Marketing Advice That Matters
When you are interviewing for a marketing position, it is best if you prepare in advance for the variety of questions you are likely to encounter. The most commonly asked questions deal with your knowledge about the marketing industry in general and in specific about the company you hope to work with. Prospective employers will want to know how much you have bothered to research their products and services.
Even if you are seeking an entry-level job, you should do your research. It is far better to be over-informed than clueless. Since you want to work with them and immerse yourself in the marketing of their products and services, you had better find out everything you can about their business.
It is generally easy to find information online, so find it and take notes. Don’t take interviews lightly. People are offering you their valuable time when they interview you, so always try to do better on your end. If you don’t get the job, it shouldn’t be on account of a lack of preparation on your part.
Here are three essential interview questions for a marketing position:
1. Why are you interested in this specific marketing job?
Generally, interviewers don’t want to hear the answer that mountaineers give for climbing a mountain – because it is there. No, they don’t want you to tell them that you applied because the job was on the job board and your dire financial straits compelled you to apply. Even if that is the case, the interview isn’t the place for such unvarnished honesty. They have limited time and they only want answers related to their interview questions for marketing position. They want to hear professional-sounding and convincing reasons for your interest in the job.
For instance, you applied because your skills match the ones they require, and you think you have what it takes to handle the position. If you give this answer, explain it with verifiable examples of any similar work you undertook, and try not to sound like a corporate robot. Don’t tell them you are passionate about marketing. That is what they probably hear from everyone, and if they hire you, it will be for your originality, not your clichés.
2. If we hire you, what can we expect from you in the first few weeks?
Interviewers ask this question to discover how much you have researched the position you are applying for and the company you want to work with. If you have done your research, you will know the type of work that you must do in that position, and you will also have an idea about how that applies to marketing the company’s products and services. Having a basic idea of your job responsibilities is very important. It tells the interviewer that you know how to prepare in advance and that you are earnest about wanting to work with them.
Give them a gist of what you know and then take the opportunity to ask for more information about the work and the company. Normally, they ought to be glad to tell you since you have shown yourself to be sincerely interested.
3. What different marketing concepts do you think we should use for our products and services?
This is another question to gauge your awareness of what exactly the company does and how it markets its products and services. Take the time to read the content on the company’s website. Do they talk about their current marketing efforts on their blog? How do they use their social media? How many marketing platforms do they use? What kind of marketing campaign have they run in the past or are currently running? What appears to be their target audience? What kind of public response are they getting? How do they interact with their clients or customers?
Look at their competitors, see what they are doing in their marketing, and make comparisons. Think about what you would do differently if you were handling the company’s marketing efforts. Why would that be necessarily better than what they are doing at present? You need to be able to explain this succinctly. Try to explain in a helpful tone, not in a critical tone. They are hiring marketing professionals to assist them in doing better, not for listing their mistakes and giving them the superior treatment.
Keep in mind that you are marketing yourself every time you go for an interview. Pull that off well, and the rest will be a breeze.
