Typical interview questions

Background, Personality, Motive, Job Satisfaction, Past Performance, Compensation, Tougher

Questions, Behavioural Interviewing.

Examples and suggested answers:

1) Tell me about yourself

Name, nationality
Education, degree and master
Years of experience
Area of experience and countries, explain first your relevant experience
Personality (how you work as part of a team)

2) What are your greatest strengths?

Example of strengths: Flexibility, multitask, problem-solving, commitment, Loyalty, willingness to
work hard, eagerness, fast-learning, technical skills, politeness, and promptness.
You can say: One of my strengths is my strong work ethic. When I commit to a deadline, I do
whatever it takes to deliver. As well as my problem-solving skills, I have the ability to see a
situation from different perspectives and I can get my work done even in the face of difficult
situations.

3) What are your greatest weaknesses?

Examples: Being too critical on myself, public speaking, anxiety, Takes things personally,
Focusing on small details, Takes blame for others, Being straight forward, Greedy, Delegating
tasks, Needs to be right, Stubborn, Allows emotions to show, Blunt, Presenting, Impulsive, Bossy,
Takes on too much
You can say: Honestly, I would say that public speaking is an area that I could work on. I tend to
get nervous when asked to present to a large group of people. In small team meetings, I’m the
first one to stand up and present. But put me in front of a big group and I can get flustered.

4) How can you contribute to this company?

Be positive and sell! Strong technical skills, enthusiasm, and desire to complete projects
correctly and efficiently are good responses.
You can say: I am confident I can be a great asset to the company, I’ve learnt a lot about the ….
sector in the past years (say something relevant about your experience) and my commitment
and desire to complete projects correctly and efficiently will definite benefit the company.

5) Why do you want to work for our firm?

Make a compliment about what the company does, its location, or its people. Other positive
remarks might be about the company’s product or service, content of the position or
possibilities for growth or advancement.
You can say: I would love to develop my career in a company with a positive corporate culture,
where I can learn and develop myself and I´ve heard the work is challenging and that your
company truly invests in providing training and development of its staff."

6) Where do you hope to be in five years?

Use conservative growth positions that clearly show you plan to be there in five years, and that
their investment in you will pay.
You can say: “I am driven to be the best at what I do and I want to work somewhere where I’ll
have opportunities to develop my skills, take on interesting projects, and work with people I can
really learn from. Some of the most innovative thinkers in the industry work here and that’s a big
reason why I would love to build a career here.”

7) What interests you most about this position?

Teasing the interviewer with a truthful one or two-word answer such as, “the challenge” or “the
opportunity”, will force them to ask you to explain. Here again, you have the chance to
demonstrate your knowledge of the company.
Say something similar to why you want to work for them, explaining the words you mentioned.

8) What are your career goals?

Short term – “I want to be the best in my current position, while learning additional
responsibilities.”
Long term – “After proving my abilities, I see myself in a firm with the possibility of moving into a
level of management that allows me to keep my skills sharp.

9) What are you doing to achieve your goals?

You can say: I look at continued learning as the key to success. I came to Ireland to improve my
English, learn about a new culture and develop myself. I am looking for a job opportunity where I
can apply all knowledge and experience I have as well as be challenged.

10) Do you prefer to work alone or on a team?

You can say: I have experience with independent and team-based work and I see the value in
both approaches.

Cultural Fit

What’s your ideal work environment?

Everyone prefers to work in a certain way and companies are no different. This question is
especially important during a phone screen or initial pre-screen; if you work in an office that is
mostly silent and music-free and a candidate says they thrive in a collaborative and busy
environment, it may be not a great fit.

What should you highlight: A natural fit into an already established culture.

What are your hobbies?

Marketing is about building relationships and trust through promotion. What a candidate does in
their free time can say a lot about how they’ll relate to clients and co-workers and how they’ll
present information.

It also just goes to show that they’re passionate about something. One doesn't have to write a
blog, do photography or be instafamous in their spare time to be a fantastic marketer. The
perfect candidate could love spending time baking at home or playing in a jazz band, what's
important is that you show you´re dedicated and passionate.

What should you highlight: Someone who is well rounded and passionate.

If something doesn’t go according to plan, what do you do?
This is a professional way of asking, ‘what happens when you don’t get what you want?’ and it’s
exceptionally telling. Determine if this person is an emotional decision maker or a calculated
one. They will evaluate if you prefer to fix the mistake on your own or consult the team, and
who you blame when things go wrong. It´s an important question because things often don’t go
to plan, and the company wants a strong group of people equipped to push through those
challenges.

What should you highlight: High emotional intelligence and someone who can roll with the
punches.

What kind of management style do you generally prefer?

This can show how someone likes to be managed as well as how they like to manage others.
There’s a reason this question gets asked all the time; it’s one best indicator if a candidate is
going to work well within an existing team and the company at large. If a candidate thrives on
organization and instruction, for example, they might not be the best fit for a flat team that
requires autonomy and self-management - and vice versa!

What to look for: Similarities in preferred management styles to how your marketing team is
already structured.

Most common situational and behavioural question about your experience

You STAR technique to answer.

Situation (Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish.)
Task (What goal were you working toward?)
Action (Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an appropriate amount of
detail and keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what was your particular
contribution?)
Result (Describe the outcome of your actions and don’t be shy about taking credit for your
behaviour. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish?)

How to prepare?
To help you prepare for a behavioural interview, review the job description, and make a list of
the behavioural skills that you have that closely match them. Then write down examples of
when you applied those skills during a work, college, or volunteer situation.

 Tell me about a challenge or conflict you've faced at work, and how you dealt with it.
 Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure.
 Have you ever made a mistake? How did you handle it?
 Describe a stressful situation at work and how you handled it.
 Give an example of how you worked on a team.
 Have you handled a difficult situation? How?
 When you worked on multiple projects how did you prioritize?
 How did you handle meeting a tight deadline?
 Have you handled a difficult situation with a client or vendor? How?
 What problems have you solved, and how did they impact the company?
 Did you work on a problem that everyone else avoided? What was the result?
 What special projects were you hired to work?
 Have you met or exceeded your manager’s expectations? If so, by how much?
 What are your greatest strengths, and how will they benefit the company you are
interviewing with?
 What are your opportunities for professional development and what is your action plan to
develop these areas?