Hiring managers: here’s how to land your dream Marketing Automation employee

The Marketing Automation field is as competitive as ever, and the feedback we get from clients is that they are missing out on great candidates and don’t understand as to why.

After hearing our hiring managers out and doing a bit of digging, we typically find that they are missing out on their potential all-stars usually due to the “interview to close” process. Here’s some advice on getting the right person in before another great organization swoops up your rock star.

Have a game plan

Before you start interviewing candidates, know what the actual interview process is going to be. Whether the process is one on-site interview, or 2 phone screens and 2 on-site interviews, candidates should know what they are getting into as it helps manage their timeline.

As recruiters, we hear it all, and a complaint we commonly get from candidates is that the process was too long or, on the other side of the coin, “That was quick! I don’t know if I can make a decision after just one interview; I don’t want to limit myself to what else is out there.” If you lay out the process from the beginning, they know exactly what they are getting into.

Get it right and keep it tight

We never think clients should have to cut out steps of their interview process, but we always suggest condensing them. Having a candidate come on-site more than twice isn’t advised. 90% of the candidates that we work with are actively working. They are employees that still want to give it 100% up to their last hour; wouldn’t you as a hiring manager want that in a future employee? It’s hard for candidates to escape the office, so keep that in mind. For interviews, we find that the best process is:

1. Phone screen with the hiring manager – no sense in beating around the bush. This is the person that the employee will be reporting into. If it’s a no from them, it’s a no.
2. Phone screen with 1-2 additional team members
3. Onsite interview to see the office/meet the team

The above process is assuming the candidates have been pre-screened by a member of your Talent Acquisition/HR team or a specialized consultant (hey, that’s us!). 

The offer stage

You’ve identified your next ROI driver, now let’s get them on-boarded. Pump the brakes though… Before you even get to the offer stage, has your potential new hire seen your company’s benefits? Do they know what type of healthcare you offer, the computer they are going to get, PTO, if you offer scuba diving classes (we’ve seen it all)?

If your organization allows it, we suggest that before a candidate has their final interview, they have received all of the benefits information. While onsite, they should meet with HR and have an opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns they have with the benefits. If there are none, offer away. If there are, get those cleared up before you extend any sort of formal offer.

Seal the deal

Once you’ve cleared up the benefits portion, extend the offer – but give a timeline to make a decision. If a candidate has had a thorough interview process, knows the benefits, and the salary is in line with what they were presented for, there really shouldn’t be much to think about.

If a candidate needs more than 24-48 hours to review and sign an offer, it’s a clear red flag. If you’re out shopping and want to buy something, but second guess it and say that you might come back for it later, how often do you actually go back to it? At the end of the day, you want a candidate to be just as pumped as you are about the offer.