The 11 Best Marketing Interview Questions To Find The Perfect Fit

The right marketing strategy can be the difference between a successful business and one nobody’s ever heard of. With that being said, companies would give anything to have a competent and talented marketing team, which is why it’s important to hire someone that will fit the team to a tee.

Finding the right person is easier said than done, however, especially when you’re looking at a very talented pool of marketing freelancers competing for the role.

One of the best ways to weed out the best from the rest is through the marketing interview questions you use.

By asking more dynamic and not-so-typical marketing interview questions, you’ll be able to separate the candidate that will fit well with and make great contributions to the team in the long run.

Introductory Questions

The purpose of introductory questions is not just to break the ice, but also to give you a chance to learn more about the candidate. These questions will also help reveal more about the candidate than what you see in their CVs.

Tell Me About Your Favorite Hobby

This may seem irrelevant, but gone are the days when “tell me about yourself” is the best opening question.

The point of this marketing interview question is to assess the person’s ability to explain a concept that they’re very familiar with. Are they able to clearly communicate what this hobby is all about?

This question will also help you get an insight into the candidate’s personality and interests which can help you determine if they would blend well.

What to look for: Observe how the candidate conveys his or her ideas and if their personalities match those of the existing team members.

What’s Your Greatest Achievement Outside of Work?

You’re probably asking, what does this have to do with work?

While it may look like it’s totally unrelated, the truth is, the answer to this question has a lot to do with work.

Why?

Because you’re investing in a person. Someone who has specific goals and desires and by asking this question, you are getting an inside track on what motivates them to perform.

What to look for: Attributes, traits, and behaviors that can contribute to the marketing team.

If I Give You ____ Dollars Today, How Would You Spend It?

It’s not surprising why this question is very popular among interviewers. This is because it’s a great way to test someone’s decision-making and creativity.

There are no right or wrong answers for this question too, as long as the candidate can justify them reasonably. There’s nothing wrong with spending $100,000 on gummy bears as long as there’s a valid reason behind it, don’t you think?

What to look for: Attention to detail and sound decision-making skills.

What Do You Need to Be Successful?

The purpose of this marketing interview question is to highlight the candidate’s expertise based on the position he or she is applying for.

This will also show the candidate’s grasp of the responsibilities the position comes with. Does the candidate understand how critical his or her duties are and how his success or failure can impact the business? Does he or she appreciate the value of teamwork, or is the candidate the type who doesn’t ask for help unless it’s absolutely necessary?

Again, there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to this question, but it will help you identify which candidate understands the significance of the position better.

What to look for: Look for someone who isn’t shy of asking for somebody else’s help. The more specific they are in terms of which department they need to work hand in hand with or resources they need, the better.

Questions About Marketing Experience

The purpose of these questions is to gauge the candidate’s knowledge about marketing in general and how it relates to your company, brand, or service.

Which Marketing Style Is Most Applicable to Our Brand?

This question will give you an idea of just how knowledgeable about marketing the candidate is.

It will also help you assess whether the candidate came prepared or if they did the proper research about your company or products.

If your company’s strategy is more focused on sharing video content and the candidate’s suggestion is to focus on blogs, they may not be the right fit.

What to look for: Someone who’s familiar with the different marketing strategies and someone who matches your company’s marketing style.

How Would You Manage a New Product Launch?

This question will test the mettle of a candidate in terms of leadership and working with team members. How would he plan the launch? Which departments (apart from the marketing team) will be involved in the entire process?

It’s important to remember that product launches aren’t exclusive to the marketing team (at least not anymore) and involve other departments as well.

What to look for: Complete understanding of the entire process, as well as the candidate’s ability to plan and facilitate.

Which Insight Do You Consider the Most Critical?

Before you ask this question, do take note that you don’t have to mention any confidential information about the company. Its purpose is to highlight the candidate’s expertise in identifying critical data and how he or she arrived at their respective conclusions.

The point is for the candidate to understand which metric to focus on and how they can make their less technical counterparts understand their findings.

What to look for: Someone who knows how to track important data as well as present them in a simpler, more “layman’s term” way.

Questions About Specific Skills

The purpose of these questions is to validate whatever’s found in the candidates’ resumes. Are they really who they say they are? These questions will help you find out.

Which Marketing Tools or Platforms Would You Recommend?

If you want to validate a candidate’s knowledge and experience even further, this question would be a good way of doing it.

Anyone can name drop some of today’s best marketing tools like MailChimp, HubSpot, or Hootsuite, but have they actually used them? If so, how long and how deep is their knowledge of each of these platforms? Why do these tools suit your business?

Only someone who has actually used these programs can provide a more valid and justified answer.

What to look for: Product knowledge and skill level for the tools to be mentioned.

Tell Us About the Last Project You Worked On

This is actually the first of a 2-part question. After the candidate has talked about the last project he or she did in detail like what their responsibilities were or how long it took the project to complete, a good follow-up question would be “how were the results?”

What’s good about this question is that you’ll be able to get an idea of how they conduct work from start to finish. You’ll be able to get inside their heads and understand how they come up with a plan, how do they make adjustments if their initial strategy doesn’t work, or how they approach possible setbacks.

What to look for: Honesty and attention to detail.

What Changes Would You Make to Our Website/Social Media Channels if Given the Chance?

This marketing interview question aims to identify not just how knowledgeable the candidate is, but also how he or she is aware of the current marketing trends.

The answer to the question will also highlight the candidate’s experience in terms of implementing marketing strategies that work.

Is the sign up form positioned for optimal performance? Which parts of the website should be on top and below the fold? What’s the rationale behind the changes they have in mind?

What to look for: While the question may seem more about design, what the question intends to get from the candidate is how to make the homepage perform optimally in terms of capturing leads and keeping visitors from going somewhere else, among others.

Only someone with a good amount of experience can provide a meaningful answer for questions like these.

How Would You Market Our Brand?

The answer to this question will depend on the position the candidate is applying for. A content marketer, for instance, may talk about a plan that revolves around content creation. Perhaps creating content that will position your brand as a thought leader in your niche.

A social media marketer meanwhile, will probably use social media as his or her delivery mechanism in getting your brand “out there.” This may involve crafting strategies that will put your brand in front of a larger audience or exhausting your resources on the social channel you are most popular in.

The point of this question is to see how good and efficient the candidate is for the position he or she is applying for. It will help you gauge if the candidate’s skills suit the position well or if he or she is more suitable for your other marketing positions.

What to look for: Look for someone with an analytical mind. The candidate’s answer should make sense based on the company’s present status, which means he or she must have done some deep research about the company, its audience, and the current marketing style.

Final Thoughts

Team chemistry is essential in a marketing team’s success, which is why it’s important to hire people who, more or less, have the same values and principles as that of the present members of your company’s marketing team.

Now that you have some great interview questions to help you find an experienced marketing professional, it’s time to start the hiring process.