maxi crack the marketing interview
TRANSCRIPT
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Tapan Malhotra
Complied by: Tapan Malhotra (B08057)
Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business Career Portal
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Cracking the Marketing Interview
Agenda
What recruiters look for
Interview process
Preparation
Case questionsOverview
Marketing frameworks
Advertising Resources
AppendixSample interview questions
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What Recruiters Look For
Recruiters are looking for demonstrated examples of thefollowing: 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 XLRI, professional, undergraduate andextracurricular activities to showcase your abilities
You DO need to show how your past successes andexperiences will allow you to succeed in a marketingenvironment
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Interview ProcessOverview
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
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Interview ProcessGeneral Questions
Many interviews will start with getting to know youquestions Tell me about yourself
Walk me through your resume
Answer this question concisely
Focus on key decisionswhy you majored in what you did, whatled you to your first job, what skills you developed and why youleft, why you decided to come to business school, why XLRI, whatyour next move is, etc.
Dont just restate your CV 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 youre going tosteer around them
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Interview ProcessBehavioral
Questions
Interviewers look to past demonstrated behavior to predictfuture 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 yourrole
Result: Relate what the result was and when possible try toquantify the impact
Most common mistake: not answering the question posedby the interviewer When in doubt, repeat it or write it down!
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Interview ProcessMarketing Questions
Many interviewers will probe your interestin and knowledge of marketing
Types of marketing questions
Structured case questionOpen-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)
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PreparationCompany Research
Know what youre talking about! Main product lines? New vs. mature products? Who are the principal competitors? Whats happening in the
industry overall?
What are the main distribution channels? Whats driving revenuegrowth? Where might future opportunities lie?
Why do I want to go to this company? Sources of information
CRISP
Networking with XLRI alumni, etc.
Grocery stores Reliance Fresh, Spencers Retail for consumer
packaged goods Relevant channels for product/tech marketing
Analyst reports (read one or two)
Companys annual report
Company website (check for press releases)
WSJ, Business Week, WetFeet, Vaults, libraryjournals, etc.
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PreparationInterview 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 NOTrefer to it during the interview
Organize it by question type Resume walk
Why marketing/brand/sales 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
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Case QuestionsOverview
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 allmarketing related questions
These cases tend to be different than consultinginterviews
There is not necessarily a right answer
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Case Questions Overview, Contd
Process Interviewer gives a hypothetical business situation
Step back, analyze the situation and come up with somerecommendations 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 inthe situation/strategy
Weak analysis/understanding of the situation
Not taking the interviewer through your thoughtprocess
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Basic Frameworks
Analyze market opportunities3Cs Competitive analysis
Consumer analysis
Company analysis
SWOT analysis Select the Target MarketSTP
Market segmentation
Targeting
Positioning Formulate the Marketing Mix4Ps
Product
Pricing
Promotion
Placement (Distribution)
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Case Frameworks3Cs
Step 1: Think about the question in the context of the market ConsumerALWAYS 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 companys constraints and capabilities?
financial, operational, etc.
Competition What is the competition doing?
How does the company differentiate itself from the competition?
Other Cs 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, technologyimprovements, etc.
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Case FrameworksSWOT
Strengths Always internal to the company Try to leverage the companys strengths against competitors
Weaknesses Always internal to the company
Avoid exploring areas which will expose companys weaknesses
Opportunities Always external to the company
Try to capitalize on opportunities before a competitor does
Threats Always external to the company
Try to keep in mind all the relevant threats
Use them to make alternate strategies in-case threats become reality
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Case FrameworksSTP
Step 2: Select the target market and position the product Segmentationsegments the market into distinct groups of buyers
with differing needs, characteristics, behavior, product usage, etc. Geographic segmentation
Demographics
Psychographics
Behavior Targetingthe 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 products position is the place the product occupies inthe 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 (emotionalappeal)
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Advertising Questions
Interviewers may ask an advertising-relatedquestion (e.g. Give me an example of aneffective/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?
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Appendix
Sample cases
Classic interview questions
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Sample Cases
New Products
You are brand manager looking to introduce a new
product. Who would you need to work with?
Commodity Question Pick any product from your Messs kitchen. How
would you market that commodity?
Forecasting
Given the demographics in the India, how many Nokia
Express Music Phones do you think you could sell (in
the next quarter / in the next year / in the next 3 years) ?
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Classic Interview Questions
Do read the list to get a sense of thegeneral themes
DO NOT try to answer every one in your
prep document or youll go crazy! Do try to pick 3-4 examples under each
category and include relevant info about
each in your prep document so you canadapt those examples to different questions
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Classic QuestionsGeneral
What did you choose XLRI / SIP company ?
Why are you interested in marketing/ brandmanagement/ product management?
Why do you think marketing (etc.) is a good fit foryou?
Why are you interested in our company? What doyou know about it?
What would you contribute to our organization?Why should we hire you?
What personal or professional abilities are youmost proud of?
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Classic QuestionsGeneral
What is your most significant professional
accomplishment?
Describe 1-2 of your most important personal
accomplishments. Discuss the hurdles that madethem challenging.
How do your co-workers/friends/study group
members describe you?
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Classic QuestionsMarketing
Whats the best commercial youve seen in the last fewmonths and why? Do you believe its effective? Tell meabout 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. Whichone impressed you? Why? Do you believe it will besuccessful 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.
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Classic QuestionsThe 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?
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Classic QuestionsCreativity
Give me an example of a time when you had to usecreativity 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 youve hadrecently.
Describe yourself as a brand.
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Classic QuestionsAnalytical Thinking
Walk me through a situation in which you had toresearch and analyze the results for one of your
projects.
Tell me about a project where you had to do a lotof numerical or financial analysis.
Tell me about a project that best demonstratesyour analytical skills.
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Classic QuestionsLeadership
Describe a situation in which you had a conflict w/another person and how you resolved it.
Give an example of when you successfully supervised adiverse 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 workto other people and they didnt follow through. Tell meabout a situation like that, why it happened, how youhandled it and what you learned.
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Classic QuestionsTeamwork
Give an example of how you dealt with a bad teamsituation.
Describe a situation when you were able to buildteam 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? Whatdid you do?
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Classic QuestionsDecision Making
Whats the most difficult decision youve 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.
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Classic QuestionsIntegrity
Describe an ethical dilemma which youvehad to face during your career. How didyou resolve the issue?
Describe your character.
Have you ever been asked to do somethingthat wasnt right? What did you do?
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Yet More Questions
What are the attributes of a successful marketingcampaign?
Give me a specific example of a time you solved a problemcreatively?
How do you motivate others, particularly those over whomyou have no direct authority?
Give an example of an innovative solution to a businessproblem.
Pretend today is your first day at work as a brand managerfor Brand X. What are the ten most important questionsyou would ask.
Give me a 30-second commercial about yourself.
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