This article was authored by Hogan Assessments.

Recently, we revealed the eight most common personality types found in the Hogan suite of assessments. Last week we took an in-depth look at the first personality type, Rebels. This week we continue our dive into these personality types by closely examining the personality profile of Marketers.

Marketers make up approximately 18% of the working population. Their Hogan profile is highlighted by high scores on Recognition, Power, Commerce, Aesthetics, and Science on the MVPI; high scores on Ambition, Interpersonal Sensitivity, Inquisitive, and Learning Approach, with only moderate Prudence on the HPI; and high scores on the so-called moving against cluster of the HDS; Bold, Mischievous, Colourful, and Imaginative. See Figure 1 below for the full profile.

Figure 1. Marketers Hogan Profile

The Reputation of Marketers

We had eight Hogan consultants with a combined 82 years of experience provide independent, written interpretations of the personality profile of Marketers shown above. Some of the words our experts most frequently used to describe Marketers were “individual,” “idea,” “assertive,” “convince,” “charming,” “leadership,” “speak,” and most prominently “confident.” Additionally, we examined the workplace reputation of Marketers by drawing on Hogan 360 data gathered with Hogan distributor Peter Berry Consultancy. Colleagues, supervisors, and even their subordinates said Marketers are “very competitive and driven,” “think long-term about opportunities,” “have the passion to make a difference,” and “promote a long-term vision for the organisation.” At the same time, their work colleagues also said Marketers do a poor job of being “open, straightforward, and communicating honestly.” In other words, Marketers are seen by their co-workers as motivated, passionate, and strategic, but somewhat untrustworthy.

Lastly, our job performance archive also tells us that Marketers score high on “competing with others,” “presenting to others,” “displaying confidence,” “self-management,” and “overcoming obstacles.” Overall, Marketers appear highly motivated to compete, win, push for results, and to make money. They are bright, sociable, and ambitious at work, but also likely to take big chances and fall prey to overconfidence.

Common Careers for Marketers

Marketers will prefer careers where they can compete with others and be measured on their performance. They have confidence in their ability to outperform the competition and will generally prefer pay-for-performance programs.

Not surprisingly, our data show that Marketers are heavily over-represented in sales jobs. While only 18% of the population fits the personality profile of a Marketer, 28% of people working in sales jobs fit this profile. We also found the Marketers are slightly over-represented in both entry-level supervisor and executive job roles. They are above-average performers at work, and it is likely that this is the main contributor – along with their charm and persuasion skills – that leads to their over-representation in some leadership roles. In popular media, characters such as Pepper Potts (Ironman), Chris Treager (Parks and Recreation), and Mulan (Disney’s Mulan) are prototypical Marketers – ambitious and full of confidence.

Advice for Marketers

If you are a Marketer, you need to be aware that your self-confidence will come across to many as overconfident and arrogant. In individual contributor roles, you may over-promise what can actually be delivered and ultimately take on more than you can handle. As a leader, you will have the tendency to focus on large, strategic, and long-term issues without attending to the day-to-day details that are critical to any plan’s success.

In meetings, you will tend to take over and run the show without letting other people have their say. It will be important for you to step off the pulpit and listen to others. Nonetheless, many will find your confidence inspiring and motivating, so long as you do not promise more than your team can deliver. Successful Marketers use their social skills to their advantage, motivate others to perform, and are able to limit their own ambition to projects and tasks that can actually be completed.

How to Deal with Marketers

If your boss is a Marketer, be prepared to deliver on promises that you didn’t make. A Marketer boss is bound to have more faith in what the team can accomplish than might actually be possible and it will ultimately fall on you to deliver. You should also realise that your Marketer boss is not going to want to talk about the details of getting a project done, but how that project fits in with the bigger picture. If possible, you will want to talk through strategic initiatives with your Marketer boss before s/he goes off to corporate strategy meetings. This will give you an opportunity to remind your boss of the critical details and time necessary to deliver on the objectives s/he might have in mind before big promises are made. In meetings, you will need to be assertive to get your point across as your Marketer boss will otherwise dominate the speaking time.

If any of your employees have the personality profile of a Marketer, the good news is that you will have few performance management issues. The bad news is that it will be your task to reign in their confidence and to keep them from taking on too much. You should also be prepared to have discussions about processes and reporting. Many Marketers will see things like logging calls and completing expense reports as needless details, preferring to focus on big-picture issues like their sales figures. It will be your job to ensure that they are spending the appropriate amount of time doing the necessary paperwork.