Many of our clients are busy with interviews to augment their communications team, but unsure of how to assess digital skills. Today’s marketing communications candidates need creative thinking skills, exceptional interpersonal communication skills for communicating the ideas and negotiating changes, as well as technical skills demonstrated by experience. Due to the rapid shift in digital transformation due to the pandemic, teams now need to be able to use a diverse array of technology (think data analysis, project management, graphic design, video editing, UX mapping, eMail marketing, A/B testing and modelling, content management, budgeting and campaign tracking, SEO management, digital ad management, time tracking, etc.). For manager’s not familiar with the various software / systems used, it can be hard to assess a candidates experience for both required (must have) and recommended (can be developed with training) skills. We’ve found these questions have helped understand a candidate’s experience and set up conversations to understand if candidates will be a good fit.
- Always a good opening – What is it that interested you in applying for this position?
- How do you think your specific experience will benefit us? (have they done research to demonstrate a real interest and can they communicate their value well).
- Can you elaborate on the specific digital marketing skills you have experience in (e.g. SEO / Google NFP Grant advertising, social media advertising, social media content development, analytics, etc.)
- On a scale of 1-10 how would rate your (must have skill e.g. data analysis and insight) skills? b. What do you think you need to develop to get to the next level?
- Have you used (software/platform) or ____________ before, and if so, how would you describe your level of expertise with using it effectively?
- Have you ever been tasked with running a (website, social media campaign, etc.)? And if so, what were the results? (did they lead from ideation right through to implementation and measurement?)
- Can you tell us about a time you helped manage an online community? (who was all involved / working together?)
- How do you stay organized and on task given the diverse range of responsibilities?
- What (programming languages, content management systems, etc.) do you have experience with?
- What marketing and communication tools/systems do you use and why?
- Are you better at tackling big-picture problems, generating ideas, or handling deeply detailed tasks
- How would you approach content planning for a new webpage or project?
- Have you ever performed a detailed SEO audit?
- Have you ever set up analytics? To what extent?
- Tell us about a time you were confronted with a social media crisis, and how you handled it.
- Which metrics do you consider most important for measuring digital marketing success?
- Which project management tools have you used in the past, and which have been your favourites?
- Do you have a specific story you can share about a time where you found a particularly interesting data-driven insight and what, if any, impact it made?
- How do you respond when you’re asked to figure something out under a tight time constraint?
- Have you produced reports before, and if so, what do you think makes a marketing report most useful?
- When a team wants to move in one direction, but data says the team should go another way, how do you approach that conversation?
- Take an average e-commerce website. How many hours do you think you would need to invest monthly for a successful digital marketing campaign? Can you walk us through what factors are likely to be involved? (let the candidate outline the various factors/time estimates involved)
- Tell us about your biggest screwup, what the results were and what you did about it. (Marketing is always about test and learn so teams should not be afraid to discuss failures and learning opportunities).
- Describe a digital marketing campaign you’ve worked on from start to finish.
- How do you communicate your progress to your team, stakeholders, etc.?
Must-Have Marketing Soft Skills |
Must-Have Marketing Technical Skills |
| Ability to meet deadlines/work under pressure
Time management Decision making Attention to detail Critical thinking Creativity Problem-solving Teamwork & working independently Multi-tasking / Multi-project management Organization, planning & prioritizing Collaboration / negotiation / persuasion Emotional intelligence Adaptability/managing change Willingness to learn |
Copywriting
Digital Analytics / Tagging Data visualization Research / consumer insights Database management Content Management systems Social Media Management Marketing Automation systems / AI HTML basic coding knowledge Project management systems Video / Audio Production knowledge Graphic Design knowledge UX Design / Testing knowledge SEO Technical knowledge Paid Media Marketing knowledge |