What to do in your first 30 days in a senior marketing role

Whether your brain plunges you back to your first day at school, your first marketing job, or your first big presentation - feelings of excitement, anticipation and anxiousness are bound to resurface.

• Will my team like me?

• How long will it take me to get immersed in the company culture?

• What if my knowledge of the business isn’t enough?

• Will my team respect my experience?

• What if I clash with the CEO?

All those questions (plus more) are what people typically experience when they take that first step into the new office (or join that first Zoom call if we think about the post-Covid remote world we now live in).

Over the last year, Huble Digital has nearly tripled its workforce and expanded across five international locations. This means we have employed a huge number of marketing experts and hired many senior marketers who have immersed themselves into the team.

Having experienced the first 30 days of lots of senior digital leaders (whether that’s in marketing, sales, creative, operations or development) we like to think we’ve become experts in what does and doesn’t make a good entrance into a new company.

So to help others who may be searching for some much-needed advice, we’ve put together a list of 7 tips to get you accustomed to your new senior marketing role.

We hope these tips will guide you along the path to feeling at home in your new role.

1. Understand the company's purpose

It may sound obvious but understanding why a company was founded can tell you far more than the products or services it sells.

Understanding the problems the business is trying to solve and why they founded the company in the first place lays a solid foundation for your role in marketing. Taking ten steps back to really understand a company’s core values and mission is crucial to understanding both your position and purpose within the company.

For example, if their core value is that they are “human”, your communication with external stakeholders is likely to be friendly and less corporate in order to mirror the company's values. Knowing this when you join will help you seamlessly integrate yourself within the team.

2. Listen hard

We get it - new joiners want to prove that they know what they’re talking about. But before you sprout off giving your opinion on absolutely everything or changing processes from the onset - try sitting back and listening.

Each team within the company, including your own, will have a different way of doing things. You’ll also need time to get to know the various personalities you’ll be working with on a daily basis. The only way to really understand how the business operates, who you’re dealing with, and where you can contribute the most value, is to listen.

Only once you’ve assessed where everything stands, should you share all those great lessons you’ve learnt from your previous job.

In summary, understand their processes (what works well and what would they like to change), then make your own meaningful contributions.

Top tip: Try to avoid the phrase “in my last job...” as a reason to make changes.

3. Research

You’d be surprised how much you can learn about a company and its employees before you even shake their hands.

A quick look through their LinkedIn, Google reviews, Instagram and of course, website, could potentially give you a far better idea of what to expect. Try to gain a strong insight into:

• The company - understand the company’s products, services, mission statements, and locations. Go beyond your specific role and gain an understanding of the entire business and how they represent their brand online.

• The culture - understanding the company culture is crucial to ensuring you fit seamlessly into your new role. Does the team go for socials? How big is the team? Do the values they share on their website translate into their social channels?

• Audience - Having a solid understanding of the target audience of the company and who their ideal customer is, is crucial to you providing value in your new role

People respect those who are honest, or moreover - human.

If you go into a new team promising them the world, they will quickly discover that you don’t deliver on your promises, and it’s hard to shake off a reputation once it sticks. Be yourself and show them the value you will bring to the team by listening and using your expertise to improve the areas needed.

4. Start conversations

Talk to everyone! And yes, we mean everyone. Familiarise yourself with everyone in the business, from the CEO to the intern to the cleaner. Getting to know everyone will give you a greater perspective of the company, the roles people play and your own fit within the business.

People are also your greatest asset when it comes to knowledge sharing and understanding the company dynamic, so keep your network-wide to absorb as much knowledge as you possibly can to set you up for success.

Tip: If you’re in the office, try asking one of the team to grab a coffee. It’s in these relaxed environments that people typically open up the most.

5. Establish where you stand

If you’re managing a team of people, establish your position early on. By this, we don’t mean go in guns blazing, but simply asking to review their work or asking them to explain their role instantly establishes a ladder of where you will fit within their team.

Establish your managerial style and show them that you will support them from the outset.

6. Get stuck in

Listening and learning the ropes is important, but make sure you show that you are a proactive new member of the team from the onset. It is likely that another person has left the role that you are filling, so the team could be under added stress and workload.

Establishing yourself as a go-getter and eager to get stuck into the company goes a long way to forming your reputation. This could be asking to support on a major task, asking your colleague if they need an extra brain in a workshop, or asking to join an important call. Getting stuck into different projects in your first 30 days will show your team that you are a valuable new asset to the team.

Go and spread your wings ...

Your first 30 days within a company can be daunting. But with the right approach and attitude, they can also set you up for success for years to come.

If you feel you could benefit from added marketing support within your new role and team, feel free to look at our Marketing & Growth Services Pages. Our marketing experts are proud to be an extension of many company's marketing teams who are looking for consultancy and direction on getting them from A to B in the most effective vehicle.