Top Five Candidate Traits

By: Harry Joiner, Management Recruiter
Ph. (678) 795-0900

Last week I was asked by a friend to field some questions from the students in a University-level marketing class he is teaching.  The first question he asked me was "What are the top 5 traits you look for in a candidate for any marketing job?"

Good question.  Here are the top five things I seek in any candidate -- especially those who are applying for marketing jobs:

Business orientation.  Marketers must think holistically about their business and address their company's constraints to growth:  There's no point in developing a slick "brand promise" that cannot be brought to life with your company's current operating model.  Everything from legal, to finance, to accounting, to purchasing, to manufacturing, to warehousing, to logistics, to customer service, to marketing and sales must be in alignment with your company's Unique Selling Proposition.  And if your company's sales process is out of step with how the customer actually buys -- forget it.  That's why the best marketers are literate in all areas of business.  These are the pros who truly understand that marketing is a means to an end -- not an end unto itself.  No margin, no mission.

Humility.  If you have a massive ego, forget it.  I don't say this because I can't handle people with big egos.  I say this because marketing people with big egos always think they know better than their customers.  That's "death" in the marketing business.

People skills.  I do my job on the phone, which means that I am effectively blind. Minus the corn rows, there's no difference between me and Stevie Wonder.  Therefore, if you aren't warm and empathic on the phone, then it's hard for me to imagine that you will be warm and empathic in person. People, including my clients, want to do business with people they like, and they always do a phone screen before bringing a person in for an interview.  So relax and have fun.  Otherwise, you are wasting your time.  See the paradox?  Have fun or you're dead!

An inquisitive nature.  I'm no genius, but I have gotten by on my obsessive compulsive desire to learn.  Marketing, in particular, is too dynamic a field to be stagnant.  If you think you can skate by on the "Four Ps" you're wrong.  Keep learning.  We are just in the top of the second inning of this Internet thing, and it promises to completely change not only marketing -- but the way we think about marketing.  Don't get attached to any one marketing model or "one-size-fits-all" way of thinking.  Think integrated multichannel marketing ... and remain channel agnostic.

A track record of accomplishment.  You can't talk your way out of problems you behave yourself into.  If you have job hopped, or if you have walked off a job, or whatever, then no amount of my God-given sales talent is going to help you land a job.  If you hate your marketing job, stick it out until you generate a sensible alternative for yourself.  Nobody wants to hire a diva or a baby.

Comments

[Kristin Zhivago]

So right, Harry. I would add that marketers who haven't embraced technology are being left in the dust and are at the mercy of overworked IT folks who would rather let marketers be stupid; the more tech-savvy the marketer, the more work for IT folks. Someone who embraced technology early on is going to continue to be a good asset.

[Greg Paskill]

I definitely agree with the first 4 traits stated.

And building on the previous comment about embracing IT upgrades along with the 4th trait recommending an inquisitive nature, I politely discard the 5th. It borders on being obsolete in today's ever changing world. As both hiring manager and candidate I have seen how an obsession with a proven track record is a brilliant disguise for the employer's overblown 21st Century fear of making a hiring mistake.

That a person succeeded in one set of circumstances does not mean he can and will unconditionally succeed in every corporate venture. Conversely, some who have failed regard failure as their best teacher. Some who can bring great management talent and products have not been in environments where they could deliver their best. That they don't have a killer track record of name-brand products with top-notch sales doesn't mean they don't have the potential. (Jim Citrin of Spencer Stuart speaks of potential in his book on extraordinary careers. In a fast-changing world, potential is far more necessary, esp. to avoid resting on one's laurels.)

This is also worth exploring further according to the recently released _The Strategy Paradox_, whose author Michael Raynor was featured on Bob Brinker's Money Talk program last Saturday. Its subtitle is "Why Committing to Success Leads to Failure."

Alternately, this February 12 we celebrated the birthdate of another candidate who was once rendered a total loser. His resume, honest as he was, would mark him as unhirable. He lost many elections and had to close some of his businesses. Yet he became the 16th president nonetheless. How then to look for promising candidates who will score big in their 40's and 50's, to hire and hire and place the next Abraham Lincoln?

Accomplishments are yesterday's news. The big question is "What can you do for me today?" (And what kind of really forward thinking company Promotes(4P) that in its job reqs?!)