What is the biggest mistake when hiring a senior marketer?

Starting with a job title instead of the commercial problem the person needs to solve.

How should businesses assess senior marketing candidates?

Agree what good looks like before interviewing, then test evidence against that brief rather than relying on CV polish or who interviews best.

How long should a senior marketing recruitment process take?

It should be rigorous, but not slow for the sake of it. Good candidates have options, so decision-makers, stages and feedback rhythm need to be clear before you start.

Senior Marketing Hiring Mistakes

Direct answer

Senior marketing hiring often goes wrong because businesses start with a job title instead of defining the commercial problem the person needs to solve.

An unclear brief, unrealistic salary, weak assessment and slow interview process then make it much harder to identify and secure the right person.

1. The job title becomes the brief

"We need a Marketing Director."

Fine.

Why?

What needs to be different when they arrive?

A Marketing Director hired to build a marketing function from scratch is a very different person from one hired to optimise an established £10m budget and a team of 20.

Same title. Completely different brief.

2. The job description becomes a shopping list

Strategic.

Hands-on.

Commercial.

Creative.

Data-led.

Brilliant leader.

Can also jump into Google Ads on a Tuesday afternoon.

At some point you've stopped describing a person and started describing the Avengers 😂

Prioritise what actually matters.

3. The CV gets too much credit

A polished CV can tell a convincing story.

AI is making polished applications even easier to create.

So ask better questions.

What did this person personally do?

What was already working when they arrived?

What changed?

How was success measured?

What went wrong?

What would they do differently?

4. The process tests interviewing rather than ability

Some excellent marketers are brilliant interviewees.

Some aren't.

The objective isn't to hire the person who gives the slickest answer.

It's to gather enough evidence to make a sensible decision.

5. Good candidates get lost to slow decisions

Three weeks between stages isn't "being thorough".

Sometimes it's just slow.

Strong candidates have other conversations happening.

A good process can still be rigorous without taking forever.

Why Senior Marketing Hiring Goes Wrong