Marketing Interview Questions & Answers

I was immediately attracted to this role as it combined two areas I want to get into, events and marketing. I initially found the advert on reed.com, but since becoming suspicious, have found it on several websites, advertised as various things, such as Events and Sales Assistant. The salary offered varies on different job sites, from weekly earnings, OTE to £18,000 - £22,000. Please beware as all is not as it seems at CM3.....

I applied at the weekend and heard back on the Monday. I was invited in for an "interview" which actually turned out to be a 10/15 minute chat, of which cost me £5.80 in car parking! I was told they were "interviewing" 25 people that day for the position/s. That must be why they felt the need to email me about an hour before to casually check if I was still going, as the manager apparently has a very hectic schedule!

I then got phoned the same day about an hour later to say I'd been successful and they wanted me to work an event asap (unpaid) called an "observation day". All you are told is to show up at 8.30 with a notepad and pen and the day will end with a questionnaire at 4.30.

I was seduced by the "management scheme" of which they are "fast tracking" suitable candidates to complete within 6 - 9 months and the prospect of the company conquering America. I thought this was a fantastic opportunity, but did suspect it seemed too good to be true. I was right. They say they believe in direct marketing and all this means in simple terms is door to door and face to face sales. Not marketing (in my opinion, maybe I'm old fashioned)?!

On the day, you will be expected to pay to park (if you drive), pay for your own transport to event "sites" (bus/tram/train stops, shops, streets, doors) anywhere, where they describe as having "people"! It doesn't take a 'young entrepreneur' to work out there's foot fall at these places - but he should secure in his knowledge that these people are busy and do not want to be badgered on their day to day lives.

???With unemployment at an all time high for 16-24 years olds, I believe in challenging the stereotypical 9-5 in order to offer people the same opportunity I was given??? -Chris Mikkides (CM3, 2014).

The opportunity he must have been given then is false promises, ridiculously long hours and commission based pay. I'm relived I delved a bit deeper in to this "company" before I signed on the dotted line and I hope other people's cynical sides also prompt them to do the same!

"There's 24 other candidates out there, why should I pick you?" Textbook.

When they email you an hour before to confirm you are actually attending, (pretending you've not found this unfortunate review online) write back saying you are attending and then don't... see if you even get an email asking you why you didn't go. I'd be amazed if they even acknowledge your absence. Spend time applying for legitimate, reputable event and marketing companies.

Offices at Citibase Manchester - only saw the waiting room, playing very questionable music videos and surrounded by other "hopefuls" and the managers office. Very rushed, one in one out, obviously done intentionally to make it feel competitive (probably given same time slots). Plus points: The offices are right next to a Chinese, could become costly though! The chairs were comfy. They provide a clipboard and pen to complete your questionnaire upon arrival.

Attracted to the job's immediate start and opportunity for career development, I applied for the job of marketing events assistant. I heard back that day, and was asked to go to their office the next day for an interview that was supposed to last 20-30 minutes and give me more detail about what the job (or the 'programme' as they refer to it) actually entailed.

I was disappointed to only have a 10 minute interview, where I wasn't really told an awful lot more than what you can get on the website or the job advert. I asked what the difference was between marketing events assistant and sale assistant (two different roles they are currently advertising) and found out that actually they were the same job advertised with different titles- everyone starts in sales and works their way up management. I was told that more detail would be given the next day, when I was to return for an intensive day shadowing a manager and completing several tasks throughout the day.

So the next day I turned up at 8.45am as requested, and ended up waiting in reception with several others for 45 minutes with no clue what was going on. No one came out to tell us how long we'd be waiting, or what was happening, which I thought was rather unprofessional.

Eventually we were taken into an office in pairs, where we were introduced to a manager who we would be shadowing all day. This manager turns out to also be training someone who was on their first day, and I was told that his attention and priority was with him- not with me. I was told not to ask questions until later on in the day, when there would be a question time. I thought it was strange to be training a person on their very first day and assessing a potential employee, but I went along with it.

Turns out we were actually travelling outside of Manchester- to Stoke on Trent, which I felt they should have let me know the previous day as I was expected to pay the fares myself.

The so-called intensive shadowing day was the most boring experience ever. From 9.30 until I left at 4pm I was given 4 fairly easy tasks to do (see question section). I did not shadow at all- in fact i was told to go away for 1 1/2 - 2 hours to complete 1 task at a time, and had to keep a distance from where they were selling when I came back. I tried to come back earlier than asked when I'd completed the tasks, but told to go away as he had nothing for me to do.

The answers to these tasks were to be written down on my notepad, which the manager quickly glanced at before sending me off with another task to do. I experienced more of the interior of the nearby McDonalds than of the job- especially as I finished these tasks in 10-20 minutes.

After completing the 4th task, I was told I'd made it to the final 6, and 5 minutes of the manager's time to tell me more about the programme, but first I was to have 30 minutes 'break'. So off I had to go again with nothing to do.

When I came back, the programme was again gone through too quickly and very briefly. I was then told for the first time that they expect employees to be at the office at the latest 7.45am and leave at the earliest 7.30pm- that's working about 12 hours 6 days a week. I was hesistant to commit to this, and at this point the manager turned nasty and plain rude. I said I would have to think about it since its a lot of hours, and he sarcastically replied he couldn't very well tell his manager that I was 'thinking about it'.

I tried to ask questions about the programme to see if it would be worth working them hours for it, and he had no interest in answering them. In fact, he had got up and was trying to walk away from me. I said to him that since I had an 1 hour commute to Manchester it was a lot of hours and I didn't think I could handle it. So I apologised and said I would have to turn it down. He snapped back at me 'This isn't a job offer' rather than just accepting my decision, so I explained that what I meant was that I was not going to carry on with the rest of the progress.

I was then told that he had to get back to the new employee- as he was his priority- and I was to find my own way back to Manchester (a good taxi journey to the train station and then half an hour train journey away from Manchester which again I had to pay for).
I tried to shake his hand and end on polite terms, but he wasn't having it.

All in all, the interview was a waste of my time and money. The company obviously has no care for the welfare of their employees, and the work doesn't seem hard. Just long boring hours selling and giving out flyers in shopping centres for a few months and then after that, training new people on how to do the same thing. The whole interview process was unprofessional, and they obviously had no care as to whether potential employees actually knew what they were getting into. The manager's rudeness and nastiness made me more than happy to turn down the job opportunity.

1. Think up of 3 different products (can be fictional, but must be physical i.e. no phone apps or games) that are for the mass market and up to £50.Think of how to market one of these products
2. Write down 10 weaknesses and 10 strengths
3. Think of as many different specific ways a product can be marketed/advertised (e.g. not just tv, instead more specifically 30 second tv ads)
4. imagine you run a marketing and sales company. write a) how you would make profit and how you would pay your employees, b) write 10 ways of how to motivate employees day-to-day, c) write 10 ways of what makes a good manager

then there was the usual 'why should we pick you?' 'what are your interests?' 'What do you want to do in 5 years time?' 'What is your main strength?'

Only apply for this role if you're prepared to work very long hours for not great money to get to a good role in marketing quickly and you're interested in doing sales.

Show that you are a people-person and that you've got a good work ethic.

Make sure you know a little about marketing- but the stuff they asked me to do was basic common sense

No assessment centre, just cover letter and CV application via email, followed by a 10 minute interview at their office and then a day 'shadowing' a manager.