by Samantha Chiu
You get an email back from your favorite company that you applied for saying you got an interview with them “tomorrow at 9 am”. You scream on the top of your lungs feeling invincible and do your little happy dance when you realize that you have an interview… tomorrow… at 9 am…Less than 24 hours to kill a marketing interview that you do not know anything about. Lucky for you, here are five things that will prepare you to kill that interview.
RESEARCH COMPANY & INTERVIEWER
The most important thing before any interview is to know what your position entails. You can essentially memorize the job description and research the company, so you know what you are getting yourself into when coming into the interview. See how your past experiences might align with the skills and qualifications listed in the job description and be prepared to talk about it. Look through the company website, their social media, and any news articles on the company to discover any marketing campaigns that the company has done so you will be ready to explain everything you know about it. You can use this as an advantage to ask questions at the end of the interview.
The interviewer can be as important as the company because they are most likely the ones to decide if you are going to be a good fit for the company. This is your time to stalk them on Facebook, LinkedIn, any social media you can think of to see where they went for their recent trip or what kinds of things they like. Finding a personal connection with your interviewer is always a plus.
DRESS TO IMPRESS
Another big thing is the outfit you wear when you walk through the front doors of the company of your dreams. You always want to dress professionally since this is their first impression of you. The outfit says a lot about a person so have fun with your style and try to stand out so you do not look like everyone else. I do recommend adding some color to your outfit to show personality but do not go above and beyond for your first interview. Wear what makes you feel happy and yourself!
MEMORIZE THAT THING!
It is imperative to proofread and memorize your resume and portfolio before you do anything. You should memorize each of your experience on your resume and come up with stories that you can share for each of the behavioral questions that they may ask you. For example, if you ask you about strengths and weaknesses or just about a time you lead a team, come up with tangible experiences that the interviewer can recall from your resume. Also, memorizing it will show the interviewer that you really know what you are talking about and confidence in what you are saying.
Bring multiple copies of your resume and portfolios just in case your interviewers do not have a copy with them. Make sure you bring it in a folder or something hard to keep the pages straight and crisp. Also, having samples of your writing ready is a great way to show your interviewer that you are serious and passionate about your work. You want to brand yourself and show your creative side. Make sure you know the ins and outs of your resume and have two or three main examples of your work that you can speak about that stands out to you most.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
One of the best things about the Internet is that you can find anything you want, including many sample marketing interview questions that the interviewer might ask. Here is an example of what kind of marketing questions they may ask you depending on the specific position you are applying for: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-interview-questions
Other examples of questions they may ask:
-Why are you interested in specifically digital marketing? (Or the role you are applying for)
-Why this company?
-What can you bring to the company, what can the company bring to you?
-Give us an example of how we can excel past our competitors.
Another thing you may want to prepare for is specific examples of the different marketing roles you have played in previous experiences, and challenges and successes you had in these roles. Be prepared to talk about a campaign you know about from an outside source, such as your school or brands that you love. They might ask you more basic questions about why you are interested in marketing and if you have experience using Google Analytics or any marketing tools. Or they can ask about what you would most like to learn and take away from the company. They may ask you to market a specific product on the spot to see if you can think quick on your feet creatively, so be prepared with something to say if they do ask you.
Therefore, look through all the sample questions provided online and practice what you will say to your family and friends beforehand. If you need to start off by writing bullet points to help you remember some answers, that is okay but do not write out word for word what you are going to say. You want to be genuine during the interview, so just let the questions come and you can answer as they are asked. Remember, there is no wrong answer because, at the end of the day, the interviewer just wants to know who you are!
RELAX, BREATHE & SMILE!
This is probably one of the hardest things for me as well, but breathing during the interview is very important because it can also help you slow down your talking. When people are nervous, they tend to speak faster than they usually would, and breathing can help pace. Just be confident in yourself that you will do great in the interview and that is all that you can do. As long as you prepared yourself before the interview, everything will fall into place. Lastly, smile! Everyone loves a happy human!
I hope this little guide will help ease your way to your next interview! Good luck and you will do amazing!!!
Comments