With big tech’s restructuring finally settling, there’s a flood of marketing talent available. However, this abundance creates a new challenge: finding the right tech marketer for your company’s specific growth stage amid all the noise.
The Evolving Tech Marketing Landscape
Before diving into recruitment specifics, let’s examine the forces reshaping NZ’s tech marketing terrain:
1. SaaS Market Saturation
The SaaS landscape has matured, with niches within niches emerging daily. The primary challenge has shifted from “Can I find a problem to solve?” to “Can I capture and maintain the attention of my target audience?” as SaaS fatigue increasingly affects decision-makers.
2. Investor Expectations Have Intensified
Investors now expect companies to deliver more predictable outcomes with fewer resources in increasingly compressed timeframes. With shorter runways and a trend to invest at a later stage becoming the norm, pressure on marketing to perform has never been higher.
3. Traditional Marketing Channels Are Declining in Effectiveness
Marketing strategies that reliably delivered results even 12 months ago are showing diminishing returns. For instance, Google Ads’ efficiency as a targeting tool has declined significantly – a critical consideration when your growth projections depend on assumed marketing performance metrics.
4. AI Has Created a Two-Tier Marketing Talent Pool
AI has fundamentally bifurcated the market: marketers who leverage AI as a force multiplier and those who don’t. The impact of AI on marketing is profound, continuously rewriting the playbook at unprecedented speed. We’re even seeing some AI-first marketing roles in the market.
The 7-Step Process for Hiring a Marketer in 2025
Before diving into recruitment specifics, let’s examine the forces reshaping NZ’s tech marketing terrain:
1. Define Your Requirements with Precision
Get crystal clear on the points above to create your specific requirements. Write your job posting with enough specificity to motivate qualified candidates to apply, whilst identifying the five criteria you’re not willing to compromise on when assessing candidates. While this won’t eliminate all mismatched applications, it will streamline your initial screening process. Be prepared for a high volume of applicants.
2. Look Beyond Active Job Seekers
At least 50% of the best marketing hires come from proactive outreach, not applications. Remember: unemployed candidates may take any available position, while those currently employed in good roles need compelling reasons to make a move and tend to be more discerning.
3. Engage Expert Help for CV Screening
Have a senior marketer review applications and create your shortlist. Even with the best intentions, HR professionals and CEOs often lack the specialized knowledge to evaluate marketing expertise effectively. Experienced marketers can detect embellishment quickly and streamline your process. New Zealand’s small market also makes it relatively easy to get quick feedback on candidates through professional networks.
4. Implement Practical Skills Assessment
Once you’ve narrowed down to a shortlist, test candidates with practical exercises that should require no more than two hours of preparation. Include an AI component to evaluate their proficiency with these essential tools.
5. Use Profiling Strategically
Conduct assessments to understand candidates’ working styles before making offers. While these insights might not determine whether you hire someone, they provide valuable guidance for integration and team dynamics. The more senior the role, the more crucial this step becomes.
6. Prioritize Comprehensive Onboarding
The more junior the hire is, the more guidance they’ll need. Most onboarding processes are inadequate and quickly lead to communication breakdowns between CEOs and new marketing hires—a lose-lose scenario. Invest in proper integration from day one–so everyone is aligned on the plan and speaks the same language.
7. Maintain an Efficient Hiring Process
Don’t unnecessarily prolong the hiring journey—top marketing talent has little tolerance for inefficiency. Timely communication is also a must-have. Your process speaks volumes about your organization, and you’ll lose exceptional candidates to a poor candidate experience.
The Reality of Marketing Recruitment
If this sounds challenging, that’s because it is. There’s a reason why 50% of marketing hires fail within their first six months. Following this framework will significantly improve your chances of finding and retaining high-performing marketing talent.
At Proxi, we’ve developed UPSIDE to help tech companies find and successfully onboard their ideal marketers. We’re not a traditional recruitment agency, which is precisely why we achieve different results.
Learn more about how Proxi UPSIDE can help you make a marketing hire that delivers from day one. Our unique approach combines deep tech marketing expertise with proven talent acquisition methodologies specifically designed for New Zealand tech companies looking to accelerate growth through marketing excellence.
