Jana Parmová: How to effectively recruit specialists to a marketing agency?

Jana Parmová is HR & Happiness Manager at Optimio, a digital agency in Brno, where a team of professionals specializes in creating digital growth strategies and covers all key areas in digital for their clients. We talked to Jana, who is in charge of the entire recruitment process, about what the recruitment process looks like and how to effectively find the best marketing specialists.

As the HR Manager of a growing marketing agency, you'll encounter a wide range of marketing positions in recruitment. Even at the moment, you have several listed on your career site. How many positions do you fill in an average month?

Typically, there are three positions that we are actively looking for. That means we have a real need to fill them, we have work for them, and the search for them is on multiple fronts. Then we have positions posted that we welcome at any time. We're primarily talking about more experienced specialists, who we're happy to talk to whenever they express interest in Optimio. As long as the chemistry works, we can tailor a position almost to the person.

When a candidate looks at your career site, they'll find detailed job descriptions and a transparent description of what's to come. All with lightness and humour. Are you getting positive feedback?

We are currently just about to launch a new careers page on our website. I am quite critical of the current design because I can see the improvements we have planned. 🙂

But yes, we have also received positive feedback on the forthcoming form of the careers page and the adverts in general. Candidates like the tone of how the ads speak to them. 

What does the recruitment process look like at Optimium?

Our recruitment process is constantly being redesigned. As the only HR representative in the company, I am in charge of sourcing and first contact with candidates. The first rounds of selections are entirely up to me and I enjoy them very much. My job is to assess the candidate from multiple perspectives using behavioral questions. Another tool I have for some positions is an entry-level knowledge test or creative assignment to assess eligibility to meet with the hiring manager. This is usually a team leader. He goes to the bottom of the specialty. And if the candidate succeeds here too, there is a final meeting with the managing director.

We strive to get as comprehensive a view of the candidates as possible. We also want them to get to know different people in the company and get an overall picture - what it's like, what's important to us and what they can look forward to.

In any case, recruitment is a very lively process and we are always looking for ways to improve. Not only to get people who will fit in perfectly, but also to make sure that the candidate who is rejected gets the best possible impression of Optimio.

Trends are important in the world of marketing. Do you also follow trends that you then follow when recruiting?

Oh, yeah! I'm trying not to rest on my laurels. I'm really happy that I'm doing HR in a marketing company, that in itself is a great inspiration for my work. The suHR learning community I'm part of also helps me a lot. There are so many new developments and directions that I certainly can't take in everything, but I like to be inspired in different ways. For example, I've incorporated AI into some of my email writing, I'm regularly inspired by Google's recruitment strategy, and I also like to follow and read the stories of my HR colleagues on LinkedIn. Petra Nulíčková gives great tips and I love Simon Steffal's articles on quality communication.

Does the recruitment of marketing specialists have any significant specifics compared to other positions?

It seems to me that marketing is a field that gives less experienced candidates the impression that it's an easy job that can be learned right away - after all, we encounter advertising every day, so what's so hard about it? 🙂 That's not the case, of course. Experienced marketers know how challenging and technical the job can be.

I can't judge whether it's harder to find an experienced marketing person or a quality person for production, because I'm not looking for a quality person. But I can say that it's hard to find a senior specialist for an agency. Agency is a very specific world and it doesn't suit everyone.

Marketing is a field that gives less experienced candidates the impression that it is an easy job that can be learned right away.

What should companies focus on to reach the best marketing specialists in the market? What works best for you?

For me, personal and active search works best. My area is LinkedIn. I enjoy looking for potential new colleagues, thinking about how to write to them to increase the chances that they will be interested and respond. None of my messages are repetitive, they are always directly to the person I am writing to. Nine people out of 10 write me back. I'm open-minded, I try to avoid clichéd phrases.

My long-term goal is to make Optimio a super employer. To build such a strong brand that candidates will apply to us on their own.

What to watch out for? Can you name the most common mistakes when recruiting marketing specialists?

The mistakes I encounter are true in general, not just for marketers. What I think is wrong is not responding to candidates we are not currently interested in. I use templates for these cases - I copy, paste and always add one more sentence that relates directly to the person to be specific and let them know the reason for our decision.

Another wickedness is too long a selection procedure. The recruiter should understand that candidates need to know where they stand as soon as possible. At Optimum, we try to complete all rounds within 5 working days. If this is not possible, it is good to at least plan the next step right away, even if it is a week away.

If you had to list the most crucial steps that are central to an effective recruitment process, what would they be?

They would be:

- a clearly defined position,

- Familiarising the candidate with everything they will go through in the recruitment process and why,

- fast communication,

- good information transfer between those involved in the recruitment process,

- and last but not least, don't delay your decision.

Sometimes I hear: take your time with candidate Pepa, what if someone even better comes forward. If that's what's on your mind, Pepa really isn't the one.

But the main thing is not to forget that on the other side is a person who is going through a major life change. And that it's good to look at him as a future colleague rather than a schoolboy you have to evaluate.