Insights and advice from a digital marketing recruiter

I specialise in recruiting senior digital marketers in NSW – hunting, chasing, sourcing, searching for or even digging out top talent in the market. It’s an understatement to describe the last eight months as one of the most challenging and toughest markets we’ve ever experienced.

However, that’s not to say that there aren’t any jobs out there. While April and May took the biggest hit in terms of available roles in the market, it started to pick back up – mostly in the CRM space, eCommerce discipline (with online sales going through the roof) and more recently the digital performance area, with 70% of positions at the executional level ($75k-$100k). That’s been highly positive, given all the uncertainties that the market has been navigating.

Despite this, the majority of open roles remain very hard to recruit for. In this context, resilience is key – from our end as specialist recruiters but mostly for job seekers and clients. This ongoing challenge is the reason why I wanted to shed some light on what’s happening from both a job seeker/candidate perspective, as well as from the business/hiring manager standpoint.

Let’s start with candidates.

Many people have lost their jobs or have had their hours drastically reduced. Some of my candidates are understandably disheartened: “There are so many applicants out there, it is so competitive. I have no chance. I am going through so many processes and final rounds but I’m not successful.”

As recruiters, what can we do to assist our candidates?

• Actively listen and really understand where they are coming from and what they are looking for (industry, values, responsibilities).
• We also add value by coaching them. It can be mentally exhausting to go through a number of interview rounds, all to be told “no” because you lack experience in a specific industry or haven’t used the exact platform the business has. Finding a job during a downturn becomes an even more exhausting exercise because you have invested so much time in the interview process and the competition is steep. Out of that exhaustion, I’ve noticed a common mistake some candidates are making, which is underselling themselves. In response to the question, “What are you looking for?” some candidates tell me, “I will take anything”. To this I say no – because you should not be compromising who you are, your values and your skills. Do not sell yourself short. Yes, salaries have taken a hit of about 3%-4% due to the pandemic and, yes, it is good to be flexible because money isn’t everything but this doesn’t mean you should consider a $120k role when you are worth $180k.
• Recruiters are also helping candidates by thoroughly preparing them and managing their expectations throughout the interview process: How many stages? What research needs to be done ahead of the interview? How many candidates are in the mix? It’s all about transparency in today’s market.
• Great recruiters give feedback. Whether good or bad, it’s important to get back in touch with candidates after an interview with a client, especially if it’s to let them know why they haven’t been successful as it will help them for next time.

Finally, to job seekers and candidates I would say: be patient. Understandably, some candidates get upset that they still haven’t been placed in a role, or that they haven’t been contacted about new roles. No recruiter is able to place every single candidate they meet or come into contact with – it’s very much a candidate-rich market. But I am in a position to provide support, guidance and insights. If you don’t hear from your recruiter over some time, don’t hesitate to reach out to them because the most successful relationships are two-way.

Now onto my advice for clients.

Of course, some industries have been booming (healthcare, tech, ed tech, online retailers, SaaS). A lot of my clients have turned the pandemic into an opportunity to implement change and drive digital capabilities within their business, with the full support of the executive team and board of directors.

On that note, dozens of organisations are implementing change (mostly structural transformation, i.e. moving to product squads and agile framework, but also technology transformation with the implementation of sophisticated marketing tech stacks and automation tools), always with a customer-centric approach. The need for CRM talent as well as eCommerce and digital acquisition leaders is also constantly increasing. Organisations should not minimise the importance of the talent they hire, train and retain to help them on that transformation journey.

What’s the risk here when it comes to the recruitment process? We could think it is an easy market out there for hiring organisations, as there are thousands of candidates looking for their next role. But that would be a misunderstanding of the actual situation where candidates in the spaces listed above are highly sought after.

So here a few tips to help you secure the best available candidate out there and to protect your brand in the current market:

• First and foremost, only go to market once you have assessed exactly what skills are missing in your team and what talent you need to hire. Why? Time is key in the hiring process – if we commence sourcing for a position that is not 100% clear, it will inevitably cause delays and impact the level of talent for the role.

• Once again, and I can’t stress that enough, time is of the essence. The interview process needs to be quick and seamless. How? Proactively lock in some time for interviews in your calendars for the two weeks following a shortlist delivery. If you don’t act quickly, your competitors will, which means missing out on potential top talent because you didn’t proceed to the next interview round fast enough.
• Have a clear interview process and stick to it. If you have any doubts about the right process for X or Y role, discuss this with your recruiter. My advice is to not add rounds of interviews that were not initially planned. If you do, have a valid reason for doing so.
• Be clear with your expectations and key selection criteria whilst listening to the feedback from your recruiter. For example, if you are looking to hire a digital performance (SEM, paid media) specialist and don’t open your search to candidates with an agency background, you are ruling out a lot of highly talented professionals. If you are looking for a CRO Specialist, be clear about what background you are after – these roles are often mistaken with analytics positions, which are more technical.
• When organising a presentation round, make sure you are being fair and respectful of the candidate’s IP. At the senior end of the market – the area I specialise in – 80% of candidates are reluctant to share their IP “for free” without a clear vision on where they are at in the process. Keep in mind it’s a lot of time and effort invested on their part.
• Share feedback. An interview goes two ways. Your employer brand is at stake. Unsuccessful candidates are still more likely to recommend your company to their network if they have had an enjoyable experience. Taking the time to provide constructive feedback as to why they haven’t been successful is part of the process.   

Finally, there is nothing we can do against counter offers or candidates worried about leaving their current positions in such an uncertain market. But there are plenty of elements we can control in an interview process, so let’s ensure that we do this to the best of our abilities.

That’s it from me – I appreciate you taking the time to read my thoughts and hopefully it’s provided you with some current insights.

Thank you very much and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me on camillebrunet@michaelpage.com.au.