The NewTunnelTunneling Service Excellence

Cracking the Marketing Interview

The standard procedure

Agenda

• What recruiters look for

• Interview process

• Preparation

• Case questions– Overview– Marketing frameworks– Advertising

• Resources

• Appendix – Sample interview questions

What Recruiters Look For• Recruiters are looking for demonstrated examples of the

following:

– Leadership ability

– Analytical skills/problem solving capabilities

– Results orientation

– Teamwork

– Strong communications skills

– Creativity

– Interest in and awareness of marketing issues

– Passion for the product/industry/etc.

• You can draw on professional, undergraduate and extracurricular activities to showcase your abilities

• You do NOT need to have previous marketing experience

• You DO need to show how your past successes and experiences will allow you to succeed in a marketing environment

Interview Process – Overview

• Interview process typically consists of 2-3 rounds of interviews

• Interviews last between 30-45 minutes• Mix of general, behavioral and case questions• Some interviewers (especially in later rounds) may

focus on a particular subject (e.g. case question, situational questions)

• Different interviewers may discuss candidates amongst themselves, but you can repeat examples

Interview Process – General Questions

• Many interviews will start with “getting to know you…” questions– “Tell me about yourself”– “Walk me through your resume”

• Answer this question concisely– Focus on key decisions – why you majored in what you did,

what led you to your first job, what skills you developed and why you left, why you decided to come to business school, why IBA, what your next move is, etc.

• Don’t just restate your resume– Talk about a common thread that leads you to a marketing

position now– This is “your story” so make sure you know it inside and out

and be confident when you tell it• Anticipate “problems” and know how you’re going to “steer”

around them

Interview Process – Behavioral Questions

• Interviewers look to past demonstrated behavior to predict future performance

• Be prepared with multiple examples for key competencies (e.g. leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, etc.)

• Listen to the question and then organize your answer according to a framework

• Most common is the CAR framework– Context: Describe the situation– Action: Describe what steps were taken and be specific about

your role– Result: Relate what the result was and when possible try to

quantify the impact• Most common mistake: not answering the question posed by the

interviewer– When in doubt, repeat it or write it down!

Interview Process – Marketing Questions

• Many interviewers will probe your interest in and knowledge of marketing

• Types of marketing questions– Structured case question– Open-ended (“Tell me about a recent product

launch that went well, and why?”)– Specific aspect of the marketing mix (e.g.

critique a print ad or product)– Zany question (“Give me a 1 minute

commercial about yourself”)

Preparation – Company Research

• Know what you’re talking about!

– Main product lines? New vs. mature products?

– Who are the principal competitors? What’s happening in the industry overall?

– What are the main distribution channels? What’s driving revenue growth? Where might future opportunities lie?

– Why do I want to go to this company?

• Sources of information

– Google

– Networking with alums – they can be of help.

– Relevant channels for product/tech marketing

– Analyst reports (read one or two)

– Company’s annual report

– Company website (check for press releases)

– Trade journals, etc.

Preparation – Interview Prep Document

• Helps you organize key examples from your resume• Important for the resume walk and behavioral questions• Type it and review it before your interview but DO NOT refer to it

during the interview• Organize it by question type

– Resume walk– Why marketing/brand management– Why that specific company– Leadership, Teamwork, Initiative, Analytical Thinking,

Creativity, and any additional behavioral/skill areas the company looks for (available on company website/careers)*

• Use bullets• Outline your answers according to a framework

• *Have 3 examples for each in CAR framework

Case Questions – Overview

• Why Case Questions?– Evaluate your ability to articulate complex thoughts– Assess strategic and analytical thinking– Evaluate your understanding of the business– Evaluate your basic understanding of marketing

issues– Evaluate your ability to think creatively

• You can use basic case frameworks for almost all marketing related questions

• These “cases” tend to be different than consulting interviews

• There is not necessarily a “right” answer

Case Questions – Overview, Cont’d

• Process– Interviewer gives a hypothetical business situation– Step back, analyze the situation and come up with some

recommendations for how you would solve the problem– Take the interviewer through your thought process

• Common Mistakes– Jumping to recommendations w/o a thoughtful analysis– Throwing out marketing tactics w/o grounding them in the

situation/strategy– Weak analysis/understanding of the situation– Not taking the interviewer through your thought process

Basic Frameworks

• Analyze market opportunities – 3Cs– Competitive analysis– Consumer analysis– Company analysis

• Select the Target Market – STP– Market segmentation– Targeting– Positioning

• Formulate the Marketing Mix – 4Ps– Product– Pricing– Promotion– Placement (Distribution)

Case Frameworks – 3Cs• Step 1: Think about the question in the context of the market• Consumer – ALWAYS START WITH THE CONSUMER

– What consumer insights might be driving the problem?– Is this a product that addresses a consumer need?

• Company– What are the company’s constraints and capabilities?

• financial, operational, etc.

• Competition– What is the competition doing?– How does the company differentiate itself from the competition?

• Other C’s to consider• Customer

– What challenges does the company face at retail/distribution?• slotting and shelf placement• display and feature labels

• Category– What trends are unique to the category?

• i.e. rapid new product development and/or introduction, technology improvements, etc.

Case Frameworks – STP• Step 2: Select the target market and position the product• Segmentation – segments the market into distinct groups of buyers with

differing needs, characteristics, behavior, product usage, etc.– Geographic segmentation– Demographics– Psychographics– Behavior

• Targeting – the company decides to target a group of buyers that share common needs or characteristics– Evaluate the opportunities posed by the different segments– Is there a group of buyers whose needs are not currently met?– What is the market size?

• Positioning – a product’s position is the place the product occupies in the minds of consumers, relative to competitive products– To (target market), X is the brand of (frame of reference) that

(benefit/differentiation) because (product attribute) so that (emotional appeal)

Case Frameworks – 4Ps

• Step 3: Given the market conditions, how would I react as a Marketer? (the 4 P’s)

• Product– Do I introduce a new product?

– Do I develop a line extension?

– Do I find new product uses?

• Price– Retail and discounts

– Skim vs. penetrate

– Perceived value vs. cost plus margin

• Placement– What channels do I sell in to best meet the consumer’s expectations?

• Promotion– Through what media do I promote the product?

– How will I most cost effectively build top of mind awareness?

Advertising Questions• Interviewers may ask an advertising-related question

(e.g. “Give me an example of an effective/ineffective ad”)• Strategic considerations

– What is the objective of the ad?– Who is the target?– What is the product positioning?

• Execution– Does the ad achieve its communication objectives?– Does the ad appeal to the target audience?– If humor is used, does it work?– Is the ad consistent with the brand attributes?

Appendix

• Sample cases

• Classic interview questions

Sample Cases

• Competitive Threat– You are the brand manager and a major competitor

is introducing a new product form. How do you assess the threat? How would you react?

• Falling Share– You are the brand manager in a mature, declining

category and your market share has been declining over the past 18 months. What would you do to reinvigorate the category and your market share?

Sample Cases

• New Products– You are brand manager looking to introduce a new

product. Who would you need to work with?• Commodity Question

– Go to your refrigerator and pull out a product. How would you market that product?

• Forecasting– Given the demographics in India, how many red

sports cars do you think you could sell?

Sample Cases

• Take a minute to think of a product you believe is under-marketed. Tell me why you believe that, and then discuss the steps you would take to develop a marketing plan for that product.

• If you wanted to extend the Starbucks product line, how would you do it?

• You are Brand Manager of Brand X. Your director tells you to evaluate a price increase as she wants to increase the profitability of your business. Should you do it?

Classic Interview Questions

• Do read the list to get a sense of the general themes

• DO NOT try to answer every one in your prep document or you’ll go crazy!

• Do try to pick 3-4 examples under each category and include relevant info about each in your prep document so you can adapt those examples to different questions

Classic Questions – General

• Why are you interested in marketing/ brand management/ product management?

• Why do you think marketing (etc.) is a good fit for you?• Why are you interested in our company? What do you

know about it?• What would you contribute to our organization? Why

should we hire you?• What personal or professional abilities are you most

proud of?

Classic Questions – General

• What is your most significant professional accomplishment?

• Describe 1-2 of your most important personal accomplishments. Discuss the hurdles that made them challenging.– Tip: these two questions are big for Clorox – they

use them to look for results-orientation

• How do your co-workers/friends/study group members describe you?

Classic Questions – Communication & Persuasion

• Give an example of a situation where you had to persuade a person of a different point of view to agree with an issue

• Describe a time when you had to use several approaches to persuade someone about an issue

Classic Questions – Leadership

• Describe a situation in which you had a conflict with another person and how you resolved it.

• Give an example of when you successfully supervised a diverse group of people towards a difficult goal. What skills did you use? What did you learn?

• Describe a situation when you had to give negative feedback to a co-worker or team member.

• All of us have been in situations where we assigned work to other people and they didn’t follow through. Tell me about a situation like that, why it happened, how you handled it and what you learned.

Classic Questions – Teamwork

• Give an example of how you dealt with a bad team situation.

• Describe a situation when you were able to build team spirit in a time of low morale.

• Tell me about the toughest group you ever had to work with. What made the group so tough? What did you do?

Classic Questions – Decision Making

• What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever made? What were the consequences? What did you learn?

• Describe a situation when you had to make a decision without all the information at hand.

Classic Questions – Integrity

• Describe an ethical dilemma which you’ve had to face during your career. How did you resolve the issue?

• Describe your character.

• Have you ever been asked to do something that wasn’t right? What did you do?

Classic Questions – The Company

• What are our brands? What is your favorite product in our line and why?

• What have you learned about our organization?

• What questions do you have about our company?

• What is the most important thing you would look for in an employer?

Classic Questions – Creativity

• Give me an example of a time when you had to use creativity to solve a problem.

• Describe a situation in which you developed a unique solution to a problem.

• Give me an example of some new ideas you’ve had recently.

• Describe yourself as a brand.

Classic Questions – Analytical Thinking

• Walk me through a situation in which you had to research and analyze the results for one of your projects.

• Tell me about a project where you had to do a lot of numerical or financial analysis.

• Tell me about a project that best demonstrates your analytical skills.

Classic Questions – Marketing

• What’s the best commercial you’ve seen in the last few months and why? Do you believe it’s effective? Tell me about an ineffective commercial. Why is it ineffective?

• Name some of the most recent new products launched by a consumer products company in the last six months. Which one impressed you? Why? Do you believe it will be successful in the marketplace?

• How would you describe the personality of Brand X?• What is a brand to you? Why does it matter?• Here is a print ad. Please evaluate it for me.

Yet More Questions

• What are the attributes of a successful marketing campaign?• Give me a specific example of a time you solved a problem

creatively?• How do you motivate others, particularly those over whom

you have no direct authority?• Give an example of an innovative solution to a business

problem.• Pretend today is your first day at work as a brand manager

for Brand X. What are the ten most important questions you would ask.

• Give me a 30-second commercial about yourself.

Remember… there is nothing wrong in marketing

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