by Katriina L.

Created on: February 06, 2007   Last Updated: April 17, 2007

You're a bright, intelligent and educated young person with a degree under your belt a little bit of work experience. Either you've studied marketing before or you've dabbled in it a little bit in your last summer job. You put together a great resume and a killer cover letter, and now you've landed an interview for an entry-level marketing position. Now what?

Well, in order to go from where you are now to gainfully employed, you need to do some homework. Firstly, you must understand what I consider the core principal of marketing interviews; your interviewer is going to look to you to market yourself - i.e. you are the product and your interview is your campaign. Afterall, if you can't market yourself, why should anyone trust you to market their product? This means that you need to present yourself in such a light that your make your interviewer want to "buy" you. You need to identify a company or departmental need and explain how you can fulfill that need. These "needs" are often expressed by the interviewer in some of her/his questions. For example, "How do you deal with a fast-paced environment?" equates to "tell me how you'll prioritize and not crack under pressure". Read between the lines and you'll hear what your interviewer is really asking you.

Next you need to find out as much as possible about your interviewer without being obnoxious to the person setting the interview with you (be they or be they not the person you'll meet with on the day). Try to find out your interviewer's level of seniority in the company and where they fit in to the structure of the company in general. Especially if this person would be your direct supervisor, this will help you determine where the role you are applying for fits in. Along the same lines, you'll need to know something about the company you're applying for. For example, if you're applying for a small company that sells intangibles and doesn't invest in branding, you'll be barking up the wrong tree if you try to tell them all about the group project you did on revitalizing a fast food chain's brand. Instead, based on your research into the company, interviewer and details from the job ad, you need to match your skills with the ones they require. A good way to do this is to jot down some notes before your interview to organize your thoughts (best not to take them in with you though as it may make you look over-rehearsed), as below:
1) Company X wants: copy writing skills
I offer: my experience in compiling, writing and editing the events page for my university drama club
2) Company X wants: leadership skills
I offer: proven leadership ability at summer job where I trained other summer employees

As for the day itself, make sure you show up prepared. Dress better than you think you need to. Don't worry if you're overdressed compared to your interviewer - they already have a job, so their need to dress up is significantly decreased. Also, bring examples of relevant written work, and your references even if you don't end up needing them. It's better to have them on offer than to have to send them in later. Above all, present yourself with confidence (not ego!), enthusiasm and professionalism.

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