Is Your Next Career Move Really a Step Back? (It Might Be Exactly What the Market Wants!)
CAREER COACHING FOR MARKETERS
A move away from managing a large team and into a more focused role isn't a step back. For senior marketers, it's often exactly what growth-stage B2B companies are hiring for.
What I'm seeing across B2B marketing hiring right now suggests the "climb the ladder, build the team" model no longer fits how businesses are actually structured, or what they need from senior marketing hires. A move that looks like a step back on paper, away from managing a large team and towards a more focused, hands-on remit, is often exactly what the market is asking for.
I coach senior marketing leaders and often raise this point as they are wrestling with exactly that concern.
The old ladder doesn't reflect where B2B marketing hiring is today
There was perhaps a time (and I'm not even sure it was ever truly the golden path) where the route to "success" looked like this: individual contributor, then manager, then a big team, then senior leader with plenty of people beneath you. Headcount was the marker of progress.
Major shifts in the market over the last few years have changed that. What I'm seeing across B2B marketing hiring suggests this model no longer fits how businesses are actually structured, or what they need from senior marketing hires.
What growth-stage companies are actually hiring for
Companies at the £10M to £100M ARR level aren't looking for someone to sit above a team of 15 and review their work. Instead, they want a senior marketer who can:
Set the strategy and execute on growth
Understand the data and know the systems
Work shoulder-to-shoulder with Sales
Lead a small, focused team with real impact
That's a different skill set to managing a large team, and it's not a lesser one. If your recent move has taken you closer to strategy, execution, and cross-functional work with Sales rather than further into people management, that's not a demotion. It's a repositioning towards where the demand actually is.
Where it goes wrong
The challenge comes when businesses assume one person can do it all: strategist, executor, data analyst, Sales partner, and team leader, all at once. That's where it breaks down, for the hire and for the business. The real shift right now is about building the right team structure for where the market actually is, not where it was three years ago.
As a candidate, it's worth understanding this distinction when you're assessing a role. Is the business hiring you to do everything, or hiring you to lead a focused function well within a realistic structure?
Reframing the question you're asking about your next move
For senior marketers navigating their next move, the question shouldn't just be "is this a step forward on my CV?" It should be: what's the problem this business needs to solve, and how can I contribute to growth in a difficult market?
That reframe changes everything, both for the people I work with, and for the businesses hiring them.
Final Thought
MARKETING JOB SEARCH
If you're weighing up a move that looks unconventional on paper, it's worth asking what the role actually demands rather than how it reads on LinkedIn. If you'd like a second opinion on how a specific move might be perceived by hiring companies in your space, I'm always happy to talk it through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is moving from managing a large team into a smaller, more focused role a step back? Not necessarily. For senior B2B marketers, it often reflects where the market has moved, towards strategy, execution, and hands-on impact rather than headcount.
What are growth-stage B2B companies looking for in a senior marketing hire? Companies at the £10M to £100M ARR level tend to want someone who can set strategy, execute on growth, understand the data and systems, work closely with Sales, and lead a small, focused team.
How should I judge whether a role is right for me, rather than how it looks on my CV? Focus on the problem the business actually needs solved and how you can contribute to growth, rather than on whether the job title or team size looks like a step up.
About Karen Lloyd
As the founder and director behind our recruitment approach, I bring almost 30 years of unique expertise spanning both recruitment and marketing. Having placed my first candidate in 1996, I've since built 5 start-ups, served as a Board Director for 25 years and developed recruitment strategies that work in competitive talent markets.
I'm also the host of the "Spotlight on B2B Marketing" podcast, where I explore B2B marketing trends with industry leaders. My passion lies in helping global businesses grow their revenue-generating teams through strategic hiring and fractional CMO services.
At Armstrong Lloyd, as specialist B2B marketing recruiters, we regularly advise senior marketing candidates from Marketing Directors through to CMO level on how to navigate their job search, including positioning, drafting and optimising their CV and LinkedIn profiles.
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