Why Relationship-Driven Recruiting Delivers Better Marketing Hires

Ever find yourself using “post and pray” as a recruiting strategy? It’s a popular method where organizations post job openings on career sites and wait for qualified candidates to apply on their own. You may be inundated with hundreds of job seekers who may or may not be qualified or really interested. At the same time, you may be missing the best talent who didn’t happen to see your post.

The good news is there’s another way: relationship-driven, end-to-end recruiting. Recruiters or agencies are involved in the entire journey of hiring, from identifying the need for a position to onboarding the selected candidate. Even better, as relationships are key, they build networks and engage with both active and passive talent through personalized outreach.

Marketing roles are nuanced. A content marketing manager who thrives at a fast-moving startup might not be the right fit in a process-heavy enterprise, even with identical technical skills. To find qualified talent, a recruiter must understand company culture, team dynamics, and what “good” performance actually means in an organization. This is where developing good relationships with both hiring managers and candidates makes all the difference.

The AI Screening Problem: When Algorithms Miss Great Candidates

While many companies turn to AI-powered applicant tracking systems to handle the volume of applications, this technology often creates new problems. According to Insight Global’s 2025 AI in Hiring report, 92% of hiring managers now use AI for screening resumes, and a ResumeBuilder survey found that 56% of companies are worried that AI could screen out qualified candidates.

This algorithmic approach can miss the nuanced factors that make someone successful in marketing roles – exactly the insights that come from solid client relationships and informed human judgment. When recruiters truly understand what drives success in your specific environment, they can identify candidates who might be overlooked by automated systems but could be perfect fits for your team.

The Client Discovery Process That Drives a Successful Match

On the Flip Side: Understanding Candidates’ Stories and Building a Deep Bench

An informed approach transforms candidate conversations from surface-level screening to meaningful dialogue about motivations, career aspirations, and values. According to a LinkedIn survey, compensation, work-life balance, and flexibility continue to be the trifecta of top candidate concerns. Understanding these priorities – and how they vary across generations from Gen Z (advancement opportunities) to Baby Boomers (seeking challenging, impactful work) – enables better matchmaking from the start.

One advantage of working with EM Marketing is its strong community of marketers. Through events, surveys, and outreach, we stay current with their evolving skills, career goals, and availability. We also nurture relationships with many marketers that continually provide stellar services and are great to work with. When we find a perfect opportunity for these people, we’re quick to recommend them because they are proven performers that clients can trust to get the job done.

The EM Advantage: Higher Touch Means Better Matchmaking and Team Success

EM’s Account Leads specialize in building deep client relationships, going beyond job descriptions to understand your team dynamics, company culture, and what success actually looks like in your specific environment.

Our Account Leads collaborate with our talent recruiters, sharing insights to ensure candidate sourcing and screening align with what you actually need. This continues post-placement through regular check-ins that validate hiring success and identify any support opportunities, particularly during consulting engagements where we monitor progress throughout the project lifecycle.

EM is not interested in filling roles and moving on. We’re invested in building lasting relationships. Around 66% of our consultants have come back to work on multiple projects – signifying that they value the experience, relationship, and assignments enough to re-engage. At the same time, over half of EM’s clients have enlisted them to find marketers on anywhere from 2 to 20+ projects, indicating successful matches and highly positive experiences.

EM aims to become trusted advisors who understand your evolving needs and consistently deliver marketing professionals who make an immediate, measurable impact.