Digital Marketing Job Hunting Tips

The Candidate specialises in placing candidates into digital marketing jobs across the Northwest and across UK. This year, we’ve have found hundreds of candidates their dream roles in digital marketing agencies and eCommerce roles. From this experience we’ve asked some of our recruiters and support staff to give you their top tips for finding the role you’ll love in 2017.

Simon Rigby, eCommerce Recruitment Consultant highlights the need to know your tangibles and figures to highlight your experience:

When you’re attending an interview with your dream company, for your dream role, make sure you know all of your facts and figures insight out. For example, if it’s a digital acquisition role, bring your own acquisition stats with you from previous roles which highlight areas such as ROI and CPA etc. Also, do not make up figures, or be woolly, as your interviewer has great experience and will ‘smell a rat’ instantly. Basically, do your research, don’t make things up and you’ll be fine!

Amy-Leigh Cluskey agrees that the interview stage is vital in the process and preparing for this is half the battle:

Make sure you do your research on the company before the interview, knowing what brands the company work with is key to a successful interview. If not researched it looks unprofessional and highlights lack of preparation. Also, making sure you have good answers to the standard interview questions of strengths and weaknesses etc as many candidates seem to fall down on these and standard questions.

Laura Walters, Recruitment Director tells us why preparation is key to securing your next role:

My advice would be to prepare to the best of your ability. Whether it’s an informal first interview or a key second or third, preparation is often the main factor for success. Don’t just think about the interview itself, think about what you would do if you were to get the job – where would you start and what would you be most excited about getting involved with. Think about why you want to work for this company and of course, why are you right for them? What set’s you apart from other individuals? One other thing that people don’t prepare enough for is discussing what they enjoy doing out of work, something different to the usual ‘going to the gym, cooking for friends answers’, think of something that really drives you and that you believe in.

Simon Clarke, Recruitment Operations Director agrees that preparation for a successful interview as the winner:

The more preparation you put in beforehand the easier the interview will be. Ensure you've researched the company and make sure you know the job spec inside out.  Seems a daft thing to say but make sure you know your own CV! Then you’re fully prepared for any surprise questions about yourself. We have seen a number of great candidates go into the interview process with high hopes but then stumble on discussing their own experience which really lets them down.

Rachel Wilson, Senior Recruitment Operations Coordinator shines the spotlight on the CV, the key to securing your first interview:

Your CV is a vital document on the process, don’t underestimate it – treat it as such!

My advice is to:

- Take pride in your CV as this is the first point of call for employers and recruiters. You may have the best experience out there but if your CV doesn’t represent this, you may be    overlooked for your dream job.

- Put detail into your (relevant) previous employment – do not just list where you have worked; employers will want tangibles about what you have specifically done and what you could bring to their company.

- Make sure you put your most recent employment first – chances are this is the most relevant and will highlight transferrable skills

- Make it professional, you don’t need images, photos, borders etc, your experience should speak for itself without decoration.

Sarah Molden, Agency Recruitment Manager has highlighted softer skills such as passion and personality which are key:

Employers want to employ someone who is passionate about the company working for them so make sure you show them you are keen and passionate about the opportunity. Also show off your personality. You are what makes you different and stand out from the competition. Make sure they know what you can bring to the role, which no one else can. These are particularly important in digital agencies where culture and personality fit can be key.

Megan Cross, Agency Recruitment Consultant discusses honesty throughout the process with your potential new employer:

Be honest about the role you’re looking for and most importantly be honest about your experience. If there’s an area of marketing you don’t have a lot of experience in but you’d like to learn more about, say so. I think one big mistake candidates make when speaking to us as recruiters is claiming they have more experience in a channel than they do. This always makes finding the perfect job for you a big mess as we need to be putting you forward for the right roles in reflection of your experience and also as soon as a candidate gets to interview stage, it’s noticed by the client straight away. Everyone needs to start somewhere so there’s no shame in saying you’ve not learnt as much in an area as you’d like to, in fact the client will appreciate your enthusiasm!

Colin Telford, Managing Partner says that your employee brand will do most of the work for you before attending that crucial interview:

Think about marketing yourself throughout your career to secure roles now and in the future. How are you perceived online, through your social media presence, online CV’s or from your own website? It’s all about creating your brand and getting employers and recruiters to buy into that. Never before have marketers had the opportunity to create a brand about themselves like digital has allowed, so embrace it and polish up on your online profiles. Sign up to groups, contribute your thoughts, write blogs and ensure your social media profiles are oozing passion and experience.  Then the rest should look after itself.