I’m not one to brag (just kidding; it’s one of my favourite things to do), but I have an excellent track record for hiring. For a boutique agency, I have a low turnover and a solid team that is invested in our clients, our business, and their work.
I often get asked how to find and bring on great marketers, which can be overwhelming. So here’s the step-by-step process I go through to find fantastic talent. (Although my team is so strong, they’ve been able to hire people with me being minimally involved)
💖 We have done postings online and have found some great people, but I prefer industry groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google Groups. Girl Gang is very active in Vancouver, and you’ll get immediate referrals from people within your community. For me, it tends to reduce the wave of resumes and produce highly qualified candidates.
💖 I look at their social media and marketing. I’m not looking for something perfectly branded, but I am looking for someone active who genuinely loves marketing, creating, and is curious. I’ve interviewed people who will say they don’t spend their spare time on social media, which for me is a red flag; for them, work will always be work instead of fun. You don’t have to live online, but you do need to love trends, exploring, and testing genuinely.
💖 I’ll ask questions to see how willing they are to put themselves out there. Shy marketers can be great, too, but you need someone who isn’t afraid to direct people, pump up a new idea, or get your audience excited about what they’re selling. You can’t hire a marketer who is too timid to get on TikTok.
💖 Do they have their own community? I don’t care if their community is rock climbing or Dungeons and Dragons. Do they have some point of reference for community and a group of people that come together over something they’re passionate about? There are a few reasons for this. One is that I want to know they have passions but also that they can draw on something outside of work to inspire them.
Here’s something else to remember. No matter the experience level, they need to make your job EASIER. That means pitching ideas, making processes more straightforward, and making your marketing fun. There is no point in hiring someone whose hand you have to hold or if you feel like it will be a case of the blind leading the blind.
So many entrepreneurs hire because they don’t have the bandwidth to create their marketing or research how to make trending content. It’s okay if they don’t know what will work, but they have to be willing to throw spaghetti at the wall and have a process for determining what works and what doesn’t.