If you are looking to hire a digital / online marketer for your company, be sure to get someone who can “walk the walk” as well as “talk the talk”. Below are some tips to help you select
If someone is interested in social media, they should be active on social media. If they want a job in social media they should be listing the URLs for their own accounts on their CV in order to showcase how they use them effectively. Not everyone will be on Twitter, but their LinkedIn profile should be listed at the very least.
# 2. Is their LinkedIn profile up to date?
Seems like a simple ask, but many people fail to keep their LinkedIn profile up to date, this is a big no-no, especially if someone is currently job hunting with prospective employers looking at their profile. If their LinkedIn profile conflicts with the information on the CV you have in front of you it doesn’t bode well. If they can’t keep their own social media profiles up to date, are they likely to keep your company’s social media profiles up to date?
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# 3. Is their Twitter marketing focused?
Finding the right Twitter profile can prove challenging if the URL is neither listed on the CV, nor linked to from their LinkedIn profile. But if you do find it, is it public or private? If it’s private, that’s fine, some people have no desire to use Twitter publicly for their personal musings. However if it is public, are they presenting their best image? Again, they’ve applied for jobs, they have to assume prospective employers will be viewing their social channels. That’s not to say their Twitter feed needs to be solely marketing based, but some level of projected interest in the industry would be nice to see.
If someone has an interest in social media it is reasonable to expect them to have investigated other platforms, even if they are not a regular user. Do they have profiles on Google+, Pinterest, YouTube or elsewhere? Do they mention these on their CV? Or link to them from their other profiles? Or if not, do they tweet / post about them in any way?
# 5. Do they have a blog?
Many social media marketers will also be bloggers. Does your applicant have a blog? Or some kind of website set up to showcase their interests and expertise? This can be a huge help in separating the wheat from the chaff when reviewing CVs. One particular top marketing firm has previously said that they don’t even review marketing applications if the applicant doesn’t have a blog. Most companies needn’t go that far, but if some of the CVs that land on your desk list a blog, they should definitely leapfrog to the top of your pile; assuming of course it is a well written, regularly updated, easy to navigate blog … if not, well that tells you a lot of information in itself.
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# 6. How active are they online?
Lastly, how active are they? Do they post on twitter frequently? Is that blog updated on a regular basis, or was the last post 6 months ago? If you start following them on Twitter how long is it before they follow you back? If you email them to invite them for interview, how long does it take them to respond? In the era of smartphones and tablets, social media marketers have no excuse not to be online – and while we might not all be ‘plugged in’ 24 hours a day, if someone is scouting for a new job, they should be on top of their game.
Are there any other things you look out for when reviewing CVs for a digital marketer? Please share in the comments below.
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