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It sounds like the company wants to transform and build its brand, but it is quite clear that the decision-makers at the top are inexperienced and old-fashioned. The following assessment is based on what I learned during the interview process and is provided as a reference for job seekers:
1. The position was posted as Brand Manager, but throughout the interview they referred to it as PM (Project Manager?). This gave me the impression that they may not have a clear understanding of the Brand Manager role, or that the actual objectives of the position may differ from what I had assumed.
2. When asked how much the company planned to allocate for its marketing budget, the company responded that it was difficult to provide an answer and that the matter was still being evaluated internally, among other things. Although they may simply not have wanted to disclose too much information, based on my past experience, I believe there is a high probability that the budget is not large, or that the boss expects marketing to be done primarily through free exchanges and mutual cooperation. In other words, the company may be providing an annual marketing and promotion budget of less than one million (or even less).
3. The company already has a Marketing Manager, but when I asked about the organizational structure, the supervisor's response made it sound as though the Brand Manager would be responsible for setting the brand direction while holding a parallel position to the Marketing Manager. However, when I asked how their responsibilities would be differentiated, the work appeared to be the same for both roles. It is unclear whether the company plans to divide the brands it represents into two categories—brands to be developed and brands to be sold through straightforward sales—and assign them separately to the Brand Manager and Marketing Manager. The major risk is that, in the end, both roles will be doing the same work.
4. When I asked whether the company managed its own advertising or worked with an advertising agency, the company responded that it had hired an agency in the early years but stopped because it felt the results were poor. There is also no one internally who knows how to operate the campaigns. My assessment is that the boss is genuinely very old-fashioned: instead of promptly defining the needs of the position and looking for someone with a relevant background, they would rather leave the function inactive.
Overall, I feel that the company's approach to marketing is extremely old-fashioned: it does not value marketing, lets outsiders direct specialists, and stops investing as soon as there are no short-term results for every dollar spent—let alone investing in “brand management.” However, if the goal is to learn about business promotion, there may still be something to gain.
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I clearly stated my expected salary on my résumé, but your company offered less than that. So I politely asked whether it could be adjusted, and your company actually replied: “Salary depends on one’s portfolio, past experience, communication skills, contribution to the company, future expectations for the job, and so on; it cannot be decided through haggling!”
My résumé, portfolio, and expected salary were all laid out right there, and you’re saying I was haggling?