Let’s set the scene. After a busy few months, the workload has increased for your marketing team. You know it’s time to bring someone new in. But you also know internally, time is precisely your biggest constraint.
Whether you’re debating outsourcing your recruitment – or have decided it’s a must – we understand finding a specialist agency you can trust to recruit for you isn’t always a walk in the park.
Between agency options, project deadlines and recruitment budgets, you know your choice must be spot on. So, let’s take a look at what you need.
Recruiting for marketers: what to look for
The starting point to defining your ideal marketer profile is your company’s needs. What’s your product or service? How important is industry experience? Do you need a generalist or a specialist? How much do you collaborate with other departments?
There are many good marketers out there, but not as many great ones. Make sure to establish what that means for your business.
Once you’ve answered that, you’ll want to find someone who fits the bill. But when shortlisting candidates, you might find yourself with fewer options than expected. Exceptional marketers are very sought after, one of the many reasons recruitment in marketing is less straightforward than it seems.
We understand SMEs don’t always have a recruitment officer within their HR team. And if you’re fortunate enough to have one, their time (and budget) might be split across different roles to fill across several departments.
As the marketing lead within the business, you know interview-worthy candidates will need the must-have attitude and skills of modern, value-driven marketers. From being data-savvy, creative, culturally aware and empathetic, and the notorious generalists versus specialists dilemma: all these details can quickly become overwhelming. So we’ve summed them up for you right here.
And remember. If you don’t know where to start, speaking to a specialist is always a good idea!
Budget and time: when outsourcing is the only way
Considering this, it’s easy to understand why outsourcing your marketing recruitment is the way to go. Investing your budget in the right employment agency will ensure a strong candidate shortlist while allowing you to have the last word on your new hire. As specialist consultants, our job goes beyond just finding your perfect fit, and will take over the peskier details of recruitment and candidate follow-ups, hence ensuring a better turnaround and onboarding process.
Consultants that truly understand marketing
Marketing is an ever-evolving discipline. Therefore, having a specialist consultant on top of their own marketing knowledge is hugely important. At Sitka, we have in-house CIM qualified expertise which ensures our consultants recruit people who will deliver (and don’t just look like they will).
I am a passionate marketer myself, therefore having skills and qualifications in the industry allows me to understand the technical elements of marketing roles and therefore find the right people for our clients. Also, having worked in recruitment for 20 years I ‘get’ when a person is the right personal fit for an organisation and this is as important as technical ability.
Ita McNeil-Jones
A good specialist recruitment agency will understand your needs. But an excellent one will reflect them in their job adverts and put your employer brand forward to the right candidates, on the right platforms.
Quality over quantity: the benefits of local agencies
While a big national agency might feel like a reassuring option, it’s worth remembering the main motivation behind externalising your recruitment.
Dedicated service not just for you, but for your candidates too. Specialist marketing knowledge, a streamlined recruitment process and partner relationship with your agency…bigger agencies are busier, can be more expensive, and ultimately, less likely to offer the true personal consultative approach that you need for your marketing roles.
On the other hand, boutique agencies offer the benefit of a local candidate pool. By favouring quality over quantity, they’ll ensure a candidate shortlist that’s more representative of the profile you’re after. This consequently will ensure less back and forth and a quicker turnaround (meaning a quicker ROI on your recruitment budget!).
Don’t just take our word for it
Throughout our 30 years of experience, we’ve helped many companies like yours match ambitious marketing talent to great opportunities in South Wales – from senior marketers to entry-level positions.
It is key that Sitka not only match candidates to the job spec, but quickly understand the culture and environment someone needs to succeed. Sitka were great in doing this.
Head of Legal Resourcing UK, Global Law Firm
We can help you with your marketing recruitment needs. Get in touch with us at 029 2048 4520 or contact our qualified specialist Ita McNeil-Jones on ita@sitka.wales.
To find out how we can work with you, please drop us a line
We liked Karen’s personal approach to finding the best candidate. She spoke to them in depth, matching the person to the business and vice versa, rather than just advertising the role to an existing database of job seekers. The process was very efficient and well-communicated from start to finish.
The whole recruitment process, led by Karen, was a really engaging and positive experience. I can honestly say it was the best interview I have ever had!
In a difficult market, Sitka were able to introduce us to several candidates who were suitable for our vacancies. Karen was so passionate about making sure both Drive and their prospective candidates got a great service and I knew she’d do an excellent job when future roles came up.
The recruitment process was thorough and straight forward, and the quality of candidate provided was very good to say the least. The best thing about the recruitment process was, apart from explaining the job role and what we were looking for, I had little to do but to interview!
Karen was extremely helpful throughout the entire process, providing interview tips, personal help, and preparation before my interview. I felt that Karen genuinely wanted me to do well and get the job that I wanted.
Ita took the time to ask about our business, our culture, the role and really understood what we were looking for. This resulted in a really straightforward recruitment process. All of the candidates put forward were of exceptional quality and I would definitely recommend Sitka to my colleagues and network.