Digital Marketing Job Interview Tips – How to Break Into Digital Marketing and Land Your First Job Quickly
Do you have a dream to start your career as a digital marketer? Well, guess what, you have landed on the right page! Here in this blog post, we’ll be discussing the most crucial digital marketing job interview tips towards making your first interview impactful and a success!
Remember your first board exam or that university paper that really made you sweat? Well, facing the first interview of your digital marketing career could be something even more daunting than that, if you don’t prepare well for it.
Facing the interview is perhaps the biggest challenge on your way to getting your first digital marketing job. The best part is, this is the final step, and this is where it all comes down to. All the preparations you have made so far, learning digital marketing, creating your perfect CV, and applying to your preferred companies, the culmination of all these activities meets their final trial in the interview.
So, I guess the significance of this step is pretty much foreseeable. Isn’t it?
So how do you crack your first digital marketing interview? Well, much like any other difficult steps in your life, there are ways to stay focused and prepared for it. Consider it as one of those challenges that you have tackled successfully earlier in the past. Maybe the consequences here will be different, but the nature of every challenge is essentially the same. Give your best shots! As, no matter what happens, every challenge we face off adds something to our lives!
In this blog post, we will be discussing a few important digital marketing interview tips and aspects of preparation to make your first interview much more impactful. From having a comprehensive idea about the digital marketing agency you are applying for to tackling the questions successfully, we’ll be covering them all!
But, effective time management is perhaps the first and foremost advice in terms of anything. So, let’s head straight to the topic without wasting any more time, and see the 9 digital marketing interview tips that are imperative to crack your first-ever interview in a digital marketing position.
#1 Digital Marketing Interview Tip: Be Real
This is one piece of advice that is applicable in every situation of your life. At times, it may seem easier said than done; however, people who manage to stay real irrespective of any situation often lead a life sans regrets. For your digital marketing job interview as well, being real can be very helpful.
But wait! Let’s not confuse it with being non-diplomatic. In a professional environment, especially while facing an interview, you need to have a certain space of diplomacy. In a given scenario, it may also be regarded as professional etiquette. However, you should not hesitate to voice your opinions about the employer’s website or marketing strategies being a digital marketer.
Believe it or not, but constructive criticism is always welcomed in a well-structured company. If you can point out the digital marketing aspects of your employer’s business, which should be revisited and adjusted to make them better, your insights could be highly rewarded – provided that you present the appropriate logic to support your points.
This will present your thorough research about the company’s digital marketing strategies and the candid attitude in working towards the betterment of the organization.
And the end result?
You might get a positive confirmation by the end of the day!
So I expect you will follow the first digital marketing interview tip, and I am sure this will bring you one step closer to success.
#2 Digital Marketing Interview Tip: Don’t Just Be a Critique. Give Solutions
Much like any other situation, if you have pointed out the problems or possible glitches, you should suggest possible solutions as well. Only then, your criticism might be deemed as “constructive”.
So, our digital marketing interview tip number two is – give solutions.
This is the opportunity to share your ideas with which, you reckon, things can improve dramatically. Converse about the possibilities that you can bring to the table while on board.
Whether it’s their SEO strategies or social media marketing techniques or the digital marketing framework, what could be done better and what you can add if given the opportunity. This should be your point of discussion!
Needless to say, when you dissect and criticize your employer’s digital marketing modus operandi, the interview panel will surely fire all the tricky questions at you. You better be prepared for them, and you better be equipped well with your logic! Because that will be a win or lose situation for you. So, you must be ready with your arsenal of logical solutions.
On the bright side, this little drill will undoubtedly prove the fact that you have really studied your employer’s digital assets and have also come up with the ideas to improve them. Now, what more value could an employee add to an organization other than this!
The golden rule of becoming the best employee:
Bring in the change but for good!
#3 Digital Marketing Interview Tip: Bring the Perfect CV to the Interview Table
During an interview, your CV is your identity card, which plays a significant role in your selection or rejection. Before you even utter a single word, believe it or not, it’s your CV that speaks for you. And you should definitely try to frame it like that!
Your CV carries immense significance, so make sure to bring the best possible resume to the interview table. It should present all the must-know facts about you in bold so that the interviewer can learn about them even at a glance.
Also, try to prepare the perfect digital marketing CV as per the interview you appear for. Don’t just take a generalized approach. Instead, make your CV an ideal one, which describes you well as a promising digital marketing aspirant for the position.
Apart from your conventional educational qualification, make sure to mention all the certified courses that you have done on digital marketing. Don’t forget to mention your internship experience as well if you have done one. Also, ensure you have a digital copy of it as well. After all, what’s a digital marketer without a digital resume?
If you are not a fresher, then all your professional qualifications and employment details need to be composed in a way that grabs the eyeballs immediately. Every single section of your resume should highlight your key digital marketing skills and forte.
Fonts and arrangement of the text is also a very important aspect. Having a digital resume can really change the picture for you. Make sure even to consult an experienced digital marketing expert if you don’t have much knowledge about making a professional resume.
Well, one more thing. You are a digital marketer, so never forget to mention your social media handles and website/blog (if you have one) on your resume. In case you have a digital resume, link them to be easily accessible by the recruiters and interviewers.
Remember, failing to create an eye-soothing CV and ignoring this digital marketing interview tip might take you behind other job-applicants.
#4 Digital Marketing Interview Tip: Perfect Your Online Presence
Nowadays, being accessible on the World Wide Web is very important, especially if you are looking to start your career in the digital marketing domain.
So the fourth digital marketing job interview tip is – check your online presence and improve them.
Before you head on to face your first digital marketing interview, you should have a well-managed online presence. None is expecting you to be a wannabe social media influencer, a marketing buff, or anything of that sort at this stage. But, at the very least, you should be active on all major online platforms and have hands-on knowledge about them.
Interviewers often care more about the likability of entry-level candidates than whether or not they’re actually qualified for the job. – Career Coach Peter Yang
A few stats that will surprise you:
- Around 70 percent of digital marketing recruiters check interviewees’ social media profiles.
- Close to 57 percent among them rejected candidates at least once due to inappropriate social media content or photographs that aren’t a good fit for the company’s culture and image.
- Almost 66 percent of employers search with aspirants’ names on Google before or after an interview session.
- Nearly 47 percent of human resource managers said that they don’t hold an interview with a candidate if he/she is not found online or doesn’t have an appropriate online persona.
- According to roughly 27 percent of companies, poor written communication skills, and grammar errors on social media lead them not to hire a job applicant.
Apart from being on all the popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, you should be equally active on platforms like Linkedin. It is a brilliant social networking channel for professionals like you from almost every sector.
I am personally most interested in the candidate’s LinkedIn profile, as it’s the most relevant. – Matt Erhard, senior partner at Summit Search Group
It can be very beneficial for you as a lot of potential recruiters are there, and even the big-shots of several digital marketing firms are quite active on Linkedin. Try to stay connected with the organization you are aiming at, and who knows your social-connection might give you an extra edge during the interview. On the other hand, a compelling Linkedin profile can earn you some serious attention from many top digital marketing recruiters.
Moreover, LinkedIn is an incredible platform for young job seekers. So you can also benefit a lot from the digital marketing job postings on the site.
Apart from having a strong social media presence, if you have a blog or website that you are running for quite a long time, and created tons of insightful content, you should mention that in your digital marketing interview.
Be as specific as you can. Tell/show the interviewer the exact number of visitors you are driving to your blog/website. Brief about the various traffic channels, how you are increasing blog visitors, how you are building your email list, and what your future plans are.
Lastly, make sure that the about us page of your blog/site is well composed and engaging, and showcases your digital marketing goals, skills, ideas, and interests professionally.
So, if you follow and work on this digital marketing interview tip and perfect your online presence, you will always be two steps ahead of other interviewees.
#5 Digital Marketing Interview Tip: Showcase Your Previous Achievements
Showcasing your previous achievements is very important during an interview. After all, it’s all about the impression you will leave on the interviewer, which will ultimately play a major part in your selection. But don’t just start bragging about your experiences in buttery words. Worst case scenario, all you say might even be considered as sheer humbug and jeopardize your selection.
Hence, you should not just blabber but prepare your pitch in a proper way and use the data to support your comments. For example, state your previous work experience with the help of the jobs/projects you had executed and the results you had attained.
If you have completed a certified digital marketing course or an internship, you should put forth the related data supporting that. Data that matter for your new job role – data that can convince the recruiters or interviewers to put their faith in you. After all, digital marketing is all about utilizing the data in a favorable way that can represent the business in the best possible shape to its online customers and audiences.
To stand out from the rest of the digital marketing candidates before or after you, presenting your previous experience in a proper and convincing way can prove to be one of the most valuable interview tactics.
A word of advice here – never ever miss this crucial digital marketing interview tip – prepare your pitch and show your achievements meticulously.
#6 Digital Marketing Interview Tip: Know Your Subject and Prepare for the Common Questions
Remember the viva exams during your school and college days? Well, the idea is still the same. If you are here for your first job interview in the digital marketing domain, you ought to have your basic facts right.
So the next crucial digital marketing interview tip on this list is – prepare yourself for the entry-level digital marketing questions.
If you fail to answer the simplest questions on digital marketing, nothing can be a bigger setback. Hence, you have to prepare well so that all the rudimentary facts about the domain rest at the tip of your tongue.
With basic facts in place, you can now focus on individual organizations and research their niche and digital marketing assets. It doesn’t matter whether you are a fresher or an experienced professional, in either case, you might have to face the basic questions and even the tricky ones.
Having a solid digital marketing knowledge foundation will help you tackle the digital marketing interview better, and will also enable you to win your future professional endeavors.
So, diligently work on the ABCs of SEO, social media marketing, PPC, content marketing, etc. prior to your first digital marketing job interview!
#7 Digital Marketing Interview Tip: Show Your Eagerness
Knowing several processes of digital marketing and your job profile is definitely essential. However, having said that, the interviewer might ask a few questions that may come out of the blue when you don’t have even the slightest clue about them.
Well, in that case, our next digital marketing interview tip would be – don’t get nervous. Instead, accept and try to show them your keen interest in learning new things every day. This will convince them about your knack towards self-development.
Digital marketing is a vast field. So, it’s okay if you don’t know a few answers being a newcomer. But you should always be prepared to delve deeper to understand the unknown facts and techniques.
Tackle the questions that you don’t know with a bit of diplomacy, but don’t try to fool the interviewer by pretending that you know them but can’t recall the answers at the moment. Trust me, with their experience, deciphering such tricks will be too easy.
Instead, show your eagerness to contribute and learn at the same time. After all, an organization can only grow when its employees are growing consistently!
#8 Digital Marketing Interview Tip: Follow the Company and Stay Connected With Them
As I mentioned earlier, staying connected with the preferred companies can be very much beneficial for any digital marketing aspirant. Make the best use of platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter, and stay in the loop with their digital marketing teams on social media.
A survey showed that around 22 percent of candidates who interact with the company’s social media postings are most preferred by hiring managers.
This is, in my opinion, one of the best digital marketing job interview tips that you should never miss to follow.
Irrespective of the result of the interview, staying connected with them will be helpful for you in the long run. After all, having a number of top-recruiters and digital marketing big-shots as your peers will somehow or the other amplify your professional image.
You can’t just expect them to remember you from an interview that happened three months ago, especially when they are screening hundreds of interviewees every week. But, if you stay active and connected with them on these platforms, they will not be utterly forgetful about you. Moreover, staying connected with them on social media platforms will keep you under their noses most of the time.
Follow the company to stay updated about their innovative marketing campaigns and the latest developments as most organizations post them on their social media handles. This will help you prepare better for your next interview attempt.
#9 Digital Marketing Interview Tip: Be Socially Engaged With Them Meaningfully
They say, true maturity is not in how you deal with your success, but it’s in how you deal with your failures. If things don’t work out as you had thought they would, you should not develop any negative attitude about the interviewers or the company.
Even while staying connected with them on various social media platforms, you should maintain this professional integrity. No matter what, you should respect the decision and regain your focus for the next attempt. It’s not the end of the world, give yourself some time to cope up with the decision and then start again.
Stay connected with them in a meaningful way. You don’t have to spam or bother them because your attempt was unsuccessful. Instead, maintaining a professional decorum can make a better impression and help you with your next interview.
React to their posts and updates in the proper manner. Stay engaged with them about exciting facts related to the digital marketing industry. All of this will land you on their good-book. And this prior-impression can work wonders for you in the next interview attempt.
Following this vital digital marketing job interview tip will be beneficial for you in the long run.
No matter how cliché it sounds, but the truth is:
“Patience is a virtue!”
Bonus Digital Marketing Interview Tips: A Few Common Interview Tips for First-Time Digital Marketing Job-Seekers
Apart from the nine essential digital marketing tips, you must follow a few basic job interview tips every time you appear for an interview, be it an entry-level position, mid-level role, or a digital marketing managerial job.
- Wear formal dress while appearing for an interview. No change for a VCON interview round (not even in the recent lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic). It’s a must.
- Be punctual. Arriving late for an interview can kill the possibilities of the selection.
- Always stay positive and be attentive and polite to all in the interview panel.
- Don’t lie. This is perhaps the worst thing you will do, which will ruin the chances of getting hired.
- Don’t show off. At times this may lead the hiring managers to reject you.
Want to know a little more about the dos and don’ts in an interview? Watch this video with actionable tips.
Conclusion
Before I wrap it up, I would like to share one piece of advice with all my readers. Don’t consider these nine digital marketing job interview tips, as the only to-dos for cracking your first interview.
Also, even if you fail to succeed in your first interview with your dream digital marketing agency, don’t lose your hope and patience. The road uphill is never too easy, but you just have to keep your dreams alive. So, look forward and work on it.
Review yourself, think about the aspects that went wrong, regain your focus, and get going again. Remember, some of the world’s biggest digital marketers faced hundreds of failures at the early stage of their lives. They left the failures behind but never failed to try again.
Also, these digital marketing interview tips will indeed help you even after two years, if you plan to make a switch to the internet marketing industry to boost your career. Yes, they will still be relevant at that time.
So how did you crack your first digital marketing interview and land your first job? Did you find any similarities with the suggestions above? Share your digital marketing interview tips with us in the comment section below. As there are no hard and fast rules for success, your experience may open up a couple of new avenues for numerous entry-level digital marketers. So, let us know your thoughts and keep the ideas coming and conversation going.
Till then, stay tuned.
Best of luck!
An advanced All-in-One Digital Marketing Course.
Mentored by Mr. Soumya Roy, the Founder, CEO of PromozSEO Web Marketing Academy.
Being an entrepreneur and digital marketer, he loves to share his knowledge and experience in topics related to internet marketing, SEO, SEM, social media, content marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, and many more.
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