What is a T-shaped Marketer?

This article gives an overview of the "T-shaped Marketer". An excellent resource for those writing marketing job descriptions or marketers wanting to understand different opportunities.

Whether you're investing in your first marketing team or a seasoned Marketing Leader, you've probably heard the phrase "T-shaped Marketer". But with the concept gaining popularity, you're probably wondering whether it's the right option for your team or career.

Jump to:

• Definition
• Benefits of hiring a T-shaped Marketer
• How to approach recruitment
• How to become T-shaped

T-shaped Marketer definition

A T-shaped Marketer is someone with a broad understanding of multiple marketing skill sets and a deep expertise in one or two of them. This combination forms the "t-shape". Below the horizontal bar represents the marketer's breadth of knowledge, and the vertical bar portrays their deep expertise.

Who is a T-shaped Marketer?

T-shaped professionals are generalist marketers with one or two specialities. People usually use the term to describe a generalist (Digital) Marketing Manager. 

A common misconception exists that broad marketing specialists are equally skilled across each facet. However, Director, Michael Judkins, says, “It’s difficult to find a marketer who specialises across multiple skill sets. Finding someone experienced in multiple facets is possible, but they are unlikely to be an expert." 

Example: T-shaped Content Marketer

To put this into practice, here's an example of a T-shaped Marketer whose area of expertise is content marketing...

The breadth of knowledge spans across a wide range of related disciplines, including: 

• Email marketing
• Search engine optimisation (SEO)
• Social media
• Paid advertising
• Events marketing
• Community management

Meanwhile, the depth of knowledge highlights areas where the content marketer excels, such as:

• Copywriting
• Video production
• UX design
• Content strategy 

These deeper skills demonstrate a high level of expertise in content marketing.  This enables them to create impactful, strategic, and high-quality content that drives business goals.

Why hire a T-shaped Marketer?

T-shaped Marketers have become a key member of modern marketing teams, especially in high-growth start-ups. Why? Here's a breakdown of why you should consider adding a T-shaped Marketer to your team...

Lead early-stage growth

For start-ups and scaling organisations, marketers with a wide range of skills can supercharge growth. Nathan Levi, Chief Marketing Officer at Popsa, shared that he focuses on hiring T-shaped marketers. This ensures a flexible approach to their marketing strategy, as the team can react more quickly to new priorities.

A question often arises around whether start-ups should hire specialists or generalists first. While there is no one size fits all solution, T-shaped Marketers seem to deliver the best of both worlds.

React to the evolving industry

In today’s fast-paced marketing landscape, all teams need to be able to react quickly to new trends and technologies. In fact, Marketing Leaders cite "adaptability" as one of the top soft skills required for success in 2025.

Thanks to their broad knowledge, T-shaped Marketers can quickly adapt to shifting priorities. They're accustomed to taking on a variety of roles, and apply their deep knowledge to drive meaningful marketing campaigns.

How to hire a T-shaped Marketer

Now you understand what a T-shaped Marketer is and the benefits they bring, how do you go about hiring one into your team?

Understand which channels to invest in

The first step to recruitment is to identify which skill sets you need in your team. As mentioned above, it's rare to find a marketer who is a true expert in more than 1 or 2 specific areas. So, even when hiring a generalist Marketing Manager, we recommend prioritising the skills you search for. 

You can do this by assessing your customer journey and how your audience are naturally finding you. This won't only help you structure your marketing strategy, but also your team. For instance, when omre was ready to hire their first marketer, they identified CRM as a key sales channel for the brand. This led them to hiring a CRM Manager to continue capitalising on the channel and grow. 

Partner with a specialist recruitment agency

Depending on the job description of the role, it can be difficult to find strong candidates. To access specialist digital marketing skills quickly, we recommend working with a specialist marketing recruiter. 

With broad, well-connected networks, recruiters can quickly identify candidates who fit your specific brief. Plus, as trusted experts in the job market, they're best positioned to represent your brand to their connections.

How to become T-shaped

T-shaped Marketers are becoming increasingly common as marketing careers diversify. With the continued growing demand, how do marketers broaden their knowledge and skill sets?

Identify your skill gaps

The first step in becoming "T-shaped" is to identify your strongest skills and your skill gaps. This will allow you to identify which areas you need to invest your time in upskilling. For instance, to become a T-shaped Digital Marketing Manager, you might want to explore the following areas:

• Customer retention marketing (CRM)
• Data and analytics
• Performance marketing and paid advertising
• Search engine optimisation (SEO)
• Social media marketing

Learning and development opportunities

While of course you can invest in paid courses to upskill, securing L&D budget isn't always possible. A great way to learn on the job is to seek out projects that will allow you to develop the skills you need.

For example, if you want to develop a more analytical mindset, can you support team members with monthly reporting? 

Don't be afraid to tell your team what you're looking to achieve. Communicating your career goals to your manager can uncover some unique training opportunities.

Looking for more information on marketing jobs?

We hope this article proved a useful guide to the T-shaped Marketer role. If you're ready to start hiring, don't hesitate to get in touch with the team to discuss your requirements. Or, if you're still searching for more, check out our job descriptions for more detailed information on different job titles.