How do I prepare for my next Marketing Manager job interview: Tips and Strategies on Getting Hired

Whether you’ve already been a marketing manager in another organisation, or you’re looking to move up the ranks, interviewing for a marketing manager position can be demanding.

Being well prepared to give the best possible impression is one of the most important aspects of the interview.

Interviewing at managerial level requires you to be confident, articulate as well as being a good listener so you can think and respond on your feet.

It is about demonstrating to the interviewer why they should choose you. They want to see that you’re a good fit professionally and personally for the role and their organisation.

In this article, we’ll outline some of the key things you can prepare for in your next Marketing Manager interview.

Do your homework

• There are a number of things you can research to demonstrate you’ve done your homework and are taking the interview seriously.
• Visit the company website paying particular attention to brand and values, key people, products and services and news.
• If you know the website and website performance is part of your role, consider running the website through Website Grader to get a perspective on how effective it is.
• Register for emails, download any assets and follow/review social media accounts – you’re doing this to learn more as well as leaving a deliberate trail.
• Google the company to see what is most prominent about them online. This may well throw up some positive and negative editorial coverage.
• Run a search on the core thing they do and see what other competitors come up. Even better make some notes on their positioning and values so you are able to talk confidently about their position in the market.
• Search them on Companies House and see if you can find out information related to their financial performance. (If they are a public company, annual reports can give deep insight into focus and performance as well as future goals).
• Use LinkedIn to check out the key people, hiring manager and the marketing team. You might be considering doing this in private mode but we’d recommend leaving a trail that they will notice. It shows you’ve done your homework.
• Finally, run some searches on future trends in their sector – this information might be incredibly useful in open conversation.

Apply the STAR method.

When answering questions, using the STAR method can help you structure your thoughts and give you a concrete example to back up any claims you make about your skills or qualifications.

Employers love concrete examples, so this is a great way to impress them and improve your chances of being successful.

STAR stands for:

• Situation – describe a specific event or situation. This should not a generalized description, go into detail so the interviewer can understand
• Task – describe the goal that you set out to achieve
• Action – the actions you took to manage the situation. Keep the focus on you, not your team.
• Result – what happened as a result of your actions and what did you learn from the experience?

There are a number of different types of questions that you might be asked in a marketing manager interview.

Some will be designed to understand a little about you, your motivations and what you are passionate about.

Some will be specifically about your understanding and experience of marketing and any specialist areas and skills.

And as it is a manager level role, you’ll be asked about your experience in working and managing others.

General questions

Here are some general questions you might be asked in connection with your application:

• Why are you applying for this role?
• Why do you want to work at this company?
• What is your understanding of marketing?
• What makes you passionate about working in marketing?
• What do you do in your current role?
• What have you learned about our company so far?
• What are your long-term career goals?
• Can you tell me about yourself – answered at the end of this post.

Marketing manager questions

Here are some questions aimed at uncovering your marketing knowledge and experience in respect to a Marketing Manager role:

• What do you think marks out good marketing managers from great ones?
• How do you ensure that your marketing activities are aligned with the overall marketing strategy and goals?
• How do you become an expert on the products or services you are marketing?
• How do you gain a deep understanding of your target audience?
• What channels and platforms do you use to reach potential customers?
• What marketing tools and technology do you typically use?
• How do you collect and evaluate requests and feedback?
• Tell me about a recent program or campaign you planned.
• How do you measure the success of campaigns?

Specific marketing role questions

Depending on the focus of the role you are interviewing for, here are some specific role questions you can expect:

Communications questions:

• How do you boost a company’s visibility in the market?
• What skills do you need to succeed in communications?
• How do you build relationships with members of the media?
• How do you work with industry analysts?
• How do you measure the success of your outreach efforts?

Content marketing questions:

• Tell me about a time you created a content plan. What was the outcome?
• How do you build and manage an editorial calendar?
• Describe your experience creating blog posts, email newsletters, landing pages, and videos.
• What types of content do you love creating the most?
• How do you ensure that all content is on brand?
• How do you handle tight deadlines?
• How do you measure the success of your content efforts?

Digital marketing:

• Tell me about a time you created or implemented a digital marketing strategy. What was the outcome?
• Which digital channels do you have the most experience using?
• How do you increase conversion rates and improve the cost per lead?
• What analytics tools do you use to monitor real-time traffic data?
• What skills do you need to succeed in digital marketing?
• How do you measure the success of a campaign?

Email marketing:

• How do you ensure your email strategy aligns with the company’s overall messaging?
• How do you establish a positive and ongoing relationship with your audience?
• What tools do you use to monitor email analytics?
• What experience do you have running A/B tests and performing audience segmentation?
• Take me through a recent email campaign you managed. What was the outcome?

Social media marketing:

• What is the goal of social media marketing?
• How do you build online communities?
• What makes a piece of content likely to go viral?
• Which social channels do you have the most experience managing?
• Describe a recent social campaign you planned. What was the outcome?
• What analytics tools do you use to better understand your audience?
• How do you measure the success of social activities?

Leadership questions

Interviewers also want to make sure you can make decisions, unite a marketing team, and influence cross-functional groups. The following questions might help understand your approach and experience to explore your ability to lead others:

• How would you describe your leadership style?
• What types of people do you work best with?
• How do you motivate people?
• How do you handle disagreements with a teammate?
• Describe a time when you influenced people who did not directly report to you.
• How often do you meet with cross-functional teams? How do you communicate the marketing team’s goals and progress to these groups?
• How do you communicate with senior leadership?

This is your time to really shine. Asking intelligent questions shows you’ve done your homework and are serious about your application.

• What are the marketing team’s current goals?
• How often do you set or review goals? How do you report progress and to whom?
• How do the marketing activities support the overall company strategy?
• What challenges do they see in the market that may affect growth plans?
• Is there a marketing strategy/plan in place? Is it accessible to everyone on the team?
• What types of new customers are you hoping to reach?
• How does the marketing team work with senior leadership?
• What is the best thing about being a marketing manager here? What about the biggest challenge?
• What is the process for onboarding new marketing managers?
• What tools and technologies do you currently use?

“Tell me about yourself”.

One way to leave a lasting, positive impression on your interviewer is with a strong closing statement. Do this well, and this is something that they will remember when thinking back.

End with confidence, and sound genuine. This is your opportunity to sell yourself. A chance to reiterate your interest in the position and why you would be the perfect fit.

You might want to offer a recap or mention some of the key essentials and desirables in the job specification. Consider the following:

• Impress on them why you are the right candidate
• Highlight your skills and experience, describing how you will add value to the company in the role
• Thank the interviewer for their time and express excitement about the next steps in the process. Seek clarification on what those next steps are.

Let us know how you found this post and if the tips help you in your next interview.

Check out the further reading below.

• Eight Benefits of Starting Your Chartered Institute of Marketing Course with MMC Learning in Summer (2022)
• 12 Ways to Dramatically Improve your Marketing Career Prospects
• How to improve the perception of Marketing in your business – and perception of you as a Pivotal Marketer

To find out more about how MMC Learning can help you improve your career prospects with CIM qualification, contact our team today.

Call 0161 826 4644, Click Book a Discovery Call or one of the specific course links below.

• Certificate in Professional Marketing
• Certificate in Professional Digital Marketing
• Diploma in Professional Marketing
• Diploma in Professional Digital Marketing