A good marketing professional will rely on certain skills and personality traits such as creativity, strategic planning and adaptability. So, when an employer is interviewing prospective candidates for a marketing role, they need to ask questions that will test these traits.
By researching common marketing interview questions and preparing your answers you can confidently demonstrate you have what it takes using real world examples from your past roles.
The most important element to remember with marketing is that everything you do has a purpose, therefore the best approach in an interview is to be specific and answer questions with detailed outcomes. For example, ‘I created 65 qualified leads’ sounds much more impressive than ‘the campaign was a huge success’.
What marketing campaigns have you worked on in the past?
As a marketing professional you’ll have worked on several campaigns that you can refer to so don’t waste any time with broad statements, get straight to the point. Name the campaign you worked on, its purpose or objective and the channels it utilised. Describe specific challenges you faced and how you overcame them. Take the time to illustrate your creativity and the ideas that brought the campaign to life.
What is your creative process when designing and creating content?
Creative processes are intriguing! Everyone has their own way of doing things and in many ways this question comes from a desire to understand the way you like to work. If you are being asked this question, it is a good sign - your interviewer is interested and engaged sin what you do and how you do it.
Open up a little, relax and share your process whether you begin with just a cup of tea and a notebook, a walk in the woods and a sketchpad or a laptop in a bustling café there is no wrong answer here but be sure to slip in some office friendly details such as, collaboration, team work, solo work, research and the use of resources for creative inspiration.
What do you know about our business?
It won’t necessarily be worded in this way, but there’s a good chance that you’ll need to show an understanding of the company you’re interviewing for. This is typical of all interviews, but particularly vital in marketing.
The marketing industry is built upon foundations of research, understanding and interest so marketers are expected to apply this approach to their own work and have a genuine interest in what they do. A quick look at the company’s website isn’t enough, delve deeper to get a well-rounded understanding of the company including:
- products or services
- the industry they operate within
- the main marketing channels it utilises
- its audience demographic
- its history and structure
- its strategy and aspirations
- its culture and brand
It is a good idea to have a few extra bits of information up your sleeve such as follower numbers or most active social channels and the latest posts just in case the conversation calls for some extra insights.
What experience do you have in utilising data to inform and improve a campaign?
This is a great opportunity for you to show that as a content marketer you can do more than just create a campaign – you can also use data to redirect, refocus or change a campaign completely.
A question like this is best answered with an example, anything from creating an ad campaign through to blogging providing you can explain how data was used to improve the campaign. Take this as an excellent opportunity to show off your knowledge and your ability to adapt where needed.
What can you bring to our business?
This question leads on from the previous one – and you’ll need to utilise your knowledge of the company to answer it effectively.
Start by outlining your key strengths, experience, skills and areas of expertise. If you’re an SEO wizard, tell them but also explain why your expertise is valuable to their business in specific terms. For example, if their business relies heavily on ecommerce, you can explain how your SEO experience can benefit them.
Do make any specific recommendations cautiously – especially if you’re interviewing with a Marketing Director or Manager. You want to build a rapport and undermining their strategy could alienate them.
What experience do you have of working to strict budgets?
Heads of marketing are constantly at the mercy of budgetary constraints, so they like to check that you understand what it means to work diligently towards an agreed financial plan.
The key is to be specific by naming a campaign you worked on, and the kind of budget you worked towards. Ideally, use an example in which the budget was low or non-existent; you’ll be difficult to ignore if you demonstrate the ability to generate leads or profit without money upfront.
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