Marketing Interview Questions & Answers

The interview was competency based, with a member of NIBE present as well as an assessment centre specialist. The interview consisted of 4 main sections, each with different skills and sub questions. Question were based around leadership, marketing experience, audience targeting, confidence and initiative.

Describe a time when you have been innovative?

Describe a time when you targeted a specific audience? How did you do this and why?

The best practical advice for the assessment centre is to be yourself, stay calm and listen to what’s being asked of you. To add to this, push yourself to the best of your ability rather than comparing yourself to other candidates.

The day started off with a brief introduction to NIBE as a company. This then led on to a group discussion which lasted about 45 minutes. After this the individual interview were conducted; lasting about an hour. Finally, an hour preparation time was given to make notes for an individual presentation. The presentation lasted 10 minutes, with time for questions at the end.

I was invited via email to attend a 1st interview after applying for the position through the company website (Over the moon!). I arrived half an hour early due to train times but was grateful for this time as it allowed me to collect my thoughts, take in the surroundings, the atmosphere and gave me an insight into the mundane activities at the headquarters (Pretty nosy but useful when deciding if this is a place you'd like to work). The Recruitment Adviser who had emailed me the invitation came to collect me and escorted me to an interview room where he and two senior members of the marketing team sat across a table ready to interview me. A little daunting- but that's the way it is I'm afraid!

They gave me the opportunity to briefly introduce myself, my employment history and why I was interested in this role. This was the easiest part as I was pretty sure of the answers! (I had to use all my efforts to keep them concise as rambling is a weakness of mine). They then went on to competency questions- these were more tricky but nothing I hadn't seen on practice questions online and examples were required for every one pretty much.

Luckily the atmosphere was relaxed and they were a very friendly panel.

The 2nd interview was a more in-depth repeat of the first interview and involved a task which I needed to prepare beforehand. They asked me to discuss my thought process when carrying out the task and asked a few questions. They were happy with the result and 3 days later I was offered the job! (I had to do a silent dance outside my office so as not to give anything away)

Why did you apply for this particular department as opposed to our other departments because it seems you have skills and experience more suited to some of the others? This question took me by surprise because, if I'm completely honest, I didn't really mind which department I worked for as they were all of interest to me!

I answered that I had used my skills in previous jobs and was keen to explore new and different areas, it seemed to go down well- lots of nodding.

-Arrive earlier than early (20-30 mins) to take in the working environment. This allows you to consider whether this it's a place you'd be happy to work. (It's not just about what they want but it's about what you want for your professional career!)

-When preparing answers to questions, always think of examples. Saying you are good at something is not good enough for them, you need to prove that you are

-Exaggerating the truth when it comes to experiences is okay but lying about skills is not. If you got the job on these grounds prepare to panic when they expect you to do things you've never done before!

-Lastly, try and find common ground with the interviewers, laugh at their jokes and always show a keen interest in what they're saying

I did not attend an assessment centre.

This part invoked a 30-minutes phone interview in which I was asked several questions. I can not recall all of the questions, but here is an excerpt of them:

1) Explain why I am interested in their company and why I applied for the specific role.

2) Explain how I would deal with change at work

3) What are my weaknesses and how do I overcome them

4) How do their values reflect into my personal life?

Tell us about a time in which you had to deal with a difficult person and how did you approach that situation.

Make sure to be genuine. Don’t try to be someone who you think they might want to have. Also know their values very well. It’s important that you can reflect on them. It’s a family business don’t forget that.

The assessment center was structured as follows:

1) Meet an greet
All applicants and the whole team met each other. We had to introduce ourselves and find something that makes us special. Some information of the company followed.

2) 30-min Interview
Individual interview with 2 people (1 marketing, 1 sales)

3) 30-min Presentation
We had to prepare a self-reflecting SWOT analysis in advance. This was presented in front of two people from the team (1 marketing, 1 sales)

4) Questions
In this part we had time to ask questions to two members of the team

5) Lunch brake

6) 1hr 30-min Group excercise
We had 1hr and 25-min to prepare a presentation as a team and then 5-minutes presentation in front of the team (5 people)

7) 40min Group exercise
Card game as a team

8) Feedback and FQA

Overall the assessment was from 10:00-17:00 and throughout the exercises we were being assessed

My phone interview was with one of the HR leads, and lasted approximately 20 minutes. I was incredibly nervous about this, and because the call was delayed by half an hour past my scheduled time, this made me even more anxious. We talked about my C.V and dissertation, and I had to answers competency questions about team-building, and my marketing experience so far. Conversation flowed really well because I had prepared myself as how to answer this questions on a word document.

Describe a situation where something went wrong, and you had to quickly make an appropriate judgement to resolve this situation.

Prepare as much as you can. Differentiate yourself from the other candidates - like I did with the survey. Anticipate interview questions and enjoy yourself!

10 candidates attended the day, and it was stated that there were two positions up for grabs. There were 5 tasks in the day. The first task tested our ability to extract data from tables, and relate this to three different televised adverts for Cravendale Milk. We were separately asked to critique these adverts and choose our favourite, justifying this answer using our marketing knowledge.
The second task involved an interview about branding. I spoke about a survey I had made myself based on the public perception of luxury brands. I was asked how the examples I had used could be segmented to different markets. I found this difficult because I thought that they would all be suited for the same audience. After this we had lunch and spoke to candidates who had been employed for the take role the year before. We then performed an attention to detail proofreading task, as well as a task that tested our abilities to prioritise clients and responses to emails. These were both administered under time constraints. Our next task was done as a whole group, and tested our ability to collaborate as a team, lead the group, offer input etc... using a 'What items would you keep if you were stranded on the moon' survival task. The final interview asked personal questions about career aims and goals and experience.

The initial phone interview consisted of asking me about my knowledge of the company, so what their business model was, how they generate income, what I like or maybe don't like about their service. They then proceeded to test my language skills since they were looking for someone with good Swedish language skills, and asked what I thought some of the trends in the Swedish market was, who their biggest competitors might be etc.
The face-to-face interview was with a woman in the Marketing department and a guy in the Commercial department. They handed me a piece of paper with a scenario on it, I got some time to read it through, and then they proceeded with asking me questions regarding how I would increase revenue, broaden the market and retain current customer base, all based on my own knowledge and the information on the paper.

Some of the Marketing questions regarding the scenario were difficult, since I suspected they wanted quite specific answers.

Research the company thoroughly, especially news coverage. Analyse what you think their strategy and business model is. Use their service, I did and when they asked me to tell them specifically what I liked about their service I could tell them what I thought since I'd used it. Be yourself, and don't think that you need to know everything. They'll be able to assess whether you have the right sort of thinking for the company by the questions that they ask and how you answer. By using a scenario instead of competency based questions, you might feel like you're thrown into the unknown, but it's good because they'll get a much better sense of who you are since you won't be able to practice your answers.

There was no assessment centre.

I received the request for my initial interview through my recruiters Pattersons (Abingdon). I attended the first interview which was conducted by two of the company's managers. The two ladies kindly welcomed me to sit down in an office away from the chaos of the sales room.
They began by asking me about the stage I was at at the the moment and they both had a copy of my CV in front of them. I explained I had finished university the week before and that this was my first interview. They were both very friendly and carried on asking about my work and how I felt it would help me in the role I had applied for.
I was asked how I deal with stress and how I go about prioritising tasks. I had brought examples of my work and was able to use an ipad to take them through the responsive designs of my websites. This first interview took a more conversational format rather than a quick fire question and answer session. I came away feeling calm and confident.

I was asked back for a second interview two weeks later to meet the head of marketing and to be shown the computers and the software they used. My meeting with the head of marketing was more intense, he was interested in the details of my past projects and I found myself explaining pieces of work that I had assumed he wouldn't want to know about. Although assertive he was also friendly and engaging. He asked about what I did in my free time and he then happily related to my hobbies and we were able to chat about badminton and the tennis. By the end it didn't feel as though I was in an interview at all.

In my second interview the head of marketing asked "Are you happy with dealing with both the creative side and the data management side?" I answered with "yes" but there was a silence in which I felt like they wanted me to expand on my answer. So I explained that I would appreciate the variety and would enjoy handling the data first hand, that it would make me feel like I was having an influence on the scope of the company.

Have examples of your work ready for instant viewing. Look them in the eye and talk about how you will/can help the company grow. Look enthusiastic about your surroundings. Remember that they're trying to impress you as well as the other way round.

The main task of the two interviews was the presenting of examples of my work. Before I arrived I had prepared several pieces on my Ipad to show them as I had been asked.

After online tests the initial interview was a 30 minute recorded video interview which was conducted one way. There were 10 questions and each question shown on screen we would have 1 minute to think about the answer and it would start recording for 2/3 minutes. After it stopped it would go straight to the next one until all 3 questions were answered.
I passed the interview and was then invited to the assessment centre at their head office.

The interview was competency based so most questions were expected. However some questions which I hadn't prepared for were ones like "Describe some TK Maxx stores you visited and tell us how they differed from each other". Because it was a merchandising and buying graduate scheme the question didn't come out of the blue but before the interview, we were advised to visit a store. Luckily I visited the store in Central London but had also previously visited one at The Bullring in Birmingham so was able to describe how a South East and Midlands store differed in their stock.

If you are applying for a Buying and Merchandising role, always think what the implications are. For TK Maxx, it's important that they buy for local customers. This means it's useful to have an idea from the consumers point of view why store are different in the stock sell, depending on location. That's why it's a good idea to visit stores in different locations before an interview.

There were about 6 candidates, group interview style and activities were based choosing items to stock in the TK Maxx stores. The first one was selling a product, we chose a product from the table and had to rate the product on whether it would be suitable to sell in store. We presented to the rest of our team and a panel of 4 interviewers and discussed among ourselves if we agreed with each others ratings.

However, what made the exercises difficult was that we were assessed as a group and how we interacted with each other, as opposed to our own isolated performances. Each of us had the chance to present our own opinions and reasoning behind our decisions but the interviews were always asking each of us if we agreed with what our team mates were saying. This makes it a bit harder than an individual interviewer because candidates need to feel and speak with confidence because they can be influenced by what other candidates are saying.

The first stage of the interview process was when I was invited in for a group interview, initially 15 people were selected for the group interviews as I was informed by my recruiter however only 6 people turned up on the day for the group interview.

We were sat in a board room and had informal presentations from the Head of Marketing and Events, Marketing Manager and current Marketing Executive to provide more information on Euromoney and Euromoney Conferences.

Following this we were then asked to interact with our partner sat next to us and after 3 minutes present back to the team as much information as we could remember about our partner. This was a fun and fairly informal exercise.

We were then asked to complete a general knowledge questionnaire of one A1 side consisting of a few numerical and general knowledge questions such as; capitals and currencies of different countries worldwide.

Following this we were then interviewed in different rooms one on one by the Marketing Manager and Marketing Executive. These interviews lasted around 20 minutes and I was asked about my passion for Euromoney Conferences, the events and marketing industry, my experience in marketing from previous jobs and what I could bring to the role. The questions were fairly generic and easy to prepare for.

Personally the most difficult questions I was asked were in the general knowledge questionnaire as this is not something I had anticipated or prepared for. Whereas, I had prepared for the generic interview questions of my passion for the business, industry experience, marketing capabilities etc.
The questionnaire was fairly informal but asked a wide range of questions about the G7 countries, which countries have the largest economy China, Japan or India? Which country used to be in the G8 but is not and has now formed the G7? What is the capital of Brazil, Thailand and Japan? What currency is used in China?

As Euromoney Conferences operates worldwide with international clients, sponsors and attendees it is important to this role to have a strong understanding of global issues.

Before interviewing with Euromoney Conferences make sure that you fully understand what Euromoney are all about and then understand the difference between their subsidiary Euromoney Conferences.
During the group panel board room the Head of Marketing and Marketing Manager presented to the group about what Euromoney Conferences involves. However, she was looking for contributions from the interviewees and asked the group questions about our knowledge and understanding of Euromoney. E.g. What do you currently understand about Euromoney? Who are our competitors? What sponsors do we use?

I was able to answer these questions posed to the group as I had completed considerable research before the interview. However, some group members remained very quiet during this informal discussion which did not leave a positive impression and noticeably these candidates were not invited to the second stage of the interviews.

Also, make sure that you are very well prepared for the one to one interviews to demonstrate your enthusiasm for marketing and events and give examples of your personal experience in the industry and how you can make a significant difference in this role.

As we were in a small group of only 6 candidates we remained in this group for most of the exercises e.g. during the presentations from the Head of Marketing and Marketing Manager.

We were then split into three groups of 2 and asked to interview our partner for 1.5 minutes each and try to find out as much about our partners life as possible e.g. their school/uni life, work experience, personal background etc. Then we were asked to present back to the group and members of staff as much as we could remember about our partner as possible. This exercise was fairly informal and although it seemed to test our memory it was focused more on our confidence in presenting to a group of people.

We were then asked to individually complete the general knowledge questionnaire. Once we completed the questionnaire we were then called for our one to one interviews with the Marketing Manager and Marketing Executive. Once this was complete we were free to leave the premises and the assessment morning was finished.

The initial interview for the role was held at their office with the Head of Analysis and lasted much longer than any other interviews I had - about 90 minutes. I saw this position advertised on graduate-jobs.com and applied with my CV and cover letter.

Because the job position was maths based and a graduate role, the interview geared towards my mathematics degree and which modules I did - especially statistics ones. I thought it was quite casual so wasn't a typical style interview as the interview was mostly interested about what I had on my CV and getting more detail about the topics I covered to get an idea of where I was at. I really enjoyed this interview because it didn't feel like I was being tested to a standard, but more like what I'd already learnt and what level of training I would need on the job. The interviewer also went into a lot of detail about the job position itself and what the company actually did and how my degree is related to this field. As a keen problem solver, I really enjoyed on the spot questions like "how many airplanes are in the air right now" as it's all about how one would go about approaching the problem, rather than just getting the right answer. It was also quite insightful to compare our methods - we found one was qualitative and one quantitative!

The most difficult question ironically seemed the most simple. I was asked to describe the term "variance" to someone without a mathematical background. Fellow mathematics graduates may understand why this task wasn't as straight forward as it sounds. While studying for our degree we are so used to listening to lecturers teaching us, being asked questions but also asking each other for help using the mathematical language we've been using since A Level. There hasn't ever been a time where we would explain mathematical terms to someone without the background. Although a bit taken aback by this request, with some probing and the help of a pen and paper I was eventually able to give a correct explanation of the term.

As a tip, I wouldn't recommend mathematicians to start practising explanations for every maths term we've learnt after GCSE. I find that explaining terms work best when knowledge is raw and not rehearsed. It's not a test, so questions aren't looking at if you know what it is, but how you can explain in different ways to others. I would definitely use this tip to describe my entire interview; it was a conversation and therefore not rehearsed. There were no competency based questions but based on my cv, my skills, my answers and my questions. Interviews should be unique to the interviewee so the main feeling you should have when leaving should be weather or not you enjoyed the conversation.

After the initial interview, I was invited back, along with 3 other candidates for the final stage interview with the Founder and Operations director. After passing the round to ensure I was capable of doing the actual job, this was supposedly how I would fit in the company as a whole and if I could cope with everyday things like presentations or meeting clients.

One of the questions I was asked was if I feel I was more outgoing or - the opposite. As an Analyst, there's a lot of data and independent thinking with deep concentration. However it was important that the company employed an analyst who was also comfortable with presenting their ideas and findings to their team or to clients. This second interview was more about the "soft" skills and personality traits shows a candidate can fit into their culture and working environments. Another interesting question was like "do you consider yourself to be unique?". These interviews are definitely much harder than initial technical interviews as it takes candidates out of their comfort zones. Being a company, a new graduate employee would be given significant exposure to the entire business so I understood how important it was for them to select an all rounded candidate.

20-30 candidates for a range of internships, were brought in for 1.5 days of assessment and group exercises with a recruitment agency (The Spring Project), mostly to do with personal development. At the end of the last day we prepared presentation in a group and presented in front of the other candidates and a panel of line managers. I was not awarded an internship at the end of this process, however I was contacted by the recruitment company and asked to do a phone interview for a different internship within the company. I interviewed with the line manager and was offered the job that afternoon.

We were asked to rate our suitability to the positions compared to other candidates.

Be yourself and be honest about your abilities. They didn't want people who knew everything, rather they wanted people who showed that they were willing to listen and learn. I would also say don't be too disappointed if you don't get offered an internship during this process, as it is very competitive, and if you may a good impression they may contact you again for a slightly different role.

We were asked to prepare group presentations very quickly (less than 15mins) a number of times, about different subjects (Such as what makes a good intern). We also had to prepare a longer presentation about a specific attribute (My group was given Responsibility).