Thailand talent markets: the reality of recruiting Sales and Marketing specialists in a digital world

The marketing world is changing. The old way of reaching consumers via television, newspaper and radio is transitioning to mobile, computers and any internet enabled device. A brief ride on Bangkok’s sky train or stroll around one of Thailand’s mega malls reveals how deeply the change has taken root. Everywhere you look, people’s eyes are glued to their phones.

As consumers spend more and more time on smartphones, tablets and laptops, Thailand businesses are competing for their attention. Digital marketing skills are in high demand. And this has created a unique problem for companies trying to recruit top talent.

The challenge of recruiting for Sales and Marketing in Thailand
When recruiting for a Sales and Marketing role, there are two unique problems every Thailand business faces. The first is the jaw-dropping amount of candidates available. On LinkedIn Thailand, there are more people listed as working in Sales in Marketing than in any other field. Post a job on LinkedIn, and you could easily get dozens or even hundreds of applicants. And who has the time to sort through all those applications?

This quantity issue is directly related to the second problem faced by hiring managers: many digital marketing candidates are not qualified. Applicants think that just because they use social media or get a hundred likes on a Facebook post means they’re automatically a digital marketer. This belief couldn’t be further from the truth. Does the candidate understand CTR, SEO, CPA and the term meta description? Can the candidate produce a positive ROI on marketing campaigns? Results and knowledge is what really matters in the marketing world.

How can hiring managers succeed with recruiting?
To find the perfect Sales and Marketing candidate, we at Criterion recommend spending extra time assessing applicants. Doing so will prevent you from hiring someone who can’t produce results. What can you do to understand whether or not a candidate is qualified? Test for hard skills. For example, provide applicants a list of your customers’ demographics and interests, and have them create a Facebook ad based on this information. How the candidate goes about the ad creation will reveal much about his or her digital marketing knowledge.

Who are the best candidates to recruit?
While you may assume the digital transformation has left old school marketers behind, this is not necessarily the case. At Criterion, we’ve found that today’s strongest Sales and Marketing candidates tend to have hybrid skills. They are well-versed in the marketing mediums of the past—such as TV, newspapers, and radio—but can channel their skills into social media, digital advertising and other internet-based marketing methods.

As you can see, finding the ideal Sales and Marketing candidate can be a time consuming process. If you need help filtering through all your applicants and honing in on the top talent, consider Criterion. Utilizing our connections in the marketing field, we can find you the perfect candidate while saving you from the time, frustration and headaches of reviewing hundreds of applications. Get in touch today.