The road to growing your business’s marketing function can be a long one. Securing signoff for a new member of your marketing team is one thing, but actually attracting and securing the best marketing talent is another battle in itself. With the competitive, candidate-driven market adding to the challenge of attraction, getting the right marketer for the job can feel like an uphill battle. But it’s worth doing.
A good marketing professional will not only improve your campaign performance and bring fresh ideas to the function but can also provide a welcome boost of energy and engagement to the overall business. So how can you give yourself the best possible chance of securing the top marketing professionals?
Write a killer marketing job description
A job description shouldn’t be an afterthought in your marketing recruitment process. A killer job description can not only define what skills and attributes you’re looking for in a candidate, but also showcase your company and the opportunity to job seekers. They are a vital piece of real estate when it comes to advertising your organisation, yet not everyone is getting it right: 72% of hiring managers believe they provide clear job descriptions, yet just 36% of candidates agree, according to Allegis Group.
This shows that candidates are crying out for more specific job descriptions that are tailored to your company and the specific role on offer. Read through your job description and ask yourself if it could apply to any organisation. If so, you could be missing an opportunity to convey your company culture and what makes this role so exciting. If you offer benefits like flexible working, holiday schemes or health care, point these out in the job description. Meanwhile, be aware that marketers like detail, particularly around things like campaigns, team structure, technologies and opportunities for professional development. If you include appealing company information, specific detail 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.
Research the best job boards for marketers
Not all job board are created equally – and with 60% of candidates using online job boards to look for new jobs, you’ll want to have a handle on how to maximise these and use them to your advantage. When deciding which job boards to utilise, consider a mix of the big national platforms and the smaller niche options. By spreading your coverage this way, you’ll likely get both quantity (more CVs from the major job boards) and quality (potentially more qualified candidates from industry or location-specific niche sites). Niche job boards are particularly useful when it comes to targeting hard-to-fill or specialised roles and can be less expensive than larger platforms.
Be careful to provide accurate details when writing your advert for these job boards – particularly when it comes to salary. Research suggests that job ads with salaries see a 30% increase in applicants compared to advertisements without salary details. And always think about how people use job boards to search for vacancies and optimise your ads accordingly. For instance, your job title should be clear and simple (‘Marketing Manager’ as opposed to ‘Brilliant Marketing Superstar’) and you should include details around location and level.
Get your employer branding right
While employer branding is important when advertising any role, it’s particularly relevant when trying to attract the best marketing talent. With 79% of job seekers considering an employer’s brand before applying for a job, it’s clear that your reputation as an employer is as important as the details of the role you have on offer – even if you have a high-profile, well-paid role on offer, many marketers won’t consider applying if you have a poor employer brand or negative name within the market.
Prospective candidates will want to know what it’s like to work at your company, so make this easy for them to find. Dedicate careers pages and employer videos on your site to showcasing the company culture, using testimonials and ‘day in the life’ content from existing marketers where possible. Glassdoor is a crucial tool here, as 68% of applicants consider Glassdoor to be a more trusted source of career information than employers themselves. Take the time to tidy up your Glassdoor profile and utilise it to best promote your company.
Engage on social media
Not only is social media key when enhancing your employer branding, but it’s also a valuable resource to assist with candidate attraction. 75% of those who recently changed jobs used linkedin to find new job opportunities. It’s clear that social media has the potential to be used as another candidate pool – for those employers and resources who know how to navigate it.
Platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and even Twitter can be used to seek out and engage potential candidates, both active and passive. Message people who look interesting and ask if they’re interested in discussing a new opportunity – even the most loyal employee can be tempted by the idea of a new, challenging and potentially lucrative role. Unlike some other professions, marketers are typically very active on social media platforms, so use this to your advantage when recruiting.
Email your previous applicants
Job boards and social media are incredibly useful when recruiting, but don’t forget to scour your existing pool of candidates to see if you already have the right talent under your nose. Previous roles you’ve recruited for may have resulted in a number of qualified CVs that weren’t quite right for that role, but may be perfect for your current requirements. While they will likely be passive candidates now, they have shown an interest in your organisation in the past, so it’s worth taking the time to reconnect with them. Send an email to see how they’re going – you never know what might come of it.
Find out more
At BMS, we’re experts in using our industry knowledge to help our clients identify and attract the best marketing talent. If you’re interested in working with us, contact us here to see how we can help.
