Latest / The Marketing Career Podcast with Fexingo: Marketing Jobs, Skills, and Career Growth / How Marketers Use a Career Skills Matrix
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, I was talking to a friend who's a hiring manager at a mid-sized tech company, and she mentioned this little grid she uses to evaluate candidates. It's not a scoring rubric for interviews—it's more like a personal skills matrix, something she asks candidates to bring to the final round. And it struck me that most marketers never think to build one of these for themselves. Luna: A skills matrix? Like a chart with skills down one side and projects or roles across the top? I've seen those used in engineering teams, but not really in marketing. Lucas: Exactly. And that's a shame, because it's a really concrete way to see where you're strong, where you're coasting, and what actually moves the needle for your career. It's not a personality test or a vague self-reflection. It's a simple grid you fill out with real evidence. Luna: Okay, walk me through it. How would I actually build one? Lucas: So the basic structure is: you list your key marketing skills down the left column—things like content strategy, paid social, email marketing, data analysis, storytelling, project management, whatever you actually do. Across the top, you list maybe four or five recent projects or roles that are representative of your work over the last couple of years. Lucas: Then you rate your proficiency for each skill in each project, maybe on a scale from one to five, but the key is you're not just rating yourself in the abstract. You're rating how you actually used that skill in a specific context. So you might be a five on email marketing in your current role, but only a three on a side project you did for a nonprofit. Luna: That's interesting because it forces you to be honest about where you're actually strong versus where you just think you are. Lucas: Right. And the real magic happens when you look at the patterns. You might notice, for example, that you score high on analytics across all your projects, but you're consistently low on public speaking. That's a clear signal about where your growth edge is. Luna: So it's like a data-driven approach to career development. I love it. But what do you do with those insights once you have them? Lucas: Well, there are a few paths. You could use it to guide your next job search—target roles that play to your strengths. Or you could use it to negotiate a stretch project at your current company that helps you build a weaker skill. Or you could use it to decide whether a career pivot is worth it. Luna: Like, if you discover you really enjoy data storytelling but you're spending eighty percent of your time on social media, maybe that's a signal. Lucas: Exactly. And that's actually a perfect segue to a story I wanted to share. I had a listener, her name is Priya, and she emailed me a few months ago. She was a marketing manager at a SaaS company, feeling stuck. She built a skills matrix for herself after hearing about it from a friend, and it completely changed her trajectory. Luna: So what did she do? Lucas: She took that matrix to her manager and proposed a new role for herself: a hybrid data and marketing role where she'd be responsible for building dashboards and translating insights into campaign strategies. Her manager was impressed by the clarity of her thinking, and they created a new position for her. Luna: Wow, that's a great outcome. It's basically using data to argue for your own role design. Lucas: And it worked because she had evidence, not just a feeling. She could show, 'Here's where I'm strongest, here's where the business needs help, and here's the overlap.' That's a compelling story. Luna: I love that. And it's such a practical tool. I'm actually thinking I might build one for myself this weekend. Lucas: You should. And honestly, if these kinds of conversations have sparked something you've actually used—maybe you've built a skills matrix or tried a career experiment—that's exactly the kind of thing that keeps this show going. If today was worth a coffee to you, you can find the link at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small way to keep this podcast ad-free and independent. Luna: Yeah, and even a small contribution really helps us keep making these episodes. Lucas: So back to the matrix. Another thing I love about this framework is that it's not just for career changers. Even if you're happy in your role, it's a great way to prepare for your annual review. You're walking in with a clear picture of your contributions and your growth areas. Luna: That's a good point. It turns a sometimes awkward conversation into a data-driven discussion. Lucas: And there's also a team version. I've seen managers use a skills matrix for their whole team to spot gaps in coverage—maybe no one on the team is strong at SEO, so they know they need to hire for that or invest in training. Luna: So it's a tool that scales from personal development to team strategy. Lucas: Exactly. And the best part is, it's free and you can do it in an afternoon. You just need to be honest with yourself and willing to look at the data. Luna: What are some common mistakes people make when they first build a matrix? Lucas: One is rating yourself too generally. 'I'm a four on social media' doesn't help. You need to be specific: 'I'm a four on organic Instagram growth, but a two on paid social.' Another is picking projects that are all similar—if you only list your day job, you won't see your full range. Include a side project or a volunteer gig. Luna: And maybe don't rate every skill for every project. That would get tedious. Lucas: Right, you only rate the skills that were actually relevant. If you didn't use data analysis in a content project, leave it blank. Luna: So what would you say is the most surprising insight someone might get from this exercise? Lucas: I think it's discovering that the skills you enjoy using are not the same as the skills you're best at. We often assume we love what we're good at, but sometimes we're good at something because we've done it a lot, not because it energizes us. The matrix can separate those two things. Luna: That's a powerful distinction. It can help you decide whether to lean into your strengths or invest in a new area. Lucas: And that's the kind of clarity that can shape your next career move. Whether you're aiming for a promotion, a pivot, or just more satisfaction in your current role. Luna: I'm going to start with a simple version tonight. Any final tips? Lucas: Just start with five skills and three projects. You don't need to be exhaustive. And revisit it every six months—your skills evolve, and so should your matrix. Luna: That sounds doable. And maybe I'll bring it to my next coffee chat with my mentor. Lucas: That's a great idea. Mentors love concrete things to react to.