The best way to reach out to a marketing hiring manager includes:
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Identifying your values
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Making the connection
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Crafting the perfect pitch
Are you applying for digital marketing roles, only to find you’re having no success even landing an interview?
Although most digital marketers can confidently present themselves in face-to-face interviews, they often struggle to get an initial foot in the door.
Although there’s a myriad of great job opportunities online, the reality is that there are even more suitable candidates applying for these roles.
But what if there was an easier way to guarantee at least a conversation with a recruiting manager?
When sourcing a new job opportunity, most digital marketers forget to take the side door approach – a path that streamlines the entire application process.
Imagine being able to uncover exclusive opportunities that no other candidate has access to.
Instead of spending hours drafting cover letters and resumes, you should consider the following 3 steps to help land an interview in your dream digital marketing role.
1. Identifying Your Values
The most important step before sourcing any new opportunity, is to reflect on what it is you’re passionate about – both as a digital marketer and an individual.
Before applying for any role, take the time to evaluate what industries you genuinely care about, then begin searching for relevant brands that stand out to you personally.
Thoroughly review each brand’s values – what they believe in, what makes them unique, and what their daily life looks like.
If the brand is a match with your own values, take a deeper dive and begin deconstructing their work, clients or product, and culture. Doing this will allow you to properly articulate areas in which you can add value.
If you’re a paid performance manager, you could review the brands current campaigns within Facebook’s ad library, then determine some new strategies that could take their work to the next level.
Is their ad copy ineffective? Should they have unique creative assets for each ad placement?
By doing this initial research, you’ll not only gain a meaningful insight into each brand, but you’ll start to interpret if the work excites you or not.
2. Make The Connection
Can’t see a brand recruiting for roles in your field? GREAT! This is the perfect time to start your journey through the side door.
Even if a brand isn’t recruiting, I’d recommend taking the time to begin connecting with their recruitment team, the founders, or members of the existing digital marketing team.
If you make an early connection with the team members on LinkedIn or Twitter, they’ll continually have the opportunity to see any content you publish across each platform.
By building this initial connection, they’ll already be familiar with your work by the time you reach out when opportunity strikes.
3. Reaching Out
Even if a brand isn’t actively recruiting for digital marketing roles, they might be in the process of preparing to publish new opportunities. A startup may have just landed a new series of funding, or a team member might be in the process of moving on.
Take the time to reach out to a hiring manager before they publish these opportunities to the public. This will allow you to jump the queue and become the sole candidate in their recruitment process.
If you’re unsure what to say when reaching out to a hiring manager, I’d recommend crafting a personalized message to each organization, introducing yourself and explaining the areas in which you can add value.
By taking the time to personally contact a hiring manager, you’re able to easily attract attention and properly introduce yourself.
Hiring managers appreciate nothing more than a candidate who already understands their dynamic. If you properly articulate your background, your interest in the brand, and the areas of opportunity you identified earlier on, you’ll create a great first impression that can lead to endless opportunities.
In your initial outreach, I’d always recommend suggesting a time to meet up (in-person or online) to learn more about the company. It’s important to always put yourself in front of a potential employer. It’s at this time that you can build a meaningful relationship.
Before you know it, you’ll be in the process of interviewing for potential roles, all while confidently understanding the synergy between yourself and the brand.
Without the added pressure of having to compete with other candidates, your conversations can also be more authentic.
Although this process can seem manual and time-consuming, I can almost guarantee that you’ll have a successful outcome in landing not just any role, but one within a company that you genuinely care about and enjoy.
Sometimes the easy way is a result of doing things the hard way.
Looking for a position with a brand that aligns with your own personal values? Start searching my directory of brands who proactively live their values.
