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9th April 2022

Marketing interview questions and answers guide 💬

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Secured an interview for a graduate marketing role?

Whether you’re applying and interviewing for a marketing internship, entry-level marketing jobs, or marketing manager jobs, we’ve put together a complete marketing interview questions and answers guide with some of the most common and challenging marketing job interview questions with example answers.

Preparation is key to any successful job interview, so be sure to check out our top marketing interview tips so you’ll feel confident and prepared heading into any graduate marketing interview!

Or, if you’re currently applying to graduate marketing roles, these interview questions will give you a feel for the skills and characteristics employers are looking for, so you can see if marketing roles are right for you.

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Marketing internships interview questions

Undertaking an internship is a great way to stand yourself in a better position when it comes to applying to graduate jobs.

However, with many students and graduates looking to boost their CV and gain more experience, internship places are often highly competitive.

We’ve put together some of the marketing internship and marketing interview questions and answers for freshers you may be asked with example answers, so you can prepare and stand out against the competition.

  • By asking this question, an interviewer wants to see that you have applied to the position for the right reasons and that you’re a candidate who can gain a great deal from the opportunity.

    In your answer, mention how the internship aligns with your interests and career goals and include what you hope to get out of the internship, showing plenty of enthusiasm. This demonstrates to an employer that you’re serious and truly want the opportunity. Here’s our example answer:

     

    “I have always had a strong creative side and an interest in sales, I believe marketing encompasses both these aspects, as at its core, marketing is about creating convincing campaigns that resonates with customers.

    Throughout university, I ran the social media for my literature society, and I really enjoyed thinking of new ways to grow the following and engage students.

    This internship really resonated with me as I would love the opportunity to learn new marketing strategies and gain an insight into the industry which will hopefully create a great foundation for a graduate career in marketing.”

  • An interviewer wants to hire a candidate who has a good understanding of the skills the role requires. It’s a good idea to read over the internship job description before your interview and make note of any of the skills mentioned and include these in your answer.

    A great tip to impress an employer is to also provide any evidence of where you’ve previously demonstrated these skills. Here’s our example answer:

    “I think one of the main skills required to work in marketing is being able to work well under pressure and stay organised. As your agency handles multiple clients, I think it’s important to be calm and organised when handling multiple projects and to work on the most pressing tasks to ensure client deadlines are met.

    Great communication skills are also very important in marketing, as you’ll be talking to colleagues and clients constantly. It’s vital that you understand the requirements of the client and can present ideas and concepts clearly. At university I am part of a charity organisation, where I often have to public speak, I am a confident communicator and love speaking to new people.”

    • How has your academic experience prepared you for this position?
    • Describe a time you had to work on a team project. What was your role?
    • How do you prioritise different projects/assignments you have to complete at the same time?
    • What interests you about marketing?

     

Internships are a great way to boost your graduate career.

Check out our blog where we interview a senior marketing executive to find out some of the ways she landed her dream graduate job.

As an intern, it’s also important to know your rights, have a look here at the employment rights and pay for interns.

 

Entry-level marketing interview questions

Entry-level marketing interview questions are likely to focus more on your previous experience, what you know about the role and your knowledge of the company/ industry.

Here are some common marketing assistant interview questions, marketing coordinator interview questions, and marketing executive interview questions and answers.

  • By asking this question, an employer wants to know about any university, internship, and life experiences that have developed any relevant marketing skills.

    In your answer, make sure you’re giving examples of where you’ve shown the skills mentioned on the job description and explaining why these skills are important to the role. Here’s our example answer:

    “Running a company’s social media channels for the past year whilst at university has really developed my social media knowledge and ability to convey a strong brand message/tone of voice.

    I think this is particularly important to this role, as whether it’s a blog, email or social media content, it’s important to have the same tone of voice throughout to keep consistency and create a unique online persona.

    I am also vice-president for my course society at University, I really enjoy this position and it’s greatly developed organisational skills. We’ve organised multiple events throughout the year to engage our members, and I think it’s important with this position to make sure you are always aiming to engage your current audience, whilst also attracting new customers.”

  • Employers want to hire candidates who are knowledgeable of the company and have applied as they are genuinely interested in the company and what they are doing.

    For every entry-level marketing job you interview for, it’s essential to do your research on the company, looking at their target audience, their competitors, and their latest projects. Here’s our example answer:

    “From my research, I understand that your target audience is predominantly young females who have a keen interest in learning more about the creative sector. Your brand colours and social graphics echo this and I think it’s successful in attracting your intended audience.

    I really like your recent campaign, where you invited females in the creative sector to take over your Instagram stories ‘day in the lifestyle’, this is really beneficial in giving others an insight into what marketing, social media and PR jobs entail.”

  • When answering this question, include any previous experience and marketing related skills you’ve developed that could make you stand out and impress an employer.

    When choosing the skills to highlight, make sure to refer to the job description for the most relevant skills to the role and company. Here’s our example answer:

    “Something that sets me apart from other candidates, is my excellent communication skills. I was previously a volunteer coordinator for a large not-for-profit organisation, where I had to regularly give talks to large groups of people. I feel comfortable speaking to any group of people, no matter the size, so I feel you could put me in front of clients straight away.”

    If you haven’t had a lot of previous experience, use this as an opportunity to highlight your excitement about the role and your interest in the company. Whilst experience is useful, many employers value candidates who are genuinely interested and committed to the role.

    “What sets me apart from other candidates is my strong desire to learn and develop my marketing skills. I’m willing to put in the extra work and give 110% to any task as I’m so keen to learn more about the industry and how to market for high end clients at your agency.

    Studying Digital Media and Communications at university highlighted my passion in the creative industry and now I would love to kick-start a marketing career through your opportunity.”

 

More entry-level marketing interview questions to prepare for:

  • What motivates you at work?
  • How would you handle public complaints and criticisms on the social media account?
  • What makes good marketing material?
  • What is your favourite marketing campaign and why?

 

When following a marketing career, a huge part of your decision-making is to decide whether to work in-house or for an agency. Check out our blog to help you decide if either in-house or agency is right for you.

 

Digital Marketing interview questions

Both entry-level and experienced digital marketing jobs are highly in demand, with a report by Burning Glass Technologies finding four out of ten marketing job postings now specifying digital marketing skills, and digital marketing job listings having doubled between 2011 and 2016.

The types of questions you’ll be asked will differ depending on experience and role, so we’ve put together two questions and answers for entry-level digital marketing roles, along with two questions and answers for more experienced digital marketing roles.

 

Entry-level digital marketing interview questions

Why do you want to work in digital marketing? What interests you about digital marketing?

When answering this question, it’s key to show passion, interest, and knowledge of the industry. Here’s our example answer:

“The fact that digital marketing is a constantly evolving industry really excites and interests me. From new social platforms to new mobile technologies, there is always something new to learn and new opportunities.

I also love that digital marketing encompasses so many components, from SEO strategies, to copywriting and web analytics, there’s so much to learn and I really want to get stuck in and get to grips with how these components work. I think digital marketing is the future, it’s not a trend, but a highly effective and successful way of achieving results.”

 

What do you think are the most important qualities for a digital marketer?

When answering this question, include a few of the skills mentioned in the job description, and a few skills from your own research that you think are important. Impress an employer by relating the skills back to yourself. Here’s our example answer:

“I think one of the most important qualities for a digital marketer to possess is the ability to adapt to change. The digital world is constantly changing with new updates and changes, it’s important to be able to embrace a continuously evolving dynamic. I personally thrive in change and believe it’s crucial for self-development and improvement.

Another important quality for a digital marketer is a hunger to continuously learn. As the industry is always changing, it’s important to keep up with the latest trends and industry news so you’re improving your knowledge and can benefit a company.

Ultimately, to work in digital marketing you need a good balance of creativity and a methodical approach to create campaigns that will target the right audience and achieve results.”

 

 

Experienced digital marketing interview questions

What is the most serious challenge for digital marketers today?

An interviewer may ask this question to see how you view and prepare for challenges.

Prepare for this question by researching a problem you think is affecting the industry, and what the ideal strategy is for addressing it.

“In my opinion, the biggest challenge for digital marketers is generating great results in an increasingly crowded marketplace. To continue to be competitive in the market, I think digital marketers need to dedicate at least 15% of their work time to monitoring new trends and experimenting with new techniques. By tracking new developments and trying innovative methods, the best digital marketers can succeed even as the digital marketing landscape changes quickly.”

 

What digital marketing trends do you see dominating the landscape soon?

Doing your research is imperative to answering this question.

Make sure to have at least one trend to include in your answer, providing evidence to support your choice. Here’s our example answer:

“I think 2020 is the year that programmatic advertising using AI dominates ad buying. Whilst most search-driven manual advertising campaigns take into account three or four targets, such as keyword, time of day, and location, programmatic platforms can use hundreds of targeting signals.

These signals can target according to lifestyle or behaviour habits when integrates with customer data platforms, making ad buying more efficient and faster, which creates higher conversions and lower customer acquisition costs.”

More digital marketing interview questions to prepare for:

  • What are some digital marketing tools you have experience with?
  • What makes digital marketing different from traditional marketing?
  • What is your usual method for SEO strategy? How do you approach SEO?
  • Describe a digital marketing campaign you’ve worked on from start to finish.

 

If you want to find out more about the world of digital marketing, check out our blog for more of the top reasons you should work in digital marketing.

Marketing Analyst interview questions

If you’re interviewing for a marketing analyst role, an interviewer is likely to ask more technical marketing interview questions to find out what platforms you are experienced in.

Here are some common marketing analytics interview questions with example answers.

  • By asking this question, an employer wants to see a genuine interest in the position, knowledge of the industry and an explanation of why you think marketing data analysis so important.

    Here’s our example answer:

    “After university, I spent some time working in a marketing agency, and whilst I was there, I spent some time with their digital team, learning about marketing analytics. I saw first-hand the importance of measuring, analysing and managing a marketing strategy, and how this can maximise a return on investment.

    Market analysis is one of the vital components to help a business with all the essential information, these insights lead to better business decisions, I would love through this position to make sure your company is making the most insightful and cost-effective decisions.”

  • To successfully answer this question, list a project you worked on where any form of data was handled. Explain what your role was, how you interpreted the data, what software you used, along with any techniques and skills you learnt. To really impress an employer, mention any statistics to show the project was successful.

    Here’s our template for how to best answer this question:

    [During X position] at [x company/university], I was responsible for [working on x data project]. Specifically, I [how you handled the data], using [x software]. The results of this project were hugely successful as [x statistic showing success]. I really enjoyed working on this project, and it taught me [x data analysis skill] which I can apply to this role.

More marketing analyst interview questions to prepare for:

  • Which CRM tools have you used for campaign tracking and report generation?
  • Which analytics tools do you have experience with and what is your level of proficiency in each?
  • What do you think of our current marketing strategy?
  • What would you do differently?
  • What data collection methods worked well in your previous position? What didn’t work so well?

 

Landing a graduate Marketing Analyst role is a great way to propel your marketing career, with high-level marketing jobs some of the best-paid jobs. If you’re wondering ‘what are the best-paid jobs in the UK?’ check out our blog.

If you’re interested in a graduate career in Marketing Analytics, check out our blog for what you need to work in SEO.

Marketing Manager interview questions and answers

For senior level marketing positions, there’s likely to be a mixture of both behavioural interview questions, which will delve into your previous experience, and role specific questions, which focus on the skills required to be a successful marketing manager. Here are some marketing interview questions and answers for experienced candidates:

How would your structure a marketing budget?

“To structure a marketing budget, I would first create a list of all the marketing platforms a company is looking to use, making sure these platforms align with the marketing goals. This creates a better idea of the exact costs you’ll run into and how to divide your budget accordingly.

To best split up the marketing budget across these digital marketing and traditional marketing methods, I would then look at the potential costs and ROI of each of your ideas. It’s important to take time to look for hidden costs that will affect ROI, such as CRM software, hiring influencers for a campaign, and cost of failed marketing attempts.

Another factor I would look at when structuring a marketing budget is evaluating the current strategy to see what’s already working. This way, you can allocate funds to the strategies that are working well for you and pull money away from anything that’s proving to be a failed effort.”

 

Behavioural marketing manager interview questions to prepare for:

Behavioural interview questions require you to draw on your previous roles and experience. When answering these types of questions, implement our STAR technique, describing the task, action, and result of a situation. By drawing upon real examples and tangible results you give employers an impressive and credible reason to hire you. Here are some behavioural marketing manager interview questions to prepare for:

  • Describe a time when you gave constructive feedback to a team member. How do you deliver negative feedback?
  • What’s the most effective campaign you’ve run so far?
  • What made it successful? What was your role in the campaign?
  • Describe a situation in which an innovative course of action was necessary.

 

More marketing manager interview questions to prepare for:

  • Who do you think is our biggest competitor?
  • What differentiates our company?
  • What is your experience with paid advertising, like PPC or sponsored content campaigns?
  • What are the biggest challenges a marketing manager faces today?

Marketing interview questions to ask employers

At the end of your interview, an employer will most likely ask if you have any questions for them. It’s important to ask the interviewer questions as it shows that you’re keen to learn more about the company/role, demonstrates good communication skills and allows you to see if the role is a good fit for you. Here are some good marketing interview questions to ask the employer:

What would you say are the most rewarding/challenging aspects of this role?

  • What are your most successful marketing strategies or channels?
  • What unique challenges do you have in reaching and engaging with customers?
  • What is the relationship between the marketing and sales teams?
  • Are there any opportunities for further training?
  • What would you want to see me accomplish in the first 6 months?
  • What are the next steps of my application process?

Check out our blog for more of the top interview questions you should be asking the interviewer.

Other common interview questions and answers

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Whatever type of graduate marketing role you’re interviewing for, use our marketing interview questions and answers guide to prepare for your interviews and confidently show an employer you’re the right fit for the role and company.

Check out our interview questions and answers hub for more of the most common interview questions and answers.

Visit our Student and Graduate blog for help and advice on getting a graduate marketing role. We’ve put together free creative CV templates with CV tips and examples for creative roles.

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