How to Validate Your Marketing Candidates

Problem When Validating Marketing Candidates

The main problem when validating marketing candidates for a hiring process is that there are no standard metrics and metrics are not always comparable between different companies.

The hiring process is based on the candidate’s ability to solve problems, but you can’t test it directly. The trick is to look at their previous experience, the skills they have, and their recommendations.

Do They Understand Who Your Audience Is?

You should make sure that your marketing candidates know who your target audience is. They should understand the demographics of your audience, as well as their psychographics. The first thing you should ask is: "Do they understand who your audience is?". A good example of understanding the target audience would be if a marketing candidate asked questions like:

• What is the gender breakdown of our customers?
• How many years of education do our customers have?
• Which age group do we serve best?
• What are the demographics of our target audience?
• Do we have psychographic data for them? (If not, how can I find it?)

How Would They Promote Your Business On Social Media?

Social media is a key part of marketing, so let’s talk about how you can validate your social media candidates.

• Ask them what they know about your business and the industry.
• Ask them how they would target your audience on social media (i.e., what relevant hashtags would they use)?
• Ask them how they would engage with followers (i.e., what type of content would they post)?
• How do they grow their following? A great way to figure this out is by asking them “what metrics do you use to measure success?” If they can’t answer any of these questions and don't have a clear strategy in mind, then that's a red flag!

How Would They Describe Your "Brand"?

You're trying to figure out what candidates think of your company. You want to see if they can describe it in a way that makes sense, and how they'd feel about it if they were describing it to a friend.

These are questions you should ask yourself to know if the marketing candidate understands your branding:

• What are your company's values? Do you think the candidate is aware of these values?
• How would they describe your "brand"? Do their answers sound like something that customers would say about you? Can they articulate what sets you apart from competitors? Are there any gaps in their understanding of who you are as an organization?

What Work Have They Done In The Past That Stands Out To Them, And Why?

Now that you have a list of candidates, it's time to make sure they're the right ones for your business.

The next step is to get a sense of how these people will fit in with your team and what value they can add to your organization. To do this, ask them about their past work experience and highlight some of their most impressive work. Here are some questions you can ask:

• What was the most challenging project you worked on? How did you overcome it?
• What were the results of this project (i.e., sales)? Or what impact did this project have on your company? Which metrics were impacted by this work (i.e., conversion rate)?
• How did this experience make you feel as a professional? As an individual?

What Are Their Career Goals?

One of the most important questions to ask your candidates is what their career goals are. If you don’t know what they want, how can you help them get there?

Here are some tips for asking this question:

• Ask them about specific goals and not just about “being successful in marketing” or “growing professionally.” Ask what kind of work they want to do, who they would like to work with and under, or if they have any specific skill sets or certifications that would be helpful for their career growth.
• Once you understand the candidate’s goals, share with them that working at your company can help them achieve those goals through opportunities such as growing in their current role or moving into another part of the business (for example: from marketing automation manager to digital marketer). You can also tell them about how working at your company will allow them the opportunity to learn new things and gain new skillsets.

Why Do Candidates Want To Work For Your Company?

The best way to find out is to ask them. You can do this by allowing them to answer questions about your company and your job description as part of the application process. You can also do this by asking them in an interview. You can even do this by asking them after they’ve already been hired, but before they start working for you!

Here are some questions that may be helpful:

• What do you think about our company?
• What surprised you about us?
• What did you like? What did you dislike?
• Is there anything else that stands out to you about our company?
• How does it compare with other companies you’ve worked for or applied to?

How Much Time Do You Expect It Will Take Your Candidate To Get Up To Speed With Your Products, Processes, And Services?

How much time do you expect it will take you to get up to speed with our products, processes, and services? How will you manage the learning process?

This question is one of the most important ones to ask your candidate. This can help you understand when they expect to be able to hit the ground running. You want someone who can hit the ground running, but at the same time, it's essential that they're not overwhelming themselves by taking on too much at once. Consider asking about their ideal work schedule so that you can get a sense of how often they'll be working during different parts of their day (and night).

Validate Candidates By Asking The Right Questions

The first step in validating candidates is asking the right questions. The type of questions you ask should relate to your business, should be open-ended and not multiple-choice, and should test their skills, knowledge, and personality.

Ask about their experience. This can include past projects they’ve worked on and how successful those projects were. You can also ask for examples of when they demonstrated particular skills or abilities that match your company's needs (e.g., communication skills or attention to detail).

Ask about their goals for themselves and/or the job market as a whole (e.g., whether they are looking at lateral moves versus promotions).