Coping with rejection-harsh realities of marketing hiring trends

Just had a local interview that went seemingly well. I had spent over 4 hours with various heads of a software company and felt a strong report with each member of the management team. I was well prepared, enthusiastic and genuinely interested in their marketing management position.  As a result, I was told I made it to the final round as one of the top 2 candidates.  Within days the recruiter called and delivered the bad news. The company decided to change their direction and go with someone  who had "social media expertise".  (I think this is the new code in marketing for younger and less expensive.)

What's a woman to do?

1) Vent
Social media, really?! I can do that and then some. Do they not see my tweets and blogs? Did they not view my prior employees website that I helped create and launch within 4 months?

 Ok companies, we get it-social media is cheap and it does help reach some of your market. But....with all the focus it's generated during our economic downturn, it's created a backlash that is diminishing its effectiveness.  How many times do you delete messages from solicitors without reading them? How many times do you "opt out"? How many times do you filter your email? Then there's the issue of organic rankings. With Google and Bing fighting over top bill for search engines, it's becoming harder and harder to rank on the coveted first page of your search.

Without the adherance to solid marketing principles-the 4,5 or 7 P's-depending who you ask, your messaging will lost in the black hole of the internet. I know, I've been conducting a social media test for the last 4 months, since launching my second blog, to see how well you can pick up traffic w/o marketing yourself. The answer...not very well.

So, my marketing friends, when assessing your requirements please see social media for what it is, a communication channel. Whether it's your best or only vehicle should depend on your targeted audience, their habits, your product/service and your budget. When hiring you should think of your candidates in terms of who's best placed to add value to your organization. And, as with anything else, you'll ultimately get what you pay for.

2) Look in the mirror

What have I learned from this experience? Perhaps I should have emphasized my social media experience more. Perhaps I should sign up for more marketing webinars to pick up a few new tricks. There's always more to learn.

3) Brush yourself off and move on

I firmly believe things happen for a reason.  I am currently pursuing my "dream job" and hoping to close something in the first quarter of 2011. Until then, I will continue to make lemonade!

Happy job hunting and happy holidays!

Paula