Identify the Right Skills to Hire Top Performers

There’s no one size fits all for a top-performing candidate. Some industries require unique skills that you may not find in an average interviewee, so it can be difficult to target your ideal choice for an open position. This is particularly true in the marketing field, requiring its candidates to have a unique blend of technical, artistic, and interpersonal skills. Here’s how you can make the most of your job search by identifying the right skills for your perfect candidate.

Find the Skills You Need

The first step to identifying your needs is to take inventory of the position. What tasks and responsibilities will be assigned to the new staff member? Which skills are required to make these assignments possible? For the most part, these will be “hard” skills, such as experience with the Adobe Creative Suite or SEO. You may also consider “soft” skills as well, such as teamwork abilities or self-direction.

If you work for a larger company with more than one employee filling a similar position, you may also look at the skills and responsibilities of team members that serve the same function. What do they have in common? Which skills seem particularly important to them? Similarly, you can look at job postings for positions at other companies to give you a good idea of what the job usually demands.

Write a Compelling Job Posting

Once you’ve identified the skills you’d like to see in your new hire, drafting a job posting is the next step. Many hiring managers make the mistake of including all of the skills they want, which may intimidate otherwise qualified candidates. Instead of creating a massive list of requirements, you should instead narrow it down to the qualities that rank the highest on your list.

For instance, some companies may have the time and resources to train the right person in the required hard skills. Others need someone with experience right away. Depending on your circumstances, you may gear your job posting towards these hard and soft skills, or include a mix of both if you’re somewhere in the middle. No matter what, if you’re open to unorthodox candidates, you’ll be more likely to find your ideal match for the position.

During the interview process, you may ask your interviewee to prove their skill set. Ask for a writing sample, a design portfolio, or projects they’ve worked on in the past. Examining their past work can help you identify auxiliary skills that may not have made it onto your list. This, and a careful examination of your needs for the position can help you find a good fit for your company. Finding and interviewing talented marketing professionals can be a difficult endeavor, but with the right preparation you can make your candidate search a success.

Clearpoint makes your hiring needs easier. We handle all the legwork. That way, you can focus on other things you've been meaning to get to. Contact us today so we can get started.

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