Looking for your next role? 5 things to consider to avoid a poor fit.

It’s heartbreaking to see so many friends in tech impacted by layoffs. While I'm not hiring currently, I have 5 rules I live by when searching for a job which I thought I'd share…

1. Marketing is only as good as the product you sell

Your life will be significantly more complicated if the product you’re selling has a poor reputation. While no SaaS solutions are perfect, those companies that are sales-led (i.e. allow incoming customers to dictate roadmap priorities) often rack up tech debt and struggle to get through existing customer requirements.

A quick way to get a pulse check on the product is to check out review websites such as G2 and TrustRadius. However, most companies with customer marketing teams will artificially drive those numbers up so be wary.??

Secondly, during the interview process, chat with someone in the Customer Success team to learn more about their churn rate. Churn numbers never lie!

2. Find somewhere people rarely leave

This is a tricky one! Thanks to images of smiley employees on a company’s website, I've been duped in the past into thinking its culture was strong. Measuring good culture isn’t whether they stock M&Ms in the office or pay well – it’s employee retention rate. Generally speaking, folks will stick around if they’re enjoying working there.

You could go on Glassdoor to see how employees rate their place of work, but much like the product review sites (see above), ratings are often artificial. Be wary of any employer who has a number of 1 or 2-star reviews followed by a bunch of 5-stars because it likely means they asked or incentivized current employees to submit reviews to boost numbers.

Instead, go on LinkedIn Sales Navigator (or ask a friend to do this – it takes minutes) and run a search on how many employees have left that company over the last 6 months. Divide that by the total number of employees and multiply by 100 to understand the turnover rate. Less than 10% is considered healthy.

3. You need a sales partner in crime

At some point during your tenure, you’re going to run into challenging times. It’s during these times you need an ally rather than finger-pointing. Some sales leaders will be the latter, the first to throw you under the bus if something goes wrong. We’ve all been there and it’s not fun.

During the interview process, you MUST meet with the sales leader or at a minimum one or two Account Executives. Get an understanding of how they view marketing’s role in the organization. Do they know the value we can deliver or are we viewed as a necessary evil? What’s their style of management and working with others?

It’s sometimes tough to learn these answers during the interview when everyone's on their best behavior. If that’s the case, see if any of your network is connected to them on LinkedIn and try and respectfully backchannel some information.

Finally, a shout out to Benny R. and Patrick Meehan , the last two sales leaders I've worked with who most definitely tick the ally box.

4. Will your boss help or hinder you?

The only person you’ll engage with more than a sales leader is your boss. I’ve found there are two types of marketing leaders; one is the brand guy who isn’t number driven but is strong at brand awareness and thought leadership, and the second is the growth/demand leader who is data-driven and understands what levers move the business forward.?

Both are great leaders but I’ve found smaller start-ups rely on the latter more (because heck they need pipeline ASAP) and larger companies tend to lean towards the former if their marketing machine is already mature and well-oiled. If it’s the other way around you may be on the struggle bus…

So which is best for you? Well, ask yourself which category you fit into. Do you want a manager who is aligned with your skillset and can potentially improve your current knowledge, or do you want to complement a manager who is the opposite? I personally prefer the latter. I’m big enough to admit I'm not super strong with branding, so I like to find a leader who is.?

Shout out to two of the best bosses I've worked with. Peter Vescuso at Black Duck taught me the power of being data-driven and Phil Granof at NewStore was one of the best brand guys out there. Most importantly, they’re both good people.

5. Build your own marketing network

You don’t need to spend $$$ joining a marketing network like Pavillion. Unless you’re just starting out, you should have a small network of fellow marketers you can bounce ideas off of, find open positions, and prepare for job interviews. After all, 99% of marketers face the same issues every day.

I recommend meeting monthly for 30-60 minutes in small groups (no more than 4 people) to collect these other perspectives and act as a sounding board. It can also be super informal, do it over a beer or coffee.

Poor Ashley Fletcher at Adthena is my go-to for questions big and small and I always feel reinvigorated after talking to him.

Good luck out there everyone!