“During these trying times,” as we get used to “the new normal” and wait for “when all this is over,” landing a job isn’t anything like it used to be. This is exceptionally true in the often under-appreciated MOPS category.
Last week I had the opportunity to meet with two Marketo consultants who, like myself, have been lucky enough to find new Marketo Admin roles this summer. We chatted about job hunting, interviewing, and everything in-between. If you are a Marketo expert and have found yourself in need of a new role, check out these tips from some pretty awesome #MOPSladies.
Getting Started
Now more than ever, there are a lot of jobs, a lot more job hunters, and a lot of stress. Particularly for those new to MOPS, finding a job in the current climate can be overwhelming. Recruiters have a bigger pool to choose from, so more pressure sits on the job seeker’s shoulders to find the right gig. Our #1 tip: leverage your community to kickstart your job search.
“Lean on your network - talk to past co-workers, people you have met at summit, industry colleagues, people in your user group, etc! They have a good pulse on things too!”
-Jessica Meyers
In addition, “if you see a role open at a company where you know someone, reach out to them! Companies prefer referrals and the referrer may even get a bonus”
-Anna Leary
In fact, according to Forbes, networking may be your best bet every time, as top candidates come from referrals 88% of the time. Anna spoke to this directly, noting that her network helped her find her new role (shoutout to Chelsea Kiko!).
And if you are new to the MOPS community and can’t network the traditional, in-person way? Check out these resources to get connected. First, LinkedIn job postings and Marketo/MOPS groups are great resources. Anna suggests “[setting] up an alert for jobs on LinkedIn that contain Marketo or Marketing Operations so that you are alerted when one opens up in the location you define (chances are most of these roles are leaning towards remote).” These LinkedIn groups are fantastic communities for job-seekers:
Besides LinkedIn (and in my opinion, more importantly), check out the following Slack groups for networking and career opportunities:
- MO PROS, for all MOPS all the time. They have a Slack channel dedicated to finding MOPS jobs.
- MOPsPROS, they even have their own job posting site!
- Remote Woman, if it sounds like your cup of tea. Lots of technical jobs on here as well.
And don’t forget about Marketo’s own job listing site.
You’ve Landed the Interview. Now What?
This is the hardest part, especially for anyone freshly entering the MOPS field. If you’re lucky enough to have been referred for the role, ask your referrer ahead of time to prep you for the company, the role, and the hiring manager.
Collect blurred-out screenshots of projects you have completed, or build a portfolio of flow charts, diagrams, and reports that you created for past projects. If you aren’t Marketo-Certified, consider the MCE to make your résumé stand out during your interview.
Remember, hiring managers usually fall into one of two categories. Research ahead of time to figure out which category your interviewer falls into
- They care about the bottom dollar. Often, you can infer this from their title (general rule of thumb, higher titles are heavily driven by revenue). If this is your situation, focus on how your MOPS skills provide insights into ROI and marketing performance.
- They care about functionality (look for functional roles such as operations, engineering, etc.). Focus on your experience automating tedious processes, developing complex campaigns, working with limited tools/resources, and your willingness to take on challenging projects.
In either case, try to focus on things that translate between businesses, such as lead scoring, lifecycle management, templates, reporting, and CRM integrations. For Jessica, “my biggest tip is to do your research about the company ahead of time so you know what the company does!”
Job Interviews Go Both Ways
Not only are you trying to get the job, you’re also trying to evaluate whether this is the right fit for you. “Ask lots of questions, during the pandemic, and especially if you are out of work, it can feel like any interview is a blessing, and you should be treating the interview process as also you determining if the fit is right for you - ask technical and culture questions!”
-Jessica
Evaluating whether you want to take on a new Marketo instance is no joke. In my experience, you can ask to see the Marketo instance you would inherit should you accepted the position. Look for key red flags, such as all users being admins, having 75% of the database marked as non-marketable, seeing chaotic building/deleting/list imports, or anything else that makes you cringe. There’s nothing worse than being expected to own a platform and not being able to effectively manage what happens within that platform.
Finally, don’t forget to check out Glassdoor. Even now, Marketo salaries are getting higher, and you don’t want to miss out.
Got the Job?
Check out this blog post for the complete checklist for inheriting a new Marketo instance.
.png)