How To Find Young, Inexperienced Marketing Talent

When Wayne Rooney was 9 years old, everyone at Everton Football Club knew about him already.

You see, the advantage talent scouts in football - and for that matter, music - have over talent scouts in marketing, is that you can SEE or HEAR your talent at a young age. And if you have the network of scouts that can attend junior matches all around the country, then you're going to find that talent at a very young age.

You can't do that with marketers.

You can't, for instance, sit over their shoulders while they set up Facebook Ads campaigns. You can't, for obvious reasons, hang around universities and poke your nose into their seminars.

Which makes it hard to find young, inexperienced marketing talent.

They're usually looking for YOU. They're the ones sending in CVs and using the green banner on LinkedIn to say they're open to work.

Which simply adds to the marketing talent scout's confusion. You're overwhelmed by applications from people who don't have a lot of experience.

So how do you choose?

Choose those that use the phone

Oh I'M GOING TO GET SOME STICK FOR THIS, but for a majority of people under the age of 30, using the phone for its original purpose - talking - is a turn-off.

So for us here at Example, candidates who pick up the phone and CALL US are those that get through the net first.

We don't mind an email. We don't mind a WhatsApp message. But heck, we love a phone call. It shows initiative. It shows bravery. It shows they want it.

Choose those that have already done something

One of our very first hires at Example was a young graduate who had no experience in marketing roles, but had created her own YouTube channel.

So what, you might think, everyone does that. She'd marketed herself to get over 20,000 subscribers. She'd also won a competition at university for the best ad campaign.

Coming to a recruiter or an employer with nothing other than a marketing degree isn't going to cut it when you're up against those who have the same PLUS some evidence of having done extra stuff.

Choose those that market themselves

Marketer, market thyself. You see, if you're a marketer, the first thing you should learn how to market is yourself.

Those who are regularly on LinkedIn, sharing posts, commenting on things, creating content - those are the ones who know how to be active and be seen. A good profile photo, a good biography, and an active presence - these are all things that separate the proactive from the reactive.

Choose those that ask questions

You know that part of an interview where it gets turned around and the interviewer says "have you got any questions?"

And the candidate says - errrrr, no, I don't think so.

That's when the interview's over. One of my favourite interviewees came with a notebook full of questions. It was awesome. This is someone who THINKS, I thought.

Choose those that nudge you

It's like the kids who write thank you cards after birthdays.

A simple thank you message after an interview shows that the candidate is process-driven. They're thinking about how they appear, and they've got a methodology.

A candidate that pushes YOU for a response is likely a good one. So a nudge will always help.

Of course, you can also use Example to find you some great marketing talent. We follow a strong methodology to make sure that the marketing graduates we put forward are in the top bracket. Call us today - 0203 441 6961.

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