Marketing recruitment in London and across the UK can seem a complex and sometimes confusing industry to understand. This is not surprising given that marketing is now one of the fastest growing industries in the UK.

Continuous digital transformation and disruption are creating increased demand for both conventional as well as many evolving marketing positions, some of which simply didn’t exist a few years ago.

As well as the creative types, it’s commonly recognised that today marketing departments will also be full of analytical roles with performance marketing, MarTech, programmatic and automation now becoming dominant needs. With AI, bots, VR and AR all on the horizon this trend is set to continue.

With marketing becoming ever more elevated within businesses, it seems the era of the marketing leader is well and truly here to stay, so where do you turn for the best marketing recruitment support?

Across every sector and industry these marketing trends are having a significant impact on the shape and dynamics of marketing teams, and the teams themselves have never been more complex and fragmented due to the ever-growing demand for increasingly specialist roles.

It is, therefore, unsurprising that the marketing recruitment sector is hugely varied also, which can make it difficult to understand who is best placed to support you with your search.

Which marketing recruitment company?

The choice of which agency to select will vary based on many different factors that include your level of experience, how specialist you are as well as factors like location and sector expertise. However, below we have outlined several questions which will help you ascertain who is the best marketing recruiter to support you.

Specialist or generalist?

Many large recruitment companies may claim to have a marketing desk, but few generalist firms will have the depth of expertise needed to support you. Research the recruitment firm to understand their core market. If, for example, the vast majority of their work is in finance, a small embryonic marketing desk is unlikely to have the scale and impact you require for a successful placement.

Agency or client-side?

Some recruiters focus on client-side and some on agency-side. For too many reasons to list they are fundamentally very different business models and rarely does either have a credible offering in the other.

If you are agency-side and looking to stay agency-side, then it is wise to identify and network with the leading recruiters in the agency market. If you are client-side (or agency-side but looking to move client-side) then identify the primary players who specialise in this market.

Most credible firms will display some of the clients they work with online, so it’s worthwhile spending a little time on their website to understand their core network.

Temporary, permanent or both?

Many marketing recruiters will do both temporary and permanent hires. However, it’s quite common that marketing recruiters have a strong bias towards either temp or perm. Again, there are many reasons for this but in today’s complicated recruitment landscape they can be quite different business models and, if a firm specialises in one area, their skillsets and network aren’t necessarily transferrable to the other.

Depending on whether you are looking at permanent or interim roles, it is well worth doing some research on the right agency to assist you.

Are they too specialist?

In the era of hyper-specialism, there really are recruiters who are highly specialist in almost every vertical of the marketing mix. Whether your focus is PR, brand, UX, eCRM, MarTech, strategy, product or insight, there’s almost certainly someone who specialises. Just make sure they have the breadth you need and aren’t a little too specialist, which could result in limited opportunities being put forward.

How many consultants?

Several thousand recruitment companies are established each year, with the overwhelming majority consisting of just one consultant. Remarkably, less than 1% of recruitment firms have more than 10 people.

It stands to reason that more established businesses with a reasonable number of staff are going to have more impact and client relationships than a one-man band.

If you haven’t dealt with them before, always ask how many people are in the business.

What industries do they excel in?

Some of the best marketing recruitment agencies in London specialise in one or two sectors. For example, there are marketing recruiters who purely specialise in financial or professional services who would be hopeless at FMCG or Retail.

Equally there are industry specialists who work across disciplines in one sector. For example, a legal recruitment specialist who does HR, IT, marketing and finance roles across the legal sector. This may be ideal if you are a marketer in the legal sector and want to stay in the legal space, but less so if you wish to broaden your horizons.

These are our top tips for working with a specialist marketing recruiter

• Thoroughly research their website and get a good feel for the full range of roles they are advertising
• Ask how many consultants they have and what their level of experience is
• Identify what regions they cover and whether these meet your needs
• Don’t be afraid about asking for credentials and recent appointments
• Aim to build a meaningful relationship with a select few that you trust
• Look at their focus. Specialist marketing recruiters will typically have a much deeper knowledge of marketing
• Make sure they have a deep knowledge of the clients they work with. Marketing recruitment is based on softer skills and cultural fit, as opposed to purely skills based recruitment
• Find out how their expertise fits with your future career trajectory and aspirations
• Always insist on meeting the marketing recruiter you are working with in person
• Find out where are they based and that they have an established and credible office
• Ensure they will present a wide variety of opportunities. Good marketing recruiters should be skilled at moving marketers across sectors and identifying transferable skills
• Search for their company name and read some of their Google reviews. Whilst LinkedIn endorsements are helpful, in truth these tend to be requested and are often scripted
• See what people say about them as an employer on Glassdoor

With the best marketing recruiters you should be aiming to establish a long and meaningful partnership. Ask industry peers you respect for their personal recommendations and referrals, and work with a select few recruitment agencies you trust.

tml Partners specialise in executive marketing recruitment.