Past events have left many marketing professionals uncertain about the future. The relentless trail of negative news constantly popping up every turn you take can leave a toll on a person’s mentality. Lucky for us, we don’t have to endure it any longer. In a recent executive interview by Fast Money, top executives discussed why Jamie Dimon from JP Morgan is calling today the Roaring Twenties 2.0. In summary, they believe the economy has truly made extraordinary steps during COVID and is headed towards a much better future.
So what does this mean for top marketing executives? According to Reuters, “U.S. job openings rose to a two-year high in February.” The number of job openings jumped to 7.4 million at the end of February resulting in a 5% higher job opportunity rate than pre-pandemic levels. Industries like health care and social assistance have an additional 233,000 job openings. Food Service jobs increased by 104,000 jobs and entertainment rose to 56,000 additional jobs. At the end of March 2021, economists estimated 916,000 jobs will open.
This means candidates across the country have a higher chance of landing their dream job. However, candidates must be aware that the expectations of resumes, executive interviews, and the recruitment process are not the same as before. Organizations have a better grasp of what the company is missing and what an ideal candidate should look like. There is no room to “wing it”. Therefore, as the leading CMO search firm, we highly recommend you adopt this number 1 mindset before entering the job market.
Number One Mindset Every Top Marketing Professional Must Have Before Entering An Executive Interview
There are many factors you need to take into consideration when you are entering the job market. Have you updated your resume? What kind of interview preparation have you done? How will you show your executive presence both in-person and online?
Fortunately, numerous articles, videos, seminars, and classes can guide you through the whole process. The only downside is their advice is sometimes too broad. As the leading CMO search firm, our years of experience showed us that candidates who can tailor their experience, expertise, and responses to the company they are interviewing for have a higher chance of landing the position. Therefore, while it is highly recommended for you to search for best practices before, during, and after an interview, you should use them as your basic foundation.
Once you have the basics squared away, now is the time to work on your mentality. The mindset you have walking into the interview will ultimately determine how you will do. The reality is, you can spend hours preparing for the interview, writing down all of the points you want to cover, and still be prone to freezing up or making a mistake. Therefore, having a specific mindset will help you recover from those slip-ups and guide you back to the original question.
So what is the number one mindset every candidate should implement before their interview? According to CNBC Make It, “every person you meet in the process is deciding whether you will make their job easier or harder.” That being said, you should be asking yourself “ how can I make this person’s job easier?” This means when you are preparing answers, make sure you give exact examples of how you will contribute to the team. Oftentimes, candidates are too focused on presenting their past accomplishments, they forget to explain how their experience adds value to the new company.
The basic skeleton of your answer should look something like this. First, focus on how you would make the interviewer’s job easier. Second, align your past experiences with the position you are interviewing for. Relate with your interviewer through similar experiences and explain how you helped further your past company’s goals. This should cover a lot of what the interviewer is looking for. However, top candidates should never assume you covered everything. Try asking questions like, “what other experience or expertise does your ideal candidate have that I have not covered?” or “what else can the person filling this position do to make your job easier?” By asking questions like this, you give yourself more opportunities to demonstrate your capabilities based on what the company is looking for.
Overall, an employer should be able to understand the value and expertise you will add to the business. You want the interviewer to ask you more questions to express their curiosity about your work history. By implementing this mindset along with the best practices for interviewing, you should be able to excel at any job interview.
However, even with a larger amount of job opportunities, it is still highly competitive. To mitigate the risk of long dragged-out interviewing processes, get your foot in the door by working with marketing executive recruiters. They will be able to pair you and your expertise with great companies that align with what you are looking for.
Author: Melissa Van Rossum