JunioYour website is slow, nobody has posted on social media since the spring and the person who built the newsletter has left. You know you need someone who understands digital work, yet you are unsure what to call the role, what it should pay or how to tell a strong candidate from a confident talker.
Decide What the Job Actually Is
Digital job titles overlap so much that two adverts with the same name can describe different work. A digital executive at one company writes emails and schedules posts. At another, they manage paid advertising and report on spend. Before writing anything, list the five tasks you want done in the first six months and sort them by how often they come up. Whatever sits at the top is the job, and a candidate who does that one task well is worth more than someone with a broad but shallow CV.
Then decide whether you need a doer or a planner. A person who builds campaigns has different strengths from one who sets direction and briefs others, and the pay gap between them is considerable.
Write an Advert People Can Picture Themselves In
Open with the problem the new person will solve rather than a list of demands. Name the tools they will use, the size of the team and who they report to. Give a salary range, because adverts without one lose many of the best applicants before a conversation begins. Cut phrases such as “fast-paced environment” and “rockstar”; they say nothing and attract nobody useful.
Be honest about the unglamorous parts. If half the week involves updating product listings or chasing approvals from three managers, say so. Candidates who accept a role knowing the reality tend to stay longer, and those who decline have saved you both a painful few months. A short description of a typical Tuesday does more than any list of company values.
Where Specialist Help Earns Its Fee
Digital skills shift quickly, and whoever reads the CVs needs to know what an analytics certificate proves and what a folder of social posts does not. Many small firms hand the search to a specialist in digital recruitment, who already knows which candidates are on the market, what they expect to earn and which skills are scarce right now. That knowledge shortens the search and avoids costly misjudgements, particularly when nobody in your team has hired for the role before. Ask how a shortlist is built, how candidates are checked and what happens if the hire leaves early.
Whether you recruit through an agency or on your own, treat the cost of a wrong hire as real. Months of salary, a stalled project and a demoralised team add up to far more than any fee.
Test the Skill, Not the Talk
A good interview includes a task. Give the candidate a small, real problem, such as reviewing one page of your site or outlining a month of content, and ask them to explain their choices. Listen for curiosity about your customers. Strong people ask who buys, why they buy and what has already been tried before they offer solutions. Involve a second interviewer, ideally someone who will work alongside the new hire. They notice different things, and a candidate’s manner with a future colleague is revealing. Compare notes straight afterwards while memories are fresh. Ask for results they can describe in figures they are able to defend, and be wary of anyone who claims credit for outcomes a whole team produced.
Make the First Ninety Days Count
Hiring does not end when the contract is signed. Give the new person access to accounts and data in week one, agree two or three measurable goals and book a regular check-in. Someone left alone with passwords and no direction will either drift or leave. A clear start gives even a junior hire a decent chance of becoming useful quickly, and it tells you early whether the match is working.
