Five tips to smash your marketing interview
- August 06, 2018
Job interviews are a bit of a contradiction. On the one hand, interviewing for your dream marketing job is an incredibly nerve wracking thing - but on the other hand, if you want to really nail the interview and land your dream marketing job, you need to come across as confident, calm and collected. So how do you make sure your interview goes off without a hitch and you land the job? There's an awful lot to think about, but the secret to a successful interview is actually all in the preparation. Read on for our top tips to help you smash your marketing interview...
1. Do your research
First up a really important one that many candidates often overlook: research. Research absolutely everything you can think of about the company you are interviewing with, from the company background to current client wins. Good places to start include looking at revenues, annual data, reports, competitors, new product releases and any recent news coverage so you can be prepared to answer questions on their recent activity and how to improve their existing strategy. It’s also worth checking out the company’s social media channels and website as well so you can have a peek at their blog, and have a look at the people interviewing you too. Check out their LinkedIn profiles to get a bit of background on their career history and previous posts - this will be really useful when asked if you have any questions as you can ask them about their own career experiences or successes and chat around recent industry events too.
2. Show your creative side
If you’re going to be working for a creative agency, it makes sense to show your creative side! Marketing jobs are in demand, so potential employers will be looking for someone with the X Factor that stands out from the crowd and is one step ahead of the competition. Perhaps you could bring some examples of previous campaigns you’ve been involved with, or previous blogs or articles you have written? Anything that shows off your creativity will be a sure-fire hit. In fact, when interviewing at a creative agency we’d thoroughly recommend creating a portfolio to show off your accomplishments. You can even tailor it to the role you’re interviewing for to make sure it includes relevant examples and recent experience. Be proud of your accomplishments and shout out about them - this is your chance to really impress your interviewer so don’t hold back!
3. Measure your success quantitatively
It’s not just about pretty print and wow-inducing websites, though. Whilst your interviewer will want to see examples of the projects and campaigns you’ve worked on in your portfolio, they’ll also want to see the figures behind it too. A successful marketing campaign should be quantifiable, so make sure you can show your interviewer proof of your success with numbers. From conversion rates to ROI, numbers don’t lie and could be the difference between you landing your dream marketing job or not. And not only will facts and figures prove your previous success, but they’ll also show you are results-orientated and hungry for success - a trait that’s always attractive to potential employers!
4. Brand yourself online
As well as wowing during the interview itself, you should also consider your online activity before you even get to interview stage. Your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profile can help you to build a strong presence online and enable your interviewers to get to know you before the interview. Written a blog post you’re particularly proud of? Share it on LinkedIn. Designed a standout logo or directed a photoshoot with stunning results? Post it on Instagram! Employers will always do background research before the interview, so it’s really important to promote your skills and experience as well as gaining valuable social and business contacts to expand your network too. Not only that, but it also shows that you are aware of the latest technology trends. Just be careful about what you share on social - if you’re going for your dream job you might want to be wary about what you post and how it might come across.
5. Be yourself
As much as a job interview is your time to shine and show your potential employers your worth, the most important piece of advice we can give you is to just be yourself! If you go in with confidence and a clear head having done your research then you can’t go far wrong. And if you’re still feeling nervous about how to answer interview questions, we’d recommend the STAR technique:
Situation - set the context for your answer. For example, “We were briefed to pitch for a content marketing strategy for a big brand company and had just two days to perfect our pitch”.
Task - what was required of you in this situation. For example, “It was my responsibility to brief and manage a team of six to make sure we nailed the presentation in the little time we had”.
Activity - what you actually did. For example, “I put a team together and worked closely with them to make sure we thoroughly executed our pitch down to the final last detail”.
Result - how the situation played out. For example, “Despite the tight timeframe, we nailed the pitch, presented to an audience of 20 and got the client on board”.
By using this method, you can make sure you get all the important points across in a concise way, conveying maximum achievement in minimum time. Not only that, but by giving specific figures including how many people you managed and how many people you pitched to it makes the story more quantifiable and convincing.
Take a deep breath, gather your thoughts - and go and blow them away!
So there you have it, our top tips to make sure you smash that interview and land your dream job! Ready to take the next step in your career?