Does the marketing manager you’re looking to hire posses these 6 essential traits?
If not, it is more likely that they be a liability to your company, not a money producing asset.
We all know that the world is changing rapidly. Things are completely different today than they were just a few years ago. Remember the good ol’ days when there was no such thing as Google, Facebook, or Twitter? That was just a few years ago. Social media, search engines, web development, mobile devises, etc. have all exploded. As we all know, technology is expanding so rapidly that it can sometimes be daunting to keep up as an individual let alone as a business organization. The way consumers make purchasing decisions is completely different now then it was just 5 years ago.
All of this is common knowledge. So what’s the takeaway? Simply this; a business that fails to evolve with these changing times will surely die. A quote from one of my favorite marketers encompasses this idea perfectly:
“The nature of the last era was that repetition and management of results increased profits. The nature of this one is the opposite: if someone can tell you precisely what to do, it’s too late.” -Seth Godin
Barriers to entry have been shattered. There’s nothing holding you, or I, or anyone back from developing their own products/services, marketing and selling them with very little overhead costs. I can hire an army of people right now on odesk.com, and for cheap. I can connect with overseas manufactures right now who speak english and are ready and willing to work with anyone on alibaba.com. Times have changed and outsourcing is an easy solution for anyone, anywhere.
So what is the solution to these changing times? How can a company stay ahead of the massive amount of potential competition that can rise up at any moment? People. Hiring the right management and team leaders that will keep the company ahead of the trends and in front of the emerging competition. Hiring people who are forward thinkers and innovators. To sum it up, hiring people that have these 6 essential traits:
1. Passionate
“Without passion man is a mere latent force and possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark”
The foundation for finding the right people is determining whether they are passionate about what they are doing. The question shouldn’t be “CAN they do the job,” the question should be “WILL they do the job.” There are a lot of qualified candidates for marketing management positions. However, are they passionate about marketing? Are they relentless staying educated on trends? Are they consistently studying human behavior? Are they up-to-date with emerging technology?
2. Results Driven
“Never confuse activity with achievement”
Staying busy means nothing in today’s world. Seth Godin recently wrote a terrific article on the subject entitled Hard work vs. Long work. “Long work is what the lawyer who bills 14 hours a day filling in forms does. Hard work is what the insightful litigator does when she synthesizes four disparate ideas and comes up with an argument that wins the case–in less than five minutes.” Hiring someone who isn’t entrepreneurial minded with an laser-like focus on results and the bottom line will be the biggest mistake a company could ever make.
3. Wide Array of Skills
“Individuals, too, who cultivate a variety of skills seem brighter, more energetic and more adaptable than those who know how to do one thing only.” -Robert Shea
In today’s world hiring a marketing manager who do not have a wide array of skills is be a huge mistake. What have they done? Do they understand the internet? Do they understand design? What about messaging? Social media? SEO? Facebook? Are they able to understand consumer behavior and the buying decision process? Can they build a website, sit down and do some design work, write effectively etc? In today’s world, a large variance of skills and understandings must be had in order to be effective.
4. Personable
“Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.” -Vince Lombardi
People skills are essential. Someone could be pure genius, but without people skills, it is for naught. This is common sense, but how many people out there have a contagious vibe that is positive? How many have a contagious vibe that is negative? Simply put, if they are hard to work with, they are not only worthless, but they will infect your organization with a contagious disease. An effective manager represents the company well. They create positive vibes within the organization, and leave positive impressions on those outside the organization. Does the person posses a foundation of verbal and written communication skills? What about a handle on their own ego? Are they humble and willing to learn and share their knowledge freely?
5. Creative and Innovative
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” -Steve Jobs
As I’ve already mentioned, we live in a rapidly changing world. To stay on top of these changes innovation and creativity are an essential foundation. Creativity is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. The less you use it, the more it goes into atrophy. When hiring a mareketing manager, ask youself this: what innovation and creative pursuits have they engaged in? Are the trail blazers or trail walkers? Rewards are to be had for people and organizations that create maps, not follow them.
6. Highly Adaptable
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” -Charles Darwin
Evolution is occurring in human knowledge just like it is within species. Because of this, what ‘works’ for business is also evolving. Adaptability = ability to evolve. The bottom line: someone who lacks this essential trait will become outdated within a year’s time. At this point, they will turn into a liability as an employee, sucking more money from the company then value that they are providing.
Conclusion
So what’s the point of all of this? As you can imagine, my point is to communicate that I posses these 6 essential traits. Sure I have a bachelors degree. Sure I have experience. But more importantly, I am confident that I will be an asset to your company going forward into this ‘brave new world.’ However, I don’t want to tell you, I want to show you. The purpose of this resume site is to be the first step toward showing you. However, obviously sitting down and meeting, and eventually working together will allow me to fully show you.
Thank you for reading and please contact me to schedule a time to talk further. By the way, have you seen my online resume yet?
Sincerely,
