…And why so many businesses in the North of England are getting it wrong
Hiring a great marketer is genuinely hard. After nearly 30 years recruiting marketing professionals across the North of England, I have seen the same mistakes made over and over again. The good news? Most of them are entirely avoidable. Whether you are a Marketing Director building out your team, an HR Manager handling a brief, or a founder who has decided it is time to bring in some proper marketing firepower, this one is for you.
1. The job description that describes every marketer and attracts none of them
Someone sits down and pulls together every marketing skill they can think of. SEO, PPC, email, social, brand, content, CRM, analytics. The result is a wish list that would take three people to fulfil, attached to a salary that would struggle to attract one. The best marketing candidates are specialists with broad awareness, not generalists who are mediocre at everything. Get clear on what you actually need. What will this person be doing on a Tuesday afternoon six months in? That is your job spec.
2. Chasing the CV rather than the person
Job boards are great at surfacing people who are actively looking. What they are terrible at is finding the person who is happily employed but would move for the right opportunity. That person is often your best candidate. When we placed Ethan Bayram at Equator Design, he was not the obvious choice on paper. But he had the right attitude and drive to thrive in a fast-moving creative agency. You do not find that person on Indeed. The best hiring is proactive, not reactive.
3. Underestimating how competitive the market is
Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield are genuinely competitive cities for experienced marketing professionals. The people worth hiring are employed, doing well, and need a reason to move. If your salary is not competitive, your employer brand is not convincing, or your process takes three months and five interview stages, you will lose them. Good candidates have options and they will exercise them.
4. Hiring for today rather than tomorrow
A lot of businesses hire to plug a gap. The panic sets in and the brief becomes about who can start quickest. That is understandable, but it is also a trap. When I recruited for the fintech business in Leeds, we looked for someone with the strategic vision to shape a marketing plan, not just execute one. It is worth asking yourself: what do we need this person to be able to do in two years’ time, not just in their first six months?
5. Overlooking culture fit in favour of skills fit
Skills can be learned. Attitude is much harder to change. I have seen technically brilliant marketers fail because they were the wrong fit for the team or the pace of the business. When Amanda Kellett at Freemans Grattan Holdings reflects on our 25-year partnership, what she talks about is the fact that we take the time to understand the culture, not just the brief. That is not an accident. Before you hire anyone, be honest about what kind of person actually thrives in your business.
6. A slow or unclear hiring process
This costs businesses good people every week. A candidate interviews on a Tuesday and hears nothing for three weeks. By the time you get back to them, they have accepted somewhere else. A well-run process with clear timelines and prompt feedback is not just good practice, it is good marketing for your business as an employer. The businesses that consistently make great hires all have one thing in common. They are decisive.
7. Using the wrong recruitment partner
What matters is whether your recruiter actually understands marketing. Can they have a credible conversation about the difference between a performance marketer and a brand marketer? Do they know what good looks like in your sector? When Tom at Heart Research UK came to us, he had already tried other agencies. What made the difference was not speed or volume. It was the fact that we understood what the role required and were honest with him about who could do it.
So what is the answer?
It starts with clarity. Clarity about what you actually need, what your business is really like to work in, and what kind of person is going to thrive there. If you are struggling to hire a great marketer in Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield or anywhere across the North of England, it is worth having a proper conversation before you post another job ad and hope for the best.
Ready to do this differently?
Contact Jonathan Hirst at Northern Marketing Jobs. With nearly 30 years in marketing recruitment across the North of England, we know this market inside out and we are genuinely here to help.
