How to Hire a Rockstar Pardot Administrator

 So you’re ready to add a Pardot Administrator to your team.  You’ve polished up your job description, you’ve broadcasted it far and wide to your network, you’re getting resumes – now how do you pick the right fit talent?

Of course, an ideal candidate would be someone who has Pardot experience and knows the system inside and out.  Depending on your budget and market availability for talent, however, that might not be realistic. 

In lieu of plucking someone who has “been there, done that”, here’s what I recommend you look for as you interview talent:

1. Look for someone who can Google their way through anything. 

The Salesforce ecosystem is filled with resources and help articles.  Many, if not most, problems can be solved with determination, resourcefulness, and willingness to roll up their sleeves and do the research.

Is this person a self-starter?  Are they comfortable knowing that they may not have the answers?

Possible interview question:

“Can you tell me about a time you worked on a project you had no clue how to solve?”

2. Look for someone willing to fail.

“Fail fast” is such a cliché that I hate to even include this one. But trial and error is a part of any new technology project, so it does kind of apply here.

Don’t get me wrong – we’re not looking for belly flops.  But is the candidate willing to take risks?  Will they stick their neck out to try something new?

Possible interview question:

“What is a failure or setback you’ve encountered in a past job?  How did you address it?”

3. Look for someone who likes playing with new tech.

Would this person experiment with new technology if someone wasn’t paying them to do it?  If so, they’re likely to have fun learning the ropes of marketing automation and exploring all of the exciting new tools constantly entering the market.

Have they taught themselves Photoshop or video editing?  Do they have a personal website or blog that looks halfway decent?

Basic HTML or SQL is a huge value-add for a Pardot admin, so definitely keep an eye out for that (although most configuration and design work at this point can be done with point-and-click configuration and not code, it’s still super useful to have this knowledge to fall back on).

Possible interview question:

“What new products or trends do you see in the market that you’re most excited about?”

4. Look for someone willing to go outside their swim lane.

Marketing automation is unique in that straddles several different departments.  It needs to work closely with marketing, of course – but your team also needs to be willing and able to reach out to sales, IT, finance, and legal.

Does the candidate they have cross-functional knowledge of other areas of the business?  If not, do you see a level of empathy and business acumen that would allow them to “reach across the aisle”?

Possible interview question:

“Can you share an example of a time that you had to work with another department on a shared objective?”

That Little Something Extra

I also give several bonus points to candidates who:

• Pick up on subtle references from The Office
• Look good in Salesforce blue
• Agree that no one should speak to one another in the morning until exactly 1.25 cups of coffee have been consumed

What else do you look for in new hires?  What skills do you see as essential for success?  Let’s hear it in the comments!