Marketing recruitment expert Ursula has been working on senior level marketing positions in areas such as Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Suffolk, Oxfordshire and Berkshire for past ten years.
Here she shares five quick tips for how to know about the senior marketing roles arising locally before anyone else and ensuring you get an interview!
1. Ensure recruiters can find a complete LinkedIn profile
The way companies source new department heads is often very different to lower-level roles and before a role goes public they will sometimes task headhunters and/or HR to confidentially seek out appropriate candidates. One of the first places these people will often look is LinkedIn. I know of a fantastic Marketing Director who is actively looking for a new position and doesn’t see the value of LinkedIn – he sees it as an area that suppliers use to try and get him to use their services/products.. He also argues he has his location on there and current job title so if people want to find him they can. Yet, he has no photo and no detail of what his roles have entailed or has included his significant achievements.. When recruiters are looking on LinkedIn they will look for certain experience and the way they filter this is by adding keywords. You may have the right experience but if the information isn’t on your profile how can you be found? With LinkedIn it’s crucial you have a photo otherwise you aren’t seen as an active user of LinkedIn.
2. Stay registered with relevant recruitment agencies even when you aren’t looking
At your level you may not be able to control when you make your next move – often Head of Departments move not because they were desperate to leave but an opportunity arose that was too good to turn down. Because there are fewer roles at the top, your phone is unlikely to be ringing off the hook with positions and recruiters don’t mind you saying no to an unsuitable role. At the most senior level, recruiters will still look at their ‘active’ database before trawling through the ‘not currently looking’ candidates.
3. Network
Companies will often prefer to bring in a known person to a senior role than an unknown person because the known person is perceived as less risky to the business. Being a genuine and active person in your industry is crucial if you want to be contacted about a role before anyone else knows about it. Attend relevant dinners and events that arise. It’s a great way to share resources, relax and meet valuable contacts. For example, technology marketers may find locations such as Oxford and Cambridge are great for events that attract senior level people, and all industries have relevant events. I know of many Marketing Directors who have found their next move (often unintentionally) by this method.
4. Sign up for job alerts
Job boards both on agency websites and main sites like Monster, Guardian etc can offer sophisticated filtering services for what type of roles you would like to hear about. For example, on Brand’s website you can sign up to just hear about senior roles within a certain location and discipline. As the amount of roles you would hear about is quite small it’s a good way of keeping abreast of which roles are being recruited for and advertised without having to trawl through all the job boards regularly. A quick five-minute glance through the alerts once a week is an efficient way of knowing which roles are out there that you might want to apply for.
5. Be active online and through social media
There used to be a piece in Marketing Magazine where they would google a top Marketing Director and write about what appeared. The purpose being that if there’s lots about you online, you are seen as a well known and credible senior marketer. The CEO/Managing Director is likely to google your name before interviewing you and to see your name associated with various articles, blog posts etc will raise your perceived profile. Also, companies are looking for candidates who are digitally savvy so an active and full twitter profile for example suggests you are a marketer fully understanding and embracing the power of social media.
To discuss confidentially how we may be able to assist you more at a senior marketing level contact [email protected].
______________________________________________