Marketing job interviews: When does confidence look like arrogance?

At Richmond Solutions, we frequently work with clients to improve their confidence going into interviews. There are many reasons that people come to us for this kind of assistance. One is that they are out of practice, having not interviewed for many years. Another is that they have received a series of setbacks and have so far failed to secure jobs that they’d set their heart on and which, in the past, they’ve had no problem in landing.

The marketing job market has, of course, changed in the last few years and many of the past certainties have been swept away. Where candidate fields may have been sparse five or ten years ago, hiring managers will now frequently have a clutch of promising marketing candidates to choose between. To be sure that you will be the one they will choose it is no longer enough to have confidence in your ability to fulfil their requirements. In actual fact, it is probably no longer enough to have the ability to exceed their requirements.

Simply put, walking in with an attitude which says “you need me because I’m great” is not going to butter many parsnips. Retention having been one of the key problems facing employers during the boom years, with the luxury of choice, employers are seeking candidates who show a genuine interest in and commitment to their organisation and demonstrate real staying power. There is no need for them to invest in someone who even at interview seems to suggest that they’re too good for the job. Experience suggests to them that such people will be off again in a trice.

Often the failure of the underconfident marketing job candidate and the overconfident marketing jobs candidate boils down to the same thing: a failure to research. No matter how good your skills as a marketer are and no matter how well your experience is matched to the role, if you cannot show how they apply to the company which is interviewing you, you will not give an especially strong performance. At the same time, in preparing well for your interview you will showcase some key skills that a great marketer will have.

Start by researching the company well. Of course, you will look at their website but you need to go beyond that. Look at what has been said about the company in the news and marketing press, and make sure you read their company accounts and any other useful corporate documents. If you are not doing so already, start following their social media activity. Given you are going for a marketing role, find out whatever you can about their recent campaigns: reflect on them and consider what other ideas you would have brought to them.

Do a SWOT analysis for your marketing job interview

Having garnered this information, write a SWOT analysis. You must have written these time and again when preparing marketing campaigns, so why not your job interview? This will help you to marshal your thoughts, develop clear ideas on what value you will be able to add and assess the challenges you are likely to face if you get the job.

Ensure you fully understand the role. Most of all, work out how it fits into the organisation. Make sure you know who you’ll be reporting to before you go to the interview and look at how they fit into the organisational structure. This will tell you a lot about how the company views the role and therefore your position within it. In fact, even where a job looks like a natural progression for your career, it may be that the way marketing is viewed as a function from one company to another is very different. This may have a bearing not only on how attractive a role is to you but also the kind of skill sets you need to bring to the fore.

What can you find out about your interviewer?

The natural extension of this is knowing who you will be meeting. This is not simply about knowing who you need to ask for when you arrive (I hope that goes without saying) but knowing something about your interviewers. If it is a one to one, it is likely that you will meet the person you will be working for. If you are meeting a panel, then it is important to know what they do and how this is relevant to the position you are going for.

To find out more about these people, use whatever information you can get hold of – through the press, through social media, through your personal network – to understand what makes them tick and what professional issues they are likely to be facing. This will put you in a stronger position to tailor your interview answers to them. Furthermore, they may even expect that you will have attempted to learn more about them and what they do, given the wealth of information that there is out there these days.

Keep arrogance under control

Finally, approach the interview remembering that you are the least important person in the room. Yes, interviewing is a two-way street and if you think your interviewer is arrogant and insufferable you may decide you don’t want the job even if it is offered to you. However, the interviewer is the person with the power to make that offer. Your power lies in persuading them that you are the right person. Not only do you offer the right skills and expertise but you are committed to making the best of them to further their success, not just your own career.

Heidi Nicholson

Partner, Richmond Solutions

heidi.nicholson@richmondsolutions.co.uk

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