What Interview Questions Should You Ask a Marketing Candidate?
To help you ask the right questions during marketing candidate interviews, we asked seasoned marketers and hiring managers this question to get their best insights. From determining if the candidate has visited the company website to asking them to showcase their personal brand, there are several interview questions that can help you get a good feel for the qualities a candidate will bring when hiring into your Marketing team can bring in.
Here are 12 top interview questions to ask marketing candidates:
- Find out if they visited the company's website
- Ask about their most successful marketing campaign
- Ask how they measure their quality of work against productivity goals
- Ask how familiar they are with the organic SEO strategy
- Find out what they think about your latest marketing campaign
- Let them tell you about the skills they learned and can use now
- Ask if they have innovative ideas to share
- Ask if they could identify your target markets
- Find out how the candidate measures the success of a marketing campaign
- Find out if they have experience aligning social media goals with overall business goals
- Ask how they choose marketing channels for campaigns
- Ask them to showcase their personal brand
Find out if they visited the company's website
My standard question that I will ask all employees is whether they visited our website to look at the company. If they say no, I will most likely not hire them and they are not that interested in the position. When you go to an interview, the prospective employee should have done some research about the company they want to work for. When I went to a company for an interview, I would look at the company's website and read any news articles or press releases about that company before I went to the interview. This can only be used to serve as a conversion piece I've read about this new project or product they're coming out with.
Evan McCarthy,SportingSmiles
Ask about their most successful marketing campaign
"What has been your most successful marketing campaign to date?" Most marketing candidates will come up with examples of their best marketing work. But it's not enough to see that they can create clever copy and catchy slogans - you need someone with a proven track record.
When someone can implement an idea with truly meaningful results, it increases their worth far beyond someone who just came up with ideas, even if those ideas are great. The proof is in the execution and the resulting success.
Markus Hutsen,Patriot cooler
Ask how they measure their quality of work against productivity goals
How do you measure the quality of your work against productivity goals? can be used to interview candidates in all aspects of marketing regardless of role. Understanding how they perceive and perform quality work in relation to balancing other aspects of work helps guide the discussion and clarify expectations for both parties. We all have some level of limitations for our various roles, be it time or other resources; examining how a candidate can handle competing priorities and tasks while still producing quality results helps us determine if they are a good fit.
Tommy Chang,Homelister
Ask how familiar they are with the organic SEO strategy
For SEO agencies like ours, we ask marketing candidates how comfortable they are with organic SEO marketing. Understanding how relevant keywords relate to web traffic, website optimization, and strategic digital content is critical for newcomers to this role.
The best candidates can cite recent projects or content that has fueled their growing traffic to a client or their business. Whether they have experience in backlink acquisition, content writing, digital PR or advertising, each role provides specific insight and exposure that informs SEO expertise and strategy. These skills and backgrounds allow us to facilitate the growth of our clients' businesses. A solid marketing background is essential, but more importantly, delving into the technical aspects of marketing and understanding how significantly SEO can impact the size of a business.
Kevin Miller,kevinmiller.com
Find out what they think about your latest marketing campaign
By asking them what do you think of our recent marketing campaign? There will be many answers that will help you determine if they are the right candidate for you. For example, if you ask them about it, you can see if they have been paying attention to your brand as a whole and if they have done their research on your marketing campaign accurately. You can also test your marketing skills. Suppose they offer excellent advice and even suggest improvements that could be made. In this case, they show conscious initiative and planning, which are great traits for a marketing candidate.
Tracey Beveridge,personnel controls
Let them tell you about the skills they learned and can use now
The world of marketing is ever-changing and this is a crucial question to ask when interviewing a candidate. They will be able to learn about their previous experiences and skills and see how they apply to the new role. For example, what works well for social media marketing may or may not work for email or content marketing. This question will help you answer these types of questions. Even if they don't specifically have marketing skills from previous experience, their answer will give you insight into their skills that could make them a strong marketing candidate.
Lew Berlin,receipt
Ask if they have innovative ideas to share
When you're looking for new members to join your marketing team, you need to know that they're willing to think outside the box and will be a great value during brainstorming sessions. That's why an important question in the interview is: Do you have any innovative ideas that you would like to share now?
Forward-thinking candidates share a strategy or two that they've thought about, and this gives you a glimpse of their creative thinking style.
mark pages,greater than
Ask if they could identify your target markets
I would ask marketing candidates if they could identify our target markets. Successfully answering this question requires foresight, good research skills, and a genuine interest in the position—all things we want in a marketer. It goes without saying that the best way for candidates to prepare for the interview is to check with their employer. A quick-thinking marketer can guess a company's target markets, but it's not like candidates who do their research and provide pointed, polished answers.
Identifying a company's target market is a bread-and-butter marketing strategy. Seasoned marketers can answer this question from multiple angles, citing corporate campaigns, social strategies, or niche audiences derived from a product's value proposition.
Jason Panzer,Dressed six times
Find out how the candidate measures the success of a marketing campaign
How do you measure the success of a marketing campaign? This is important to determine if the campaign was successful or not. By asking this question, you can get an idea of how well the candidate understands how to track and measure results.
All soft skills aside, the mathematical regime in marketing is often a matter of survival. Suppose a candidate can count percentages and knows concepts like weighted average or standard deviation. Then you can assume with high probability that this is the man you are looking for. Put the candidate in front of an Excel and see how he works. Open Google Analytics or Google Search Console and ask them to create a short live report of the last three months with comment. You have a clear answer as to whether this is your ideal candidate.
Lukasz Zelezny,SEO consultant London
Find out if they have experience aligning social media goals with overall business goals
Social media marketing is more than just increasing the number of followers and increasing likes. A marketer needs to understand how to align social media goals with your overall business goals. So I want to find out if candidates are experienced in setting SMART goals – i.e. H. Goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based. And whether it's expanding brand awareness, increasing online sales, or increasing customer loyalty, setting the right social media goals can help pave the way for growth in all areas of your business.
Maria Shriver,MOSCH
Ask how they choose marketing channels for campaigns
How do you choose the channels you use in a marketing campaign to reach a specific audience? One of the most important things to assess in a prospective marketer is their ability to identify and reach your customers. This question helps decipher if the candidate knows how to effectively target different audiences or if their experience is less fine-tuned. A great candidate will be able to demonstrate their knowledge across different channels and explain previous campaigns they have worked on.
Rachel Reid,Subtle Beauty
Ask them to showcase their personal brand
The one question you should always ask a marketing candidate is to describe their personal brand and how they would present themselves to an audience. A keen sense of one's own individual identity is essential when working in marketing. When you work with a range of companies, it's even more important to differentiate your personal desires from the desires of your target demographic. Asking this question helps ensure that the recruited candidate knows how to understand their client and put their needs first when working on a campaign.
Scott Annan,MyCube
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FAQs
What are the top 5 interview questions they ask job seekers? ›
- What Are Your Weaknesses? ...
- Why Should We Hire You? ...
- Why Do You Want to Work Here? ...
- What Are Your Goals? ...
- Why Did You Leave (or Why Are You Leaving) Your Job?
- Identify your selling points for this job. ...
- Be ready to tell the interviewer about yourself. ...
- Know why you're interested in this position at this company. ...
- Do some salary research. ...
- Prepare your stories. ...
- Familiarize yourself with the STAR method.
- What is your greatest weakness?
- Why should we hire you?
- What's something that you didn't like about your last job?
- Why do you want this job?
- How do you deal with conflict with a co-worker?
- Here's an answer for you.
- 'What do people most criticise about you? ...
- 'Why do you want to change jobs? ...
- 'What do you do when you know your boss is wrong? ...
- 'Why should we hire you? ...
- 'What do you like or dislike about your previous job? ...
- 'Why was there a gap in your employment?
Tell me about yourself. Why are you interested in working for this company? Tell me about your education.
What is the tricky questions in interview? ›Tricky questions are those that may not pertain directly to the job or your work experience. They may include logic puzzles, hypothetical situations or discussions of your life and job search beyond the scope of the position for which you may be interviewing.
What are the 23 most common interview questions and answers? ›- Can you tell me a little about yourself? ...
- Why are you interested in working here? ...
- What do you know about the company? ...
- Tell me about your previous experience. ...
- What are your strengths? ...
- What do you still need to work on? ...
- How would your previous employer describe you?
- Not Doing Your Research. ...
- Turning Up Late. ...
- Dressing Inappropriately. ...
- Fidgeting With Unnecessary Props. ...
- Poor Body Language. ...
- Unclear Answering and Rambling. ...
- Speaking Negatively About Your Current Employer. ...
- Not Asking Questions.
The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing.
What are the sample questions for job seeker to ask? ›- Tell me about yourself.
- What do you know about our company?
- Why do you want to work for us?
- What unique qualities or abilities would you bring to this job?
- What are your major strengths and weaknesses?
- How long do you plan to stay at our company?
What are 4 unique interview questions? ›
Unique and Weird Big Picture Questions
If you were interviewing me for my job, what would you want to know about me? If you had an unlimited budget, what innovation would you want to create in our industry? How could AI potentially change our industry? What do you think our industry is going to look like in 10 years?
The hiring panel may ask you about the six core values to assess your knowledge. The 6 Cs – care, compassion, courage, communication, commitment, competence - are a central part of 'Compassion in Practice'. They'll want to know what you think about the 6 Cs and understand how you can effectively put them into practice.
What is the biggest failure interview questions? ›They want to see whether you can learn from mistakes and how resilient you are . For this reason, it's not uncommon for you to be asked 'What has been your biggest failure to date and what did you learn from it? ' or variations on the theme, such as: 'Describe a time when something didn't work out as you had planned.
What is the 9 11 question for an interview? ›Name of person being interviewed: Where were you when the attacks happened? What was your initial reaction? How did it affect the rest of your day? Did you personally know anyone who died in or was personally affected by 9/11?
What are the biggest interview mistakes? ›- Turning up late. Work out exactly where you're going and how you're going to get there. ...
- Inappropriate clothing. ...
- Being unprepared. ...
- Lying. ...
- Criticising a current or previous employer. ...
- Letting your nerves get the better of you. ...
- Giving textbook responses. ...
- Being arrogant or rude.
Employers rate showing enthusiasm (for the job, company, industry) and making eye contact as the most important keys to success at interviews. Since interviews are a conversation between the potential employee and the employer, speaking clearly (and loud enough) is also vital.
What are the 6 key elements of successful interviewing? ›- Research the position and the company. ...
- Practice before the interview. ...
- Dress appropriately. ...
- Play your strengths, tell a story. ...
- Be prepared for unusual questions. ...
- Always follow up and ask for feedback.
- Tell me about yourself. ...
- What do you know about our organization? ...
- Why do you want to work for us? ...
- What can you do for us that someone else can't? ...
- What do you find most attractive about this position? ...
- Why should we hire you? ...
- What do you look for in a job?
- Could you tell me about yourself and describe your background in brief?
- How/Where you heard about our company/this positions?
- What are your strengths?
- What is your greatest weakness?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- Tell me about yourself.
- What are your weaknesses?
- Why should we choose you for this job?
- What are your hobbies outside of work?
- Where do you see yourself in five years' time?
- Why are you leaving your current position?
- What are your main strengths?
What are three hints for interviewing successfully? ›
- Be on time. ...
- Know the interviewer's name, its spelling, and pronunciation. ...
- Have some questions of your own prepared in advance. ...
- Bring several copies of your resume. ...
- Have a reliable pen and a small note pad with you. ...
- Greet the interviewer with a handshake and a smile.
Third round interview questions to ask candidates
Tell me about the most challenging project you have worked on so far. What type of challenges did you face? How did you overcome them? If hired, what would your work plan be for the first three months here?
A good rule of thumb is to have between three to five questions prepared to ask the interviewer or hiring manager over the phone. The further you advance through the interview process, the more questions you can ask.
What scares you the most interview questions? ›- Choose a work-related fear. Talk about fears related to common workplace situations. ...
- Be honest with your answer. Employers appreciate honesty. ...
- Explain how you manage your fear. ...
- Speak with confidence. ...
- Maintain a positive attitude.
- Tell me about yourself.
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
- Why should we hire you?
- Why do you want to work here?
- What do you know about us?
- How do people describe you?
- Why do you want this job?
Using your own words, try something along the lines of: "I am interested in an entry-level position. I know I have much to learn, and I'm looking for an opportunity that will let me build a solid professional foundation. You say, 'Jump,' I'll ask, 'How high?
How do you ace the most common interview questions? ›- Research the company and your interviewers.
- Practice your answers to common interview questions.
- Study the job description.
- Answer questions using the STAR method.
- Recruit a friend to practice answering questions.
- Be prepared with examples of your work.
- Plan your interview attire the night before.
- Show your passion. Another important aspect of interviewing is being passionate about the possibility of working at the company. ...
- Share relevant, personal anecdotes. ...
- Ask questions. ...
- Demonstrate your confidence. ...
- Bring your resume. ...
- Practise a friendly greeting.
- Why are you interested in our company? ...
- Can you share a little about yourself? ...
- What got you into this career? ...
- What are your strengths? ...
- What are your weaknesses? ...
- Tell me about a challenge you experienced in your previous role. ...
- Do you have leadership experience? ...
- How do you stay organized?
- Decide what you can do. Pinpoint which parts of the situation you have the power to change or influence for the better. ...
- Get support. Find someone to talk to about your situation. ...
- Care for yourself. Take especially good care of yourself when stress in your life is high.
What are 5 common mistakes made during a job search? ›
- Errors on your job application materials. ...
- Not asking questions in the interview. ...
- Not being self aware. ...
- Not doing any research on the company. ...
- Not customizing your resume and cover letter. ...
- Not cleaning up your social media.
Illegal job interview questions solicit information from job candidates that could be used to discriminate against them. Asking questions about a candidate's age, race, religion, or gender could open a company up to a discrimination lawsuit.
What is the Carl technique? ›Context: Briefly describe the context of you experience. Action: Explain what actions you took. Results: Explain what happened as a result of your actions. Learning: Identify what you have learned.
What are the top 10 behavioral questions in an interview? ›- Have you worked on multiple projects? ...
- How do you handle meeting tight deadlines?
- How do you handle it when your schedule is interrupted?
- What do you do if you disagree with a co-worker?
- Give me an example of when you did or when you didn't listen.
- Learn everything you can about the company, the job, and the interview.
- Brush up on interview skills and common interview questions.
- Get ready to present yourself well and figure out all of the interview logistics.
- Can you tell me about yourself? ...
- What are your current responsibilities? ...
- What's your biggest accomplishment? ...
- Why are you interested in moving on? ...
- What's your ideal next role?
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why are you interested in working for this company?
- Tell me about your education.
- Why have you chosen this particular field?
- Describe your best/worst boss.
- In a job, what interests you most/least?
- What is your major weakness?
- Can you tell me a little about yourself?
- How did you hear about the position?
- What do you know about the company?
- What are your greatest professional strengths?
- What do you consider to be your weaknesses?
- What is your greatest professional achievement?
- Do your research. ...
- Prepare questions and responses. ...
- Practice interviewing. ...
- Be prepared to ask questions. ...
- Get organized. ...
- Present yourself professionally. ...
- Resources for interviewing.
The 4C Framework is composed of four elements: Customer, Competition, Cost, and Capabilities. The structure is useful to get a better understanding of the client and important during your case interview.
What is the STAR method in interviews? ›
The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of the situation you are describing.
What are nonsense interview questions? ›- If you were an animal, what would you be and why? ...
- Which superhero do you most want to be and why? ...
- What's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to you? ...
- What would you do with $1 million? ...
- If you were a brand, what would be your motto? ...
- Red or yellow?
The five C's that employers want a candidate to demonstrate are: Capability, and evidence of it, to perform the absolute must deliver tasks; Confidence in their own ability; Concern for others and the organisation; Command and the desire to increase this; and Communication ability at all levels.
What are the three golden rules of interview? ›3 golden interview rules: be prepared, be professional, and most importantly, be yourself.
What is the 5 Whys interview question? ›The Five Whys is a questioning technique to reach the root cause of a problem and extract valuable insights. As a researcher or product manager, you can use this technique in your qualitative interviews, such as moderated, unmoderated and contextual inquiries.