Table of Contents
[toc headings="h2" title="Table of Contents"] In today's competitive job market, recruiting and retaining top talent is both more critical and more challenging than ever. Even an experienced hiring manager can find themselves facing pitfalls that derail their hiring process, whether that's neglecting key considerations like soft skills and cultural fit or failing to include the right information in the job description. This is especially true in digital marketing recruitment, where the wide variety of skills and specializations adds another layer of difficulty to sourcing the right candidates. These mistakes can be very costly in both the short and long term. Not only do they waste valuable time and resources, but they can result in ineffective searches that can torpedo your team's productivity and morale, especially when they result in you hiring the wrong employee. Knowing the most common hiring mistakes can help you adjust to avoid them, and help ensure your hiring process is as effective and efficient as possible.
#1: Failing to clearly define the role (and your expectations for it).
Digital marketing is a broad field that includes a lot of different specialties, skills, and areas of knowledge. Your goals for the position will determine what kind of skills and expertise you should look for in candidates. If you need someone to design and implement marketing campaigns on social media, for instance, a candidate who specializes in email marketing isn't going to be a great fit, no matter how strong their resume is otherwise. You can avoid this mistake by taking the time to clearly outline the scope and responsibilities of the role before you start your search. Start by identifying the specific tasks you need the individual to take on, and define what success will look like in those areas. Doing this will also allow you to write more effective job descriptions that get the attention of professionals who are ideally suited to the role.
#2: Rushing through the hiring process.
When your business has a vacancy on its digital marketing team, it can often feel like you need to hire someone yesterday. Even when you have a time-sensitive search on your hands, it's still important to take the time to hire the right person. If you don't, you could put yourself even further behind because you'll need to go through the process all over again. The quality of a company's marketing strategy can have a huge impact on its growth (or lack thereof) as well as its overall reputation and relationship with customers. You don't want just anyone taking on that responsibility. An efficient recruitment process is a good thing, but make sure you're not skipping crucial steps like the background check, reference check, and other screening processes to verify that you're hiring the right employee.
#3: Waiting too long to hire a dedicated marketing professional.
One problem that can lead businesses to rushing through the hiring process is when they don't start looking for marketing talent until well after they need it. This is a common mistake in small businesses and early-stage startups. At the beginning, the founder or other leaders may handle the marketing themselves out of necessity, even if they don't have skills or experience in this area. The truth is, though, this likely isn't the best use of the leader's time, and they're not going to deliver the same results as a marketing agency or employee who is specifically devoted to that domain. If you want your business to grow, you should have a strategic approach to marketing--and, if no one on the team has the skills to develop one, then a dedicated marketing professional should be one of your first hires.
#4: Relying solely on certifications and degrees.
Education is a great first step for success in any career path, and there are several in-demand certifications that are smart to keep an eye out for on candidate resumes. But these aren’t the only thing that matters when you're comparing applicants. Formal education also isn't the only way someone can become a marketing expert. Hands-on training can be just as effective, and having a background in a different field can sometimes be an advantage. This is especially true in a field like digital marketing, where the trends change quickly and the best practices to reach a target audience can vary depending on the business, its industry, and its target demographic. If you over-emphasize specific degrees or certifications in the qualifications for the job, this can prevent potentially qualified applicants from applying. The same goes when you're screening candidates--putting too much importance on education could prevent you from seeing the whole picture and choosing the best all-around candidate. Consider things like certifications and degrees as part of the bigger puzzle, alongside their portfolio of past work and their performance in past roles.
#5: Overlooking soft skills.
There are technical aspects to digital marketing, but often success in these roles depends more on someone's ability to connect with customers than it does on their understanding of marketing analytics or other hard skills. Soft skill sets related to communication, persuasion, emotional intelligence, creativity, and adaptability all play a hand in marketing success. The interview stage is often the best opportunity to assess a candidate's soft skills. Pay attention to how the applicant engages with the people they meet in the office, as well as their answers to questions about their soft skills. The references the candidate provides can also be excellent resources to learn more about how they communicate, how they respond to feedback, and other critical information.
#6: Neglecting cultural fit and values alignment.
Increasing brand awareness is often one of the primary goals of digital marketing. This means the employees who design and implement your digital marketing strategy will be directly responsible for how your brand is perceived by customers. Someone who is aligned with your culture, mission, and values will be better able to convey those authentically in your marketing materials. Similar to assessing soft skills, candidate interviews and conversations with provided references are excellent ways to gauge their alignment to your culture. Another option is to use personality tests during the screening process. These can give you useful insights into the candidate's values and how they view the world, often helpful information for assessing cultural fit.
#7: Including unnecessary skills or requirements in the job description.
One of the most common blunders that business owners make when hiring for any position is padding the job description with excessive qualifications. In an employer's mind, a giant list of requirements makes it more likely the post will attract qualified applicants. In reality, doing this can have the opposite effect when the skills, experience, or education you list aren't actually necessary for success in the role. Having too many requirements can make qualified applicants think they aren't a good fit, discouraging them from applying and limiting your candidate pool. The better you understand the role you're hiring into, the more accurately you can list the skills required to succeed. Have other members of the marketing team review the job posting to make sure the qualifications are aligned with the responsibilities. If you're a small company hiring your first marketing team member, talk to marketing professionals in your network, or read descriptions of similar jobs posted by other companies, to ensure you're only listing qualifications that fit the position.
#8: Offering too little.
Even when budgets are tight, spending money on marketing is a smart move because you can often get a high return on investment. This is true when it comes to marketing talent, too. While the average pay for a digital marketer is around $64,000 per year, someone with niche skills or extensive experience can command a six-figure salary. Research the current market rate for the type of marketing role that you're hiring into and make sure that your offer is competitive. This will not only help you to attract stronger candidates but will also help with retention.
#9: Not including other team members in the decision making process.
Talent acquisition may be the responsibility of the hiring manager, but that doesn't mean they're the only one who should be involved in the decision. Leaders and team members in sales, advertising, product development, and customer success often collaborate with marketing, and may have some insights to share about what will make someone a smart hire. Involving a variety of people in the interview process can help make sure you're bringing on a new employee who can work well with everyone in your organization.
#10: Ignoring customer trends and data.
One of the challenging things about hiring a digital marketing professional is that not every company has the same needs in this area. The specific channels and strategies that will provide the most value, as well as the specific content you'll develop for them, will depend on factors like your industry, niche, and location. Customer data can be very useful in identifying where your marketing efforts will have the biggest impact and where you should establish or grow your presence as a business. By extension, that tells you what type of marketing talent will serve you the best. Make sure to include key customer metrics in your research when deciding on the responsibilities of the role.
How to avoid common digital marketing hiring mistakes
As you can see from the list above, there are a lot of ways things can go awry during the talent acquisition process. The good news is, you don't need to devise a specific solution for each one. Many of them can be prevented with proper planning and forethought before you embark on your search. Even if your hiring need is dire, it's worth taking the time to fully understand the position and how it will fit into your broader team before you start searching for talent. Bringing other perspectives into this process can help make sure you've considered every aspect of the role, and that in turn will allow you to source the right professionals for your organization.
In today’s competitive job market, recruiting and retaining top talent is both more critical and more challenging than ever. Even an experienced hiring manager can find themselves facing pitfalls that derail their hiring process, whether that’s neglecting key considerations like soft skills and cultural fit or failing to include the right information in the job description. This is especially true in digital marketing recruitment, where the wide variety of skills and specializations adds another layer of difficulty to sourcing the right candidates.
These mistakes can be very costly in both the short and long term. Not only do they waste valuable time and resources, but they can result in ineffective searches that can torpedo your team’s productivity and morale, especially when they result in you hiring the wrong employee. Knowing the most common hiring mistakes can help you adjust to avoid them, and help ensure your hiring process is as effective and efficient as possible.
#1: Failing to clearly define the role (and your expectations for it).
Digital marketing is a broad field that includes a lot of different specialties, skills, and areas of knowledge. Your goals for the position will determine what kind of skills and expertise you should look for in candidates. If you need someone to design and implement marketing campaigns on social media, for instance, a candidate who specializes in email marketing isn’t going to be a great fit, no matter how strong their resume is otherwise.
You can avoid this mistake by taking the time to clearly outline the scope and responsibilities of the role before you start your search. Start by identifying the specific tasks you need the individual to take on, and define what success will look like in those areas. Doing this will also allow you to write more effective job descriptions that get the attention of professionals who are ideally suited to the role.
#2: Rushing through the hiring process.
When your business has a vacancy on its digital marketing team, it can often feel like you need to hire someone yesterday. Even when you have a time-sensitive search on your hands, it’s still important to take the time to hire the right person. If you don’t, you could put yourself even further behind because you’ll need to go through the process all over again.
The quality of a company’s marketing strategy can have a huge impact on its growth (or lack thereof) as well as its overall reputation and relationship with customers. You don’t want just anyone taking on that responsibility. An efficient recruitment process is a good thing, but make sure you’re not skipping crucial steps like the background check, reference check, and other screening processes to verify that you’re hiring the right employee.
#3: Waiting too long to hire a dedicated marketing professional.
One problem that can lead businesses to rushing through the hiring process is when they don’t start looking for marketing talent until well after they need it. This is a common mistake in small businesses and early-stage startups. At the beginning, the founder or other leaders may handle the marketing themselves out of necessity, even if they don’t have skills or experience in this area. The truth is, though, this likely isn’t the best use of the leader’s time, and they’re not going to deliver the same results as a marketing agency or employee who is specifically devoted to that domain.
If you want your business to grow, you should have a strategic approach to marketing–and, if no one on the team has the skills to develop one, then a dedicated marketing professional should be one of your first hires.
#4: Relying solely on certifications and degrees.
Education is a great first step for success in any career path, and there are several in-demand certifications that are smart to keep an eye out for on candidate resumes. But these aren’t the only thing that matters when you’re comparing applicants. Formal education also isn’t the only way someone can become a marketing expert. Hands-on training can be just as effective, and having a background in a different field can sometimes be an advantage. This is especially true in a field like digital marketing, where the trends change quickly and the best practices to reach a target audience can vary depending on the business, its industry, and its target demographic.
If you over-emphasize specific degrees or certifications in the qualifications for the job, this can prevent potentially qualified applicants from applying. The same goes when you’re screening candidates–putting too much importance on education could prevent you from seeing the whole picture and choosing the best all-around candidate. Consider things like certifications and degrees as part of the bigger puzzle, alongside their portfolio of past work and their performance in past roles.
#5: Overlooking soft skills.
There are technical aspects to digital marketing, but often success in these roles depends more on someone’s ability to connect with customers than it does on their understanding of marketing analytics or other hard skills. Soft skill sets related to communication, persuasion, emotional intelligence, creativity, and adaptability all play a hand in marketing success.
The interview stage is often the best opportunity to assess a candidate’s soft skills. Pay attention to how the applicant engages with the people they meet in the office, as well as their answers to questions about their soft skills. The references the candidate provides can also be excellent resources to learn more about how they communicate, how they respond to feedback, and other critical information.
#6: Neglecting cultural fit and values alignment.
Increasing brand awareness is often one of the primary goals of digital marketing. This means the employees who design and implement your digital marketing strategy will be directly responsible for how your brand is perceived by customers. Someone who is aligned with your culture, mission, and values will be better able to convey those authentically in your marketing materials.
Similar to assessing soft skills, candidate interviews and conversations with provided references are excellent ways to gauge their alignment to your culture. Another option is to use personality tests during the screening process. These can give you useful insights into the candidate’s values and how they view the world, often helpful information for assessing cultural fit.
#7: Including unnecessary skills or requirements in the job description.
One of the most common blunders that business owners make when hiring for any position is padding the job description with excessive qualifications. In an employer’s mind, a giant list of requirements makes it more likely the post will attract qualified applicants.
In reality, doing this can have the opposite effect when the skills, experience, or education you list aren’t actually necessary for success in the role. Having too many requirements can make qualified applicants think they aren’t a good fit, discouraging them from applying and limiting your candidate pool.
The better you understand the role you’re hiring into, the more accurately you can list the skills required to succeed. Have other members of the marketing team review the job posting to make sure the qualifications are aligned with the responsibilities. If you’re a small company hiring your first marketing team member, talk to marketing professionals in your network, or read descriptions of similar jobs posted by other companies, to ensure you’re only listing qualifications that fit the position.
#8: Offering too little.
Even when budgets are tight, spending money on marketing is a smart move because you can often get a high return on investment. This is true when it comes to marketing talent, too. While the average pay for a digital marketer is around $64,000 per year, someone with niche skills or extensive experience can command a six-figure salary. Research the current market rate for the type of marketing role that you’re hiring into and make sure that your offer is competitive. This will not only help you to attract stronger candidates but will also help with retention.
#9: Not including other team members in the decision making process.
Talent acquisition may be the responsibility of the hiring manager, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only one who should be involved in the decision. Leaders and team members in sales, advertising, product development, and customer success often collaborate with marketing, and may have some insights to share about what will make someone a smart hire. Involving a variety of people in the interview process can help make sure you’re bringing on a new employee who can work well with everyone in your organization.
#10: Ignoring customer trends and data.
One of the challenging things about hiring a digital marketing professional is that not every company has the same needs in this area. The specific channels and strategies that will provide the most value, as well as the specific content you’ll develop for them, will depend on factors like your industry, niche, and location.
Customer data can be very useful in identifying where your marketing efforts will have the biggest impact and where you should establish or grow your presence as a business. By extension, that tells you what type of marketing talent will serve you the best. Make sure to include key customer metrics in your research when deciding on the responsibilities of the role.
How to avoid common digital marketing hiring mistakes
As you can see from the list above, there are a lot of ways things can go awry during the talent acquisition process. The good news is, you don’t need to devise a specific solution for each one. Many of them can be prevented with proper planning and forethought before you embark on your search. Even if your hiring need is dire, it’s worth taking the time to fully understand the position and how it will fit into your broader team before you start searching for talent. Bringing other perspectives into this process can help make sure you’ve considered every aspect of the role, and that in turn will allow you to source the right professionals for your organization.