Using the right evaluation tools during and after an interview could make the difference between hiring the best marketing candidate and a B-player. You can avoid that problem (and improve the quality of your hires across the board) by using an appropriate interview feedback form for all your hiring processes.
Do You Even Need a Feedback Form?
The short answer is, yes. Some organizations think that they can get away without having a dedicated interview form. But they’re not just for stuffy corporations with overgrown HR wings and massive hiring needs. If you hire people, you need an interview feedback form.
At the very least, a basic feedback form helps you more objectively assess candidates, compare them, and recall their qualification over a long period of time. Consistent feedback forms also help you evaluate applicants more objectively. This is essential in reliably separating good talent from great.
We’re all biased in one way or another; even experienced hiring managers misjudge candidates. Something as minor as getting stuck in bad morning traffic or conducting an interview after a great cup of coffee can heavily impact your perception of talent. The feedback form doesn’t eliminate that completely, but it goes a long way reduce uneven appraisals from one candidate to the next.
The kicker is that interview review forms really don’t take much more effort to create or use. If you don’t have a feedback form at all, there are plenty of serviceable templates online that are ready to go. Try one of these free options from tidyform to get you started.
Why You Need a Unique Form for Your Marketing Leaders
Most companies have a generic, one-size-fits-all interview feedback form that is used for almost all hires with little to no modification. For the most part, that’s OK. It’s certainly better than nothing. But for hires that really matter and could have lasting impact on your company’s success, you need to make sure you’re using a candidate evaluation process that gets you the best.
In an evolving marketing environment, marketing leadership has never been more important to your organization. You can’t afford to have the wrong people steering the future of your company. So it’s always worth a little extra effort and scrutiny to ensure you’re bringing in the right person. A mediocre CMO can cost you big over time, and even middle managers that fail to deliver can be devastating to your marketing productivity.A mediocre CMO can cost you big over time, and even middle managers that fail to deliver can be devastating to your marketing productivity.
As the top marketing executive search firm, we’ve found some things to be essential to look for in an interview. Improve the quality of your high-level marketing hires by modifying your interview feedback forms to evaluate for the following:
Modern Skillset
Marketing is changing fast—has the candidate kept up? Just because they were at the top of the industry a few years ago doesn’t mean they’re still on the cutting edge today. Grade how well they’ve kept up with the pace of marketing, what they do to stay on top of trends, and what actions they take to forecast the future.
Leadership Qualities
Your manager or executive hire is a leader first, and a marketer second. If they fail to set a good example or properly manage the talent and resources they’re responsible for, then their competence and expertise is nearly worthless. Evaluate their track record as a leader as well as how well they speak and carry themselves in a confident, personable manner during the interview.
An Accomplished History
Your candidate might have a long list of impressive titles and important responsibilities on their resume, but that tells you little about how good they were at executing. Does your candidate have a track record of proven, demonstrable success that points toward better ROI? Measure their track record of stepping into a role and making improvements that matter.
Technical Abilities
Does your candidate have the ability to use (or to quickly learn how to use) all the marketing tools and technology you rely on? Assess their competence with basic and advanced software and technical infrastructure. You don’t want to risk an error due to their misunderstanding or wait a long period of time for them to get trained on your systems.
Culture Fit
A strong marketing leader must fit in well with the workplace atmosphere and align with corporate values and ideology. These are, after all, the people who will be representing your brand and molding your voice in the marketplace. Do you really want someone who doesn’t have matching ideals to be behind the trigger of your company’s voice?
