Are You ​Asking the Right Questions When Interviewing Marketing Candidates?

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​When it comes to interviewing candidates for a marketing role, having the right questions to ask can be absolutely critical. It is important to assess the marketing experience, knowledge and skill set of any potential candidate in the most effective way to ensure that the successful candidate is the best match for the role they are applying for.

Asking the right questions can also help to ensure that the candidate has the right level of experience and knowledge to help make a successful contribution to your role and organisation.

This article will discuss five key questions to ask when interviewing marketing candidates and explain the importance of each.


Question 1: What experience do you have in marketing?

Asking a candidate what experience they have in marketing is an effective way to assess their general marketing knowledge and skill set.

When assessing a candidate's experience it is important to ask questions about their previous roles, the campaigns they have worked on, the results of those campaigns (in terms of KPI's / Metrics) and the strategies they have used. This can help provide a better understanding of their marketing experience and depth of knowledge.


Question 2: What strategies have you used to increase customer
engagement?

As customer engagement is an important element of marketing, it is important to ensure that any candidate applying for a marketing role is aware of the different strategies and techniques used to increase customer engagement.

By asking a candidate what strategies they have used to increase customer engagement it is possible to assess their knowledge of different strategies such as using social media (organic and paid), email marketing and content marketing.

In addition to understanding the different marketing strategies to increase customer engagement, it is important to assess the candidate's understanding of their effectiveness. This can be done by asking the candidate which strategies they have used and how successful they have been in terms of increasing customer engagement (again, what KPI's were they working to, or what metrics were they measuring?).


Question 3: How do you measure the success of a marketing campaign?

When assessing candidates it is important to understand how they measure the success of a marketing campaign. As marketing campaigns can often have different goals, such as increasing sales / revenues or brand awareness, it is important to assess the candidate's understanding of the different metrics used to measure the success of these campaigns.

In terms of metrics, it is important to understand what metrics the candidate is familiar with, such as website metrics or conversion rates. Asking questions about the different metrics they have used and how they have used them to measure the success of a marketing campaign is a good way to assess the candidate's understanding of metrics and how they can be used to measure the success of a campaign.


Question 4: How do you stay up-to-date on the latest marketing trends?

It is important to understand how a candidate stays up-to-date with the latest marketing trends. This is important as the marketing landscape can change very quickly, often necessitating new strategies, techniques and technologies in order to be successful. As such, understanding how a candidate keeps up-to-date with these changes is important in assessing their knowledge and capabilities.

When assessing a candidate's understanding of staying up-to-date, it is important to ask questions about the techniques they use to stay informed. This can include asking which websites or blogs they read or which conferences they attend to stay informed. This can provide a good indication of their commitment to staying up-to-date and employing the latest marketing techniques.


Question 5: What tactics have you employed to help build an effective marketing team?

When assessing a candidate for a senior marketing or marketing manager role (with man management involved), it is important to ask questions about their ability to lead a team. This includes understanding what techniques and strategies they have used in their previous roles in order to build an effective marketing team.

It is important to assess their understanding of how to effectively recruit, train, manage and performance measure marketers in a team in order to ensure that the team is successful.

In order to assess the candidate's understanding of how to build an effective team it is important to ask questions about their team recruitment process, their team management techniques, and any team training they have done. This can provide a good indication of their level of knowledge when it comes to leading a marketing team.


Conclusion

When interviewing marketing candidates, it is critical to ask the right questions in order to assess the candidate's experience, knowledge and skill set. This article has discussed five key questions to ask when interviewing marketing candidates and discussed their importance in assessing a candidate's suitability for a role.

Asking these questions can provide an excellent indication of a candidate's knowledge and capabilities when it comes to marketing, and as such can be invaluable in helping to make the right hiring decision.

Happy hiring!