only define what skills and attributes you’re looking for in a candidate, but also highlight your company and the opportunity it offers to potential new hires. 

Candidates appreciate more specific job descriptions that are tailored to your company as well as the specific role on offer. If you include appealing company information and specific details around the role and what it requires and an indication of what you expect from the right candidate, you’re well on your way to attracting great marketers through your job description.

💡 Top tip: To help your job description stand out, make sure you are highlighting employee benefits such as flexible working, holiday schemes or health care packages. Marketers also like detail, particularly around things like campaigns, team structure, technologies, and opportunities for professional development. 

Tips for conducting the best marketing interviews

Keep it friendly: Candidates can be put off by stern faces and excessive formality, whether that’s during an in-person interview or a remote one. Marketing is a very collaborative job, so candidates need to see if they can work with the people they are being interviewed by. Both sides will also want to check compatibility and that’s much easier to do in a relaxed and friendly environment. If an interviewer is unfriendly, this will put candidates off immediately and they might not want to proceed any further into the hiring process. Try to keep your interviews as light and as informal as possible to attract the best candidates on the market.

Keep it short: Candidates right now are in high demand, so you want to shorten your hiring process as much as possible. Try to keep it to no more than a 2-stage process if you can, although this may need to be slightly longer for roles that require a technical or creative task. Trying to keep a candidate engaged throughout a hiring process can be difficult, especially in today's market when there's plenty of other marketing jobs out there. If candidates are kept hanging on throughout a process, they are more likely to start looking elsewhere. Structured and swift processes keep candidates engaged and they’ll appreciate it much more. 

Keep them informed: Things like providing names of the interview panel ahead of time allows candidates to do their research and get some background information before the interview. Providing details on the layout of the interview will also go a long way as it will allow the interviewee to fully prepare and know what’s to come. Similarly, if you keep to dates and provide insightful feedback quickly, it’ll show candidates that you value them and their time. 

What’s next? 

To learn more about how to attract the best marketing and digital talent, download our free Talent Trends eBook to discuss exactly what candidates want in the new working world. Changing just a few things about the way your business is run could help you stand out as an employer of choice. 

DOWNLOAD 👉 Talent Trends: The Hiring Landscape in Marketing and Digital