Marketing operations talent is invaluable – it’s no wonder why 81 percent of organizations who don’t have a marketing operations leader believe they can’t fully maximize the impact of their initiatives, according to research conducted by Gartner.
Marketing automation platforms offer countless incredible benefits, but unless you have a designated person (or team) who knows how to fully leverage the platform, you’ll have a hard time seeing the ROI. This explains why marketers only utilize 58% of their MarTech stack’s potential.
But, there’s just one downfall – finding marketing operations talent is hard.
As a Marketo consulting agency, we’ve gone so far as to help our customers source Marketo admin talent. It’s becoming increasingly more common that our clients just can’t find Marketo talent, and we’ve stepped in to help them with their search.
We recently chatted with our recruiting team to learn their perspectives when it comes to sourcing Marketo talent – what are the most effective ways to find Marketo talent, what do these individuals look for in an organization, and what should you look for in a potential candidate?
Our recruiting team answered those questions and more, and we’re here to deliver those findings to help your organization source quality Marketo talent, faster.
Define what you’re looking for in a candidate
Before you begin your marketing operations talent search, sit down with the hiring manager to clearly define what you are looking for in a potential candidate. This will help you be more intentional with your search, speak confidently to candidates, and in the long run, save time and effort.
Brainstorm the non-negotiables together – what are the mandatory job requirements for this position? What are the hard and soft skills you’re looking for?
💡 Tip: Review similar marketing operations job descriptions listed on LinkedIn for inspiration around skills, requirements, and overall job description.
When we’re sourcing marketing operations talent, we often look for the following:
Hard Skills:
- Experience with Marketo, Salesforce, and/or Microsoft Dynamics
- Marketing automation experience
- MCE, MCSA, or Marketo Champions
- Experience executing email programs, webinars, and lead scoring
- Not required, but experience with Bizible is a plus
Soft Skills:
- Ability to lead internal and external discussions
- Ability to break down complex technical subjects
- Articulate and able to confidently present to clients
- Problem solvers
- Open to collaboration and constructive feedback
- Culture and value fit
- Not required, but consulting experience is a plus.
Be knowledgeable on what they are looking for
Put yourself in the candidate’s shoes – what do they look for in a company? What are their non-negotiables? Just like you have a list of requirements, so does your potential candidate. It’s important to remember that interviews are a two-way street – the potential candidate is interviewing you just as much as you are interviewing them. It’s no secret that marketing operations talent is in demand, and your candidate is well aware of this too. Come prepared to answer any questions they may have – whether it’s regarding company culture, the job description, or even the future of your organization.
From our experience, we found that marketing operations professionals look for the following in a new company:
- Remote work
- Work-life balance
- Flexible working hours
- An upbeat, positive culture
- Training and growth opportunities
- Supportive, friendly, and knowledgeable colleagues they can learn from
- Transparency from upper management
- Variety of projects
Be savvy
Most recruiters use traditional platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor to source talent. If you’re tired of receiving the same old results, then you know it’s time to revamp your strategy. Use industry-specific platforms like the Marketingops.com Job Board to post open positions.
Marketingops.com also has a Slack channel dedicated to hiring, so join this free community to take the next step in your hiring efforts. With more than 1,700 users, you’ll expand your reach and gain the opportunity to network with MOPs professionals.
Have you heard of Zoominfo? If not, now is the time to get familiar. Through Zoominfo, you can search companies by what technology they use. From here, select Marketo as the technology and refine your search results by using filters for job titles, such as “marketing operations” or “Marketo admin.”
Boom – you have a list of potential candidates that you can start reaching out to. Zoominfo offers their contact information, or you can reach out to them via LinkedIn.
💡 Tip: Zoominfo requires a paid membership, but you can test out their services through their free trial.
If you prefer to use LinkedIn for your search, promote your job posting by creating a custom audience that targets individuals with Marketo skills and marketing operations as their job function. This way, the only people who are viewing your job post are the ones who have the hard skills you’re looking for, saving you time and money.
Network, network, network!
One of the best things you can do as a marketing operations recruiter is network on LinkedIn. Even if a potential candidate isn’t actively seeking a new role, they may be open to casual conversations about your organization and whether they’d be a good fit.
Be open to listening to their career goals and ambitions, and whether it’s compatible with your organization. Maybe you don’t have an open position for them at this moment, but your organization has plans to expand in the future. This is a great opportunity to maintain an ongoing relationship that serves both you and the potential candidate!
It’s also important to mention that even if your potential candidate has declined the opportunity to chat, they may have qualified connections who could be a great fit for the job. You never know where a conversation will lead you, so keep the conversations flowing and the door wide open!
💡 Tip: Join your local Marketo User Group to meet Marketo professionals in your community. This allows you to expand your network, educate individuals on your organization, and identify any employment opportunities.
Have a stellar referral program
Your employees are your biggest advocates – they’re the face of your company, and can play a major role in helping you source talent. But, let’s be realistic – your employees are busy. As marketing operations professionals, their days are busy with little to no downtime.
That’s why it’s crucial to incentivize your employees to want to help your recruiting efforts, whether that’s a referral bonus or free gift cards. You can get creative with how you thank your employees, but at the time of the day, there’s nothing better than stone-cold cash.
💡 Tip: As we stated above, your team is busy. It’s unlikely that your referral program is top of mind, so share updates on open positions and encourage them to share with their networks. Make it easier for them by providing copy to post to their LinkedIn, or even better, simply ask them to share your hiring posts. It’s worked well at Perkuto – all we do is notify our team that a new recruiting post has been shared in Slack, and encourage employees to share with their networks. It doesn’t hurt to remind them of the bonus they’ll receive if their referral gets hired.
Get creative
Think out of the box – sure, you can use LinkedIn and Indeed until the cows come home, but this may get exhausting after some time. How can you attract knowledgeable, diverse candidates aside from traditional channels like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor?
MERGE has worked with Highway Education, a public benefit corporation, whose mission is to serve as a bridge between underemployed young adults and talent-seeking marketing employers. The team at Highway Education consists of marketing technology veterans who are aware of the talent gap in marketing operations, and are ready to empower underemployed young adults in reaching their full potential.
Wrapping it up
Before you begin your search, learn from our recruiters on what not to do when sourcing Marketo talent:
- Don’t lie about the position – be honest! It may be tempting to entice the potential candidate, but at the end of the day, honesty is the best policy.
- Don’t try to sell a job to someone who is not looking for a job. It’s as simple as that.
- Don’t hire based on paper. Just because someone has met all your criteria does not mean they’ll be a good culture fit. Interview for both technical skills and a culture fit.
Happy recruiting!