Wanted: Talented Do-er with a Hunger for Success

It’s been a mixed news week as far as the economy is concerned.  No sooner had the latest jobless figures revealed a rise in unemployment than the bank of England revised its economic forecast to predict modest growth and a reduced rate of inflation. It’s a combination of factors that paints a positive picture as far as employers are concerned. While we remain in an employers’ market with plenty of candidates to choose from, the prospect of a kinder economic climate on the horizon makes it easier to take the step of putting someone new on the pay roll.  However, it’s important to remember that putting someone on the pay roll still remains a huge step for many and the fact that there is such a wealth of candidates to choose from is not always a positive advantage……sometimes it simply makes it more difficult to identify the best candidate amongst all the good, bad and indifferent applicants.

It’s a conundrum that’s very close to our hearts here at CME at the moment, as we begin the hunt for a new account manager to join the team.  We’re looking for someone with marketing experience and an agency background, but, more importantly, we’re also looking for someone with the intelligence to recognise opportunities, the ambition to go after them and the dynamic approach to convert them too – and all of  that’s much harder to assess from a CV! What’s more, because the job market is so competitive, the need to ‘sell yourself’ at interview has become much more of a hard sell, which for some candidates may lead to a lot of ‘talking the talk’ without much ability to ‘walk the walk’ to back it up.

When you’re looking for an effective team member to fill a marketing role, there has to be a balance, between knowledge on the one hand and experience on the other hand, with a willingness to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in.

Here are our top tips to finding the right person:

• Use the time they spend waiting for interview to observe them – are they engaged with their surroundings and keen to find out about your business from items on the wall, on the coffee table or on display in reception?
• Get a second opinion before the interview starts – often an informal ‘chat’ while they’re waiting for their interview will reveal more about the candidate than the rehearsed and formal environment of the interview room
• Ask them to substantiate their professional knowledge with examples of how they’ve applied it in practice and provide real life scenarios from your own business for them to problem-solve
• Expect them to have done their homework about you – a candidate that is truly driven and really wants to succeed with your company should have taken time out to do their research, just as you would expect them to with a client.