How do you hire for a marketing team, and what do you look for?

Define the role from the gap, not from a template. The first question is whether you need a specialist to go deep in one channel or a generalist to cover breadth — a common early-stage mistake is hiring a specialist before there is enough of that work to justify one.

What to look for, in priority order:

• Evidence of results, with numbers. Candidates who describe activity rather than outcome are the most common problem in marketing hiring. Ask what the number was before and after, and what they would do differently.
• Analytical judgement. Can they read a set of results and say what it means? A practical exercise — here is a campaign's data, what would you do — reveals more than any question.
• Curiosity about the customer. The strongest marketers ask about the audience unprompted.
• Writing ability. Almost every marketing role involves it, and it is easy to assess directly.
• Learning ability over current tool knowledge. Platforms change; the ability to pick them up does not.

On process: use a structured interview with the same questions across candidates so comparison is fair, include a paid practical task rather than a large unpaid one, and involve someone from outside marketing who will work with them.

Note: Being explicit that you hire for the gaps in the team rather than for people like yourself is a strong signal — teams of similar thinkers have consistent blind spots.