How to interview a marketer. What a marketer should know and how to pass an interview in a clothing store: examples of questions and tests for different specialties
Marketing manager at the interview
How to prepare for a marketing interview? This question is often asked by candidates for the vacancy of a marketer. This is especially true for applicants with experience and who want to show their professionalism at the interview. I have repeatedly had to interview with marketers. Some of the recommendations that I had to give to the candidates I liked in order to facilitate the passage of the next stage of the interview, with several stages of selection, are given below.
A lot has been written about general preparation for an interview, today I will talk about how to prepare for an interview that affects professional competencies. A marketer, especially if he already has significant experience, should focus on a company with classic marketing. Of course, there are options when, due to the market situation in which the company is located, the focus of the interview shifts in one direction or another. But it is always easier to move from understanding the general situation to the specifics of one of the areas of work of a marketer than to change the logic of the story during the interview.
If your future manager is a marketing professional, chances are he expects you to have the same systematic view of marketing that he has. The success of the interview depends on whether you can show the ability to take on the routine work of collecting and analyzing information to prepare decisions. And this, in turn, depends on the knowledge of those models that are used by the company's marketers, the ability to apply them and the logic of your reasoning when making marketing decisions.
Understanding Marketing
There are more than a thousand definitions of marketing, it is not necessary to know them all, but you should have your own understanding of marketing. How else can you show in which area you are an expert.
There is no universal definition that would be accepted by everyone. Nevertheless, the purpose of marketing is quite clear - marketing helps to increase the competitiveness of the company, and, consequently, its profitability, by understanding the consumer and using marketing tools.
If you want to show erudition - say that you agree with the definition of the American Marketing Association - "an organizational function and set of processes for the purpose of creating, promoting and communicating value to the consumer, as well as managing customer relationships, beneficial to all stakeholders."
Use the D. Abel model at the interview as the basis for the structure of the story
Any business fits into a model adapted to marketing, D. Abel: To whom do we sell (consumers)? What do we sell (product)? How do we sell? (Technologies). Accordingly, it is convenient to talk about how you helped increase the company's profits at a previous job (and the question about your previous experience will certainly be asked) in a similar vein.
- Show understanding of the client - how did the company build work with clients?
- Describe how you helped develop the company's product.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the company's market environment.
- Explain what marketing tools the company used to improve business results, and how you were involved in this.
Of course, in the company where you worked (or work), you could only be responsible for part of the functions of marketing, but this does not prevent you from showing a general understanding of marketing and its purpose. Accordingly, by telling who and how they solved them, and how you helped in fulfilling these tasks, you will show an understanding of the marketing tasks in the company and your experience in solving them.
Customer insight
The main thing that is expected of you is the ability to understand what the client needs in order to offer the best solution.
The easiest way to start is by describing the market (customers) in which the company operates. It will be a big plus if you can show how you estimated the market size. This is one of the difficult questions, the answer to which is best thought out in advance. Do not forget about the sources of information that you used. The argument “I think so” without justification will not work. It is unlikely that anyone will check you, unless, of course, you plan to work in the same market, they will rather evaluate your ability to use the information available.
Tell us about your role in the company's product development
Therefore, be prepared to talk about the structure of the assortment and the main positions in each group. And most importantly, show how your products took into account the interests of those segments that you spoke about earlier. If you have experience working in a product development team (creating, improving, expanding the range, etc.), be sure to demonstrate it.
It is logical if talking about products, you will mention the main products of competitors with which you had to compete for the consumer. Tell us the key differences between your product and competitors' products. The more convincing your argument, the better impression you will make. This means that in a new market, you will be able to pick up arguments to distinguish the product from the competition.
Understanding the market environment
A marketer, like no one else, must understand the market environment in which the company operates.
Tell us about the company's market environment
Sometimes a marketer is at a loss when asked to describe the market in which the company operates, even more difficult when asked to portray it. In order to make it convenient to answer this question, you can use the scheme of distribution in distribution channels. Then you will not forget to tell about the main competitors, how sales are carried out in different segments and with which intermediaries the company works. If the company is an intermediary, then it is worth talking about the main suppliers operating in the market.
This scheme can be supplemented with M. Porter's model of intra-industry competition. In this case, along with suppliers, customers and competitors, one can touch on the topic of substitutes, as well as the problem of the emergence of new competitors if the market is characterized by low barriers to entry.
You talked about competitors' products and comparing them with the company's products earlier, but if you want to touch on some aspects in addition to show your strengths, for example, working with information about competitors, it is advisable to do this at this stage.
Most likely, there will be a question where you get the necessary information from - this is a good reason to focus on the ability to receive information when talking about the market. And not only from the Internet, but also when communicating with partners and employees of the sales department.
Proficiency with marketing tools
Actually, we come to the most important. Here you have to convince the interlocutor that you know how to benefit the company. Depending on the specific situation in the company you are interviewing for, your different skills may be in demand. What your potential manager will be interested to hear about at the interview is how you solve practical problems, or at least how you approach them. So try to prepare yourself to answer the following questions:
How did you help improve your company's product? Tell us how you work with your clients. What surveys were conducted. What conclusions and recommendations did you give and how did you justify them. This may apply not only to manufacturing companies, trading companies also optimize their assortment. And customer service plays an important role in the development of the company.
How did you participate in pricing? Marketers in Russian companies are not often responsible for pricing, but at a minimum, you should know how you controlled the price ratio between the prices of your company's products and the prices of competitors, and what pricing policy the company used, you should know. Just as you should be able to explain how the prices of your products were determined, even if it is a banal “cost + markup” method.
What was your development assistance sales network ? In this case, the company is most interested in your experience in assessing the local market and preparing recommendations for partners. If you participated in the opening of branches or stores, be sure to tell us. Also, it is worth noting especially if this work was carried out constantly and you have typical developments.
Concerning promotion block, then companies can have completely different approaches, so rely on your real experience and see the reaction of the interlocutor. Most important point, which you should definitely touch - evaluation of the effectiveness of the company's marketing communications. Few people are now interested in mastering the budget - tell us how the results of promotional activities were evaluated.
What I would like to draw attention to is that the work of sellers is directly related to marketing communications, remember that "direct sales" is part of the "promotion" block, so don't forget to talk about how you helped your salespeople - preparing texts, presentations, etc. directly related to the tasks of the marketer.
Of course, all of the above is just a canvas for your story. Most likely, the conversation interview will take place in dialogue, and the suggested hints will only help you emphasize your professionalism and show the facets of your experience in a way.
Good luck on the interview!
What methods will help you understand whether a marketer is good in front of you, and what 5 terms will allow you to immediately see if a specialist is in the subject or in no case should he be involved in promotional activities, the site told the portal Konstantin Zudov, art director of an advertising company.
- Konstantin, is it possible to understand at first glance that the marketer in front of you is not so hot?
Undoubtedly. At the very beginning of the interview, you can already understand what kind of specialist is in front of you. Appearance, body language and introductory self-presentation of a candidate can already tell a lot about a person. A modern marketer should be a versatile person, with bright communication skills and analytical abilities. All this can be seen both at the initial stage of selection on the resume, and at the interview.
- What are the ways to test a marketer?
There are many such tests. Firstly, you can ask the candidate to prepare a test task before the interview. Well, if it is not focused on the specifics of your company. As a rule, at this stage it will be possible to weed out inappropriate people who are not “in the know” of your business.
Secondly, you can take an interest in the qualitative results achieved in previous places of work - not what duties did you perform, but what did you achieve for the company and yourself personally.
Thirdly, it is possible and necessary to use professional terms in a conversation in order to assess the level of proficiency in a profession - how deeply a person understands his industry. Ask what professional book he last read and when, what industry conference he was at, what he thinks about the latest big news in the advertising business.
It will not be superfluous to model a task / problem within the framework of your company's activities and ask the candidate to give its solution. So you can evaluate not only how original and effective solution a specialist can offer, but also how quickly he will solve the business problem.
- How to identify a person "not in the subject"?
It's pretty simple. It is enough to ask one or two questions on a professional topic, as it becomes clear how much a person understands a given topic. In our agency, it happened more than once that the interview ended in the second minute. And this is despite the fact that the candidate successfully passed the selection on the resume and test task.
- What terms should be used for a person to show his involvement in the community?
The most popular terms that any marketer should own, regardless of his specialization:
B2B (business to business);
CA (target audience);
KPIs ( key indicators efficiency);
Margin (profit);
Lead (a potential customer who reacted to marketing activity).
In the future, you can use terms by industry, depending on what kind of specialist you are looking for. For instance:
For internet marketing:
SMM (attracting an audience through social networks);
SEO (search engine optimization);
CMS (content management system);
CRO (conversion rate optimization);
DM (direct marketing).
For trade marketing:
For event marketing:
Team building (team building event);
Catering (off-site restaurant service);
Clackers (specially invited extras);
Conference (voice accompaniment of the program of the event);
ROI (return on investment for a sponsored event).
It would be useful to use modern professional slang in a conversation: “share insights”, “catch a hype”, “storm”. Only in moderation!
- What can you give? test tasks candidates before being invited to the office?
In our agency, we usually practice tests focused on our business, or on the business of our clients. This may be a task to write some text, prepare a technical task for a designer or a programmer, draw up a program of marketing activities to solve a problem.
Interviewing with a marketer is usually quite simple for most, and the key question for making a decision is the answer to the question “What experience as a marketer?”, And if the answer is quite long and meaningful, then the person is accepted.
If there was no experience, then you most likely refuse, or take a person purely on the basis of feelings, since there are not so many candidates from which you have to choose.
But in fact, it is better to do things differently from the beginning. How to find a marketer and what questions to ask at an interview is the topic of today's article.
There are many in my head...
When looking for a marketer in a company, a manager has a lot of questions in his head, but if you take them all and combine them, they will all sound something like this:
- How to find a good marketer?
- How to understand that he is intelligent?
- What questions should be asked?
- Which answers to the questions are considered correct?
You can find more detailed answers to the first two questions in our video, I highly recommend watching:
In general, this article is primarily aimed at managers (HR), so that they understand how to choose and what he should actually do, which ones.
Yes, this is a stone in the garden of the managerial link, or rather those who imagine not a marketer, but a business partner with a salary of 20 thousand rubles.
Well, somehow...
But of course, this information will be no less useful for marketers themselves, so that they understand what is expected of them and better prepare for interviews (a stone flies into the garden not for far-fetched reasons, but for quite real facts that we encounter weekly).
Instruction for managers
Let's do it. I'll start with the basics of hiring, which have been and continue to be ignored by most executives.
And all because without them there is no point in the right questions there is simply no interview, since, one might say, there will be no one to interview ...
Advertisement
We are adults and we understand that an interview is a sale. A search a good specialist(you don't need another?) - even more so.
Gone are the days when you could just post information on the Internet like: "Required marketer, call here." This does not work.
Moreover, I remember the desire of every manager to find a good specialist for little money (of course, you agree to pay him good money. But then ... when he shows himself. Well, in general, never).
You need to attract a specialist, just as you attract new customers through advertising.
Therefore, the first thing you need to do is to make a good, selling advertisement for a vacancy, in which you need to indicate your requirements for the applicant. Thereby:
- you take away extra people and save your time;
- Increase the likelihood of seeing a more professional specialist at the interview.
I understand that while I am writing not quite about the interview, but take your time, everything will be fine. We go further.
WE ARE ALREADY MORE THAN 29,000 people.
TURN ON
Sell your company
You need to sell your company in an interview. That is, to tell who you are, where you are moving, what plans you have in general.
To be honest, I'm not very sure that the CEO of some large international company will read my article (but I will believe it), so most likely your business is small or medium.
That is why you need to sell the idea that working in your company is not only profitable and stable ( keywords at the interview ;-)), but also damn cool.
Because a cool young team, because a specialist will be able to develop, because you pay for trainings (for example, with us), and in the end, because you have cookies.
Remember, a good marketer is a “creative” person, which means that he will not come into a driven framework and an oppressive atmosphere. And you have to choose the best of the worst.
I want to
Well, now let's move on to the interview itself. Or rather, preparation. One of your most important tasks is to decide who you still want to see in your team:
- The executor of your ideas (read - your hands);
- A creative who will only come up with crazy ideas and implement them;
- Universal soldier, otherwise - jack of all trades;
- A marketer who will come up with ideas and others will implement them.
I can say right away - if you want to find a specialist who will deal with marketing around the clock, while still learning on your own and doing everything yourself, for example:
- not just to know what, but also to develop, typeset it yourself,
- not just to know the essence, but also to set up targeted advertising for you, to design all the pictures for posts;
- not only to know that the script should be in the company and what it affects, but also to write to you,
and even for a salary (naturally, not the most luxurious), then you can safely forget about it. If a person knows how and does all this, then it is easier for him to work for himself than for someone else. Therefore, do not think that a marketer should know and be able to do everything. For example.
- He must know what it is, what technical task to issue to the programmer, but he must not do it himself;
- He must know everything, but the contractors he has found must do this. Which, by the way, he will control and provide you with reports on their work;
- He must find out what New Product is required by your customers, but a logistician, but not a marketer, should be engaged in its search and order;
- Etc.
It seems to be logical and understandable, but ... "I have no money to support such a staff." Well then, do not be surprised that a specialist who was not assigned to his duties works slowly and inefficiently.
Because it is IMPOSSIBLE to know everything in marketing. Too big a sphere and at the same time very dynamically developing. For example, there are 12 of us in the team and we all learn from each other.
Important. If you think that this advice is only for beginner businessmen, then you are greatly mistaken. This applies to all companies, including large ones. And even now, many leaders are looking for a "jack of all trades."
Limits of responsibility
Consider the limits of his responsibility. Clear and understandable. “He will be engaged in marketing” is not the line of responsibility.
- Will he be responsible for monitoring competitors and their prices?
- What about internet marketing?
- What about the development and creation of a new product?
- What about bringing it to market?
- What about pricing?
Based on this, it will become clearer to you what tasks to set for him and what to prescribe for him to evaluate the effectiveness of his work.
All this will help you not only create a more complete profile of the vacancy, but also understand who you are still looking for, both for yourself and for the specialist who will come to the vacancy.
Interview Questions
So we come to the most interesting thing, what tricky questions you need to ask in order to see the whole truth. And we will divide all questions into two blocks: theoretical and practical.
Theoretical block
Questions in any case are formed based on your needs, which we discussed above. Without them, nowhere.
And also, based on whether a beginner or an old man. Therefore, everything that is written below, adapt to yourself and the situation. And I also draw your attention to the fact that the questions are written in a chaotic manner.
General issues :
- Are you familiar with our company? (We check whether the person was preparing for the meeting at all or just goes to everyone in a row)
- What is marketing for you? What do you think a marketer should do? (We pay attention to how much its representation coincides with your tasks)
- How do you imagine your typical working day in this position, of course, after you adapt? (An alternative to the previous question, if you suddenly left the answer)
- What trainings or books on marketing did you study?
(Usually no one reads or passes anything, so the next question will help you) - Perhaps you read some specialized sites or groups in in social networks? If so, which ones?
(Here it will immediately be clear whether it is developing at all or not. And if it develops, then in what direction. Usually we hear that these are pro groups)
- Tell us about your activities in your last job as a marketer? (Ask in more detail to understand how really deeply he went into this, and does not speak for the sake of volume)
- What were the results in the past work? (Moreover, ask not only about money, but also about conversion, ctr and other indicators)
- Do you know what ROI/CTR/LTV is? (An alternative question to the previous one, in case you have a candidate without experience).
- Where do you see yourself in a year/two/three years? (Often marketers are people who plan to open their own business in the future, take them or not, make your own decision)
Specialized Questions:
- What's happened ?
- What is it needed for ?
- Name ten marketing tools
- ? (Here, pay attention, the marketer thinks in the category of only attracting customers or categories and pricing, increasing the average check, returning customers, increasing loyalty)
- What is better offline or online promotion?
(A normal marketer will not say which is better, there are pros and cons everywhere) - What channels for attracting customers do you consider the most relevant now?
- What is better vkontakte or facebook?
(Also, like the previous question, there is no better one) - Why is it necessary to define target audience? What are the top 5 questions you ask to determine it?
- What advertising models do you know?
- How to increase average check Can you tell me some different options?
Thanks to this type of questions, you will understand whether the applicant understands or is just pretending.
Moreover, I draw your attention to the fact that many people understand it in a cap and to find out, ask piercing questions like “What else?”, “How did you do it”, “What does it look like”, “Why did you choose it”, “Tell me more” .
Practice block
Theory is good. But better practice. One of our favorite and, I would say, universal questions will help you make a final decision either yes or no. And it looks like this:
“There is our company, our products/services and an unlimited advertising budget. Task: to attract customers and make sure that, at a minimum, advertising pays off to zero. What do you suggest?
According to the answers, you will understand whether a person is smart in practical marketing or is it just a naked theorist who has seen enough.
Important. Almost 8 out of 10 marketers immediately talk about discounts and this should alert you, because they will often reduce prices. A more thoughtful option instead of discounts is, for example, bonuses.
Instruction for marketers
Dear leaders, you should also read this to know how the ideal marketer should prepare for your meeting and by what criteria you can immediately understand that he is “yours”.
And now, dear marketer, I think you have already read the instructions for managers and are shocked. The impossible is expected of you, and even for such a small salary!
That's it, so that the salary is higher and you are valued more, and read the instructions for you.
I will not say that you need a selling resume with your achievements, courses and diplomas. This is all very necessary. You can just read about it in any other article about resumes.
Also, I will not tell you that the resume must be written without errors. This is what you should know.
But here's what you need to prepare for every interview - yes. Now I will explain what I mean. You need to research the potential employer. What kind of company is this, what does it do, how long has it been on the market, what is it famous for, who are the competitors.
You have no idea how important this information is for the head of the company who plans to hire you.
And what a huge plus you will earn if you devote 20-30 minutes of your time to this issue before the interview. This is important (even vital!) for 2 reasons:
- You will understand whether it is worth working in such a company. A high salary in an ad does not always turn out to be so in reality, and bad reviews on the Internet will dispel or confirm your doubts;
- You will immediately establish yourself as a professional, thereby significantly increasing your expertise.
Just imagine the situation. You come to the interview and in the process you take out printed promotional products of the company, on which you begin to offer your edits to the manager, substantiating them with your knowledge.
And I'm already your employee Speaking now as a manager, I would consider hiring such a specialist in the first place, even if his experience is insufficient.
Again, clothing appearance important (I recalled a recent interview with a guy dressed in an outfit like from an Italian catwalk, and I'm not exaggerating), but still they don't take you by clothes.
Which will increase your chances of getting the next coveted position. Learn the ways to attract customers that your potential employer Currently.
Write down what he does not use and ... at the right time, take this trump card out of your sleeve. Everyone is looking for new ways to attract customers, and managers even more so.
And if you also orient the manager about the costs of one or another method, he will definitely remember your candidacy.
Well, a list of questions, thanks to which you will understand a lot about the company and this will help you make the right choice:
- To whom does the marketer or marketing department report?
- How does the manager feel about marketing? Is it from the series “do something to attract customers” or is there a clear understanding and a certain strategy?
- What tools have you already used, what worked, what didn't?
- Does the company have a monthly marketing budget? And in what size?
- And the most important thing! What are your responsibilities. And God forbid, show you that you can take on everything! Everything and more is thrown at you.
Briefly about the main
Now watch this video and cheer yourself up! Questions are questions, and no one has canceled stressful interviews 😉
And now a small summary of the article: to find a good marketer, I'll tell you, this is a whole quest. We will have to review more than a dozen, because, honestly, everyone and sundry go into marketing now, before such an offer was for an advertiser.
And the most interesting thing is that no one wants to study this “deeper”, they pounce on chips and try to increase sales at the expense of them.
And we, as leaders, understand that without a good fundamental base, chips remain chips, and not tools for stable growth.
So never stop at the first marketer. If you have already taken up hiring, then approach according to the principle “can I see everyone?”.
Often, a recruiter has to select employees for the company whose positions he knows the most about. general idea. How to select worthy candidates in such a situation and how to be guided by inviting applicants for an interview? In the material we will talk about the interview of a marketer, economist and analyst.
From the materials of this article you will learn:
here.
If it is necessary to select not a marketer, but an “advertiser”, the interview can be conducted in a similar way, however, questions on professional topics will have to be different. To clarify the issues, it is necessary to conduct a conversation with the head of the department in which the new employee will be employed.
Analyst interview
At the interview of the analyst, as well as at the interview of the marketer, it is necessary to find out how high the level of professional knowledge of the applicant is. This can also be done through professional questions. However, when preparing for an interview with a potential analyst for the firm, it is important to talk to the firm's expert on the subject and find out exactly what duties the analyst will perform. This is due to the fact that analytics is a wide field of activity and it is quite difficult for a recruiter to navigate it without outside advice.
Sample Professional Questions to assess the candidate's skill for self-presentation:
- Why did you decide to change jobs?
- How can you characterize yourself?
- Why are you interested in employment in our company?
- Where do you see your career in a year?
Job interview for an economist
Without additional economic education, it is quite difficult to conduct an interview with a candidate for the position of an economist. Therefore, when preparing for this event, it is necessary to clarify the requirements of the employer regarding:
- Applicant's Education(for example, higher economic and additional legal courses);
- Tenure and work experience(for example, from five years to large organizations);
- last place work(What are the reasons for dismissal and what was the responsibility).
If you have any doubts about the list of questions to ask at the interview, check with the experts). Also regarding the interview of an economist, you can.
Interviewing with a marketer is usually quite simple for most, and the key question for making a decision is the answer to the question “What experience as a marketer?”, And if the answer is quite long and meaningful, then the person is accepted.
If there was no experience, then you most likely refuse, or take a person purely on the basis of feelings, since there are not so many candidates from which you have to choose.
But in fact, it is better to do things differently from the beginning. How to find a marketer and what questions to ask at an interview is the topic of today's article.
There are many in my head...
When looking for a marketer in a company, a manager has a lot of questions in his head, but if you take them all and combine them, they will all sound something like this:
- How to find a good marketer?
- How to understand that he is intelligent?
- What questions should be asked?
- Which answers to the questions are considered correct?
You can find more detailed answers to the first two questions in our video, I highly recommend watching:
In general, this article is primarily aimed at managers (HR), so that they understand how to choose and what he should actually do, which ones.
Yes, this is a stone in the garden of the managerial link, or rather those who imagine not a marketer, but a business partner with a salary of 20 thousand rubles.
Well, somehow...
But of course, this information will be no less useful for marketers themselves, so that they understand what is expected of them and better prepare for interviews (a stone flies into the garden not for far-fetched reasons, but for quite real facts that we encounter weekly).
Instruction for managers
Let's do it. I'll start with the basics of hiring, which have been and continue to be ignored by most executives.
And all because without them there is simply no point in asking the right questions at the interview, since, one might say, there will be no one to interview ...
Advertisement
We are adults and we understand that an interview is a sale. And the search for a good specialist (you don’t need another one?) - even more so.
Gone are the days when you could just post information on the Internet like: "Required marketer, call here." This does not work.
Moreover, I remember the desire of every manager to find a good specialist for little money (of course, you agree to pay him good money. But then ... when he shows himself. Well, in general, never).
You need to attract a specialist, just as you attract new customers through advertising.
Therefore, the first thing you need to do is to make a good, selling advertisement for a vacancy, in which you need to indicate your requirements for the applicant. Thereby:
- You will remove unnecessary people and save your time;
- Increase the likelihood of seeing a more professional specialist at the interview.
I understand that while I am writing not quite about the interview, but take your time, everything will be fine. We go further.
WE ARE ALREADY MORE THAN 29,000 people.
TURN ON
Sell your company
You need to sell your company in an interview. That is, to tell who you are, where you are moving, what plans you have in general.
To be honest, I'm not very sure that the CEO of some large international company will read my article (but I will believe it), so most likely your business is small or medium.
That is why you need to sell the idea that working at your company is not only profitable and stable (keywords in the interview ;-)), but also damn cool.
Because a cool young team, because a specialist will be able to develop, because you pay for trainings (for example, with us), and in the end, because you have cookies.
Remember, a good marketer is a “creative” person, which means that he will not come into a driven framework and an oppressive atmosphere. And you have to choose the best of the worst.
I want to
Well, now let's move on to the interview itself. Or rather, preparation. One of your most important tasks is to decide who you still want to see in your team:
- The executor of your ideas (read - your hands);
- A creative who will only come up with crazy ideas and implement them;
- Universal soldier, otherwise - jack of all trades;
- A marketer who will come up with ideas and others will implement them.
I can say right away - if you want to find a specialist who will deal with marketing around the clock, while still learning on your own and doing everything yourself, for example:
- not just to know what, but also to develop, typeset it yourself,
- not just to know the essence, but also to set up targeted advertising for you, to design all the pictures for posts;
- not only to know that the script should be in the company and what it affects, but also to write to you,
and even for a salary (naturally, not the most luxurious), then you can safely forget about it. If a person knows how and does all this, then it is easier for him to work for himself than for someone else. Therefore, do not think that a marketer should know and be able to do everything. For example.
- He must know what it is, what technical task to issue to the programmer, but he must not do it himself;
- He must know everything, but the contractors he has found must do this. Which, by the way, he will control and provide you with reports on their work;
- He must find out what new product your customers need, but the logistician, but not the marketer, should be engaged in its search and order;
- Etc.
It seems to be logical and understandable, but ... "I have no money to support such a staff." Well then, do not be surprised that a specialist who was not assigned to his duties works slowly and inefficiently.
Because it is IMPOSSIBLE to know everything in marketing. Too big a sphere and at the same time very dynamically developing. For example, there are 12 of us in the team and we all learn from each other.
Important. If you think that this advice is only for beginner businessmen, then you are greatly mistaken. This applies to all companies, including large ones. And even now, many leaders are looking for a "jack of all trades."
Limits of responsibility
Consider the limits of his responsibility. Clear and understandable. “He will be engaged in marketing” is not the line of responsibility.
- Will he be responsible for monitoring competitors and their prices?
- What about internet marketing?
- What about the development and creation of a new product?
- What about bringing it to market?
- What about pricing?
Based on this, it will become clearer to you what tasks to set for him and what to prescribe for him to evaluate the effectiveness of his work.
All this will help you not only create a more complete profile of the vacancy, but also understand who you are still looking for, both for yourself and for the specialist who will come to the vacancy.
Interview Questions
So we come to the most interesting thing, what tricky questions you need to ask in order to see the whole truth. And we will divide all questions into two blocks: theoretical and practical.
Theoretical block
Questions in any case are formed based on your needs, which we discussed above. Without them, nowhere.
And also, based on whether a beginner or an old man. Therefore, everything that is written below, adapt to yourself and the situation. And I also draw your attention to the fact that the questions are written in a chaotic manner.
General issues :
- Are you familiar with our company? (We check whether the person was preparing for the meeting at all or just goes to everyone in a row)
- What is marketing for you? What do you think a marketer should do? (We pay attention to how much its representation coincides with your tasks)
- How do you imagine your typical working day in this position, of course, after you adapt? (An alternative to the previous question, if you suddenly left the answer)
- What trainings or books on marketing did you study?
(Usually no one reads or passes anything, so the next question will help you) - Perhaps you follow any specialized sites or groups on social networks? If so, which ones?
(Here it will immediately be clear whether it is developing at all or not. And if it develops, then in what direction. Usually we hear that these are pro groups)
- Tell us about your activities in your last job as a marketer? (Ask in more detail to understand how really deeply he went into this, and does not speak for the sake of volume)
- What were the results in the past work? (Moreover, ask not only about money, but also about conversion, ctr and other indicators)
- Do you know what ROI/CTR/LTV is? (An alternative question to the previous one, in case you have a candidate without experience).
- Where do you see yourself in a year/two/three years? (Often marketers are people who plan to open their own business in the future, take them or not, make your own decision)
Specialized Questions:
- What's happened ?
- What is it needed for ?
- Name ten marketing tools
- ? (Here, pay attention, the marketer thinks in the category of only attracting customers or categories and pricing, increasing the average check, returning customers, increasing loyalty)
- What is better offline or online promotion?
(A normal marketer will not say which is better, there are pros and cons everywhere) - What channels for attracting customers do you consider the most relevant now?
- What is better vkontakte or facebook?
(Also, like the previous question, there is no better one) - Why do you need to define the target audience? What are the top 5 questions you ask to determine it?
- What advertising models do you know?
- How to increase the average check, tell us a few different options?
Thanks to this type of questions, you will understand whether the applicant understands or is just pretending.
Moreover, I draw your attention to the fact that many people understand it in a cap and to find out, ask piercing questions like “What else?”, “How did you do it”, “What does it look like”, “Why did you choose it”, “Tell me more” .
Practice block
Theory is good. But practice is better. One of our favorite and, I would say, universal questions will help you make a final decision either yes or no. And it looks like this:
“There is our company, our products/services and an unlimited advertising budget. Task: to attract customers and make sure that, at a minimum, advertising pays off to zero. What do you suggest?
According to the answers, you will understand whether a person is smart in practical marketing or is it just a naked theorist who has seen enough.
Important. Almost 8 out of 10 marketers immediately talk about discounts and this should alert you, because they will often reduce prices. A more thoughtful option instead of discounts is, for example, bonuses.
Instruction for marketers
Dear leaders, you should also read this to know how the ideal marketer should prepare for your meeting and by what criteria you can immediately understand that he is “yours”.
And now, dear marketer, I think you have already read the instructions for managers and are shocked. The impossible is expected of you, and even for such a small salary!
That's it, so that the salary is higher and you are valued more, and read the instructions for you.
I will not say that you need a selling resume with your achievements, courses and diplomas. This is all very necessary. You can just read about it in any other article about resumes.
Also, I will not tell you that the resume must be written without errors. This is what you should know.
But here's what you need to prepare for every interview - yes. Now I will explain what I mean. You need to research the potential employer. What kind of company is this, what does it do, how long has it been on the market, what is it famous for, who are the competitors.
You have no idea how important this information is for the head of the company who plans to hire you.
And what a huge plus you will earn if you devote 20-30 minutes of your time to this issue before the interview. This is important (even vital!) for 2 reasons:
- You will understand whether it is worth working in such a company. A high salary in an ad does not always turn out to be so in reality, and bad reviews on the Internet will dispel or confirm your doubts;
- You will immediately establish yourself as a professional, thereby significantly increasing your expertise.
Just imagine the situation. You come to the interview and in the process you take out printed promotional products of the company, on which you begin to offer your edits to the manager, substantiating them with your knowledge.
And I'm already your employee Speaking now as a manager, I would consider hiring such a specialist in the first place, even if his experience is insufficient.
Again, clothes and appearance are important (I recalled a recent interview with a guy dressed in an outfit like from an Italian catwalk, and I'm not exaggerating), but still they don't lead you by clothes.
Which will increase your chances of getting the next coveted position. Explore the customer acquisition methods your potential employer is currently using.
Write down what he does not use and ... at the right time, take this trump card out of your sleeve. Everyone is looking for new ways to attract customers, and managers even more so.
And if you also orient the manager about the costs of one or another method, he will definitely remember your candidacy.
Well, a list of questions, thanks to which you will understand a lot about the company and this will help you make the right choice:
- To whom does the marketer or marketing department report?
- How does the manager feel about marketing? Is it from the series “do something to attract customers” or is there a clear understanding and a certain strategy?
- What tools have you already used, what worked, what didn't?
- Does the company have a monthly marketing budget? And in what size?
- And the most important thing! What are your responsibilities. And God forbid, show you that you can take on everything! Everything and more is thrown at you.
Briefly about the main
Now watch this video and cheer yourself up! Questions are questions, and no one has canceled stressful interviews 😉
And now a small summary of the article: to find a good marketer, I'll tell you, this is a whole quest. We will have to review more than a dozen, because, honestly, everyone and sundry go into marketing now, before such an offer was for an advertiser.
And the most interesting thing is that no one wants to study this “deeper”, they pounce on chips and try to increase sales at the expense of them.
And we, as leaders, understand that without a good fundamental base, chips remain chips, and not tools for stable growth.
So never stop at the first marketer. If you have already taken up hiring, then approach according to the principle “can I see everyone?”.
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