The most common trend I am seeing is the question surrounding “What do we do beyond Facebook?”

Everyone says, “we can't be this Facebook dependent, CPMs are too high”. Three years later, they are still on Facebook. iOS 14 obviously makes a huge impact on that, and I've seen myself make the most moves outside of Facebook now. So, the combination of iOS 14, and then TikTok emerging as a real competitor, makes that more of a possibility.

Lastly, the market is creator oriented, period. The third person I hired was an influencer marketer, which was a total game changer for me, and I am so happy I did it. Creator focused content is going to become the thing that is used across channels, and I wanted to be ahead of it. I think the people that are going to come out successfully in the next two or three years are going to be the ones that truly embrace it.

In a layoff announcement, I saw one person explicitly say roles that were overly specialized were the ones getting eliminated.

I think in this time of uncertainty it’s important to hire more generalized people, because things are going to flux, and you don't know what you're going to need.

We don’t know if we will need Facebook or direct mail or whatever other specific channel. But if someone can figure out anything, or is equally good at everything, then I can hire that person and put them wherever. This is a much different shift to hiring someone like a direct mail specialist — who wouldn’t be someone I could fully utilize at this point.

The DTC Newsletter, Cody Plofker’s newsletter, and growco are the big ones.

https://www.directtoconsumer.co/

https://www.codyplofker.com/

https://grow.co/

I think what makes it easy for Coterie, is what makes it hard for others. Marketers are savvy on how company culture impacts the marketing and growth function. Growth is one of the things that is always on at your company, and it's easy for that role to become exciting + fun or miserable, since it has really high expectations.

So, high highs, but also so much risk of not having the right resources and having an “always on” mentality. Creating a culture that attracts marketers by making sure they are supported and developing, while having the right resources and reasonable expectations is important.

It’s also important to remember we’re not on fire all the time. I’ve experienced that directly in my career. When I talk to people I'm interviewing, it's so obvious how many of them have experienced people that don't know how to manage growth, and these marketers bear the brunt!

So, when they hear and see the culture that we have at Coterie, I see the relief on their face.

I get good feedback on how I manage people, but the secret is: I play the game on easy mode. It’s comparable to retention. I retain customers because I acquire high quality customers in the first place. I'm not a retention master by any means, but I try to play the game on easy mode. I screen hard and make sure I find people that I can excel in the environment I've created.

I will add that I must deliver against the promises I make when I hire them, and I must support them on their journey of development and growth.

It’s more than just a promotion checklist, although it’s inherently tied. It’s asking the question of “Are you ready?” But you must put your money where your mouth is if they are. You need to say that out loud, promote them, and create roles in your org that allow them to grow. Because if you don’t, you have to be prepared for people to hit the end of their road at your company.

With the candidates I'm hiring right now, within two 40-minute conversations, I know if this person's going to be fantastic or not, and the case study is just to make sure of that.

But how do I know what to look for? I really look for a generalist mentality. I look for someone that is hungry to figure stuff out.

The most telling questions that show this are:

“Tell me about something that you did to drive growth?”

“What's something you tried that didn't work?

These two questions help me find out what I need from someone. When someone talks about what DID work you find out how they figure things out, can they get hacky, what do they prioritize. When someone talks about what DIDN’T work you find out about their intellectual honesty.

After the case study, a big tell is asking “How did you like the assignment?” Because if they liked it, come on board, but if they didn’t that’s totally okay, now we know.

My team is not all media buyers. There’s data, creative, influencer marketer, and I have a strong opinion that is how a growth team should be structured.

So, I want to ask people who are hiring, are you hiring the same type of person over + over again? And if so, is that hampering your ability to execute?

There are exciting times ahead within this marketing + startup space and we’re aiming to be at the forefront of it!