Marketing Executive

Your reasons should relate both to the occupation and the particular company interviewing you. Your interests in any of the following could prove useful to mention: working to tight deadlines, working under pressure, meeting targets, getting the job done, selling, making deals, being competitive, presenting to others etc.

Don't feel you have to limit your answer to just the occupation alone. Give reasons why you find the particular firm attractive. It is often a good idea to broaden the scope of a question and turn it into more of a normal conversation.

Include any examples of selling from your university days. Did you effectively advertise the films at the film society, for example, or increase the membership, or attract many more volunteers, or sell lots of tickets for an event? etc.

If the answer is yes (and it is quite reasonable for it to be so!) then have a reason for your interest in the other areas. Some other occupations are obviously related, such as Sales, Market Research, Advertising, Promotional work, Public Relations etc.

Show that there are common skills between the other occupations and Marketing. Alternatively demonstrate that the attraction is different and perhaps of a lesser degree than Marketing. Show that the job in question attracts you the most and that there is no sense of you being inconsistent in your applications. The other companies you have applied to will interest your interviewer. Let them see that you have researched the field well. But make sure that they know they are the first choice. You do not want to put them off!

An inevitable question considering the occupation! You should give examples of situations in which you have coped. Obvious examples will come from your academic experience preparing work to deadlines etc. Try and mention experiences from areas outside university as well. Perhaps from vacation work experiences or other jobs you have had.

There are some people who actively thrive on having things constantly demanded of them. Are you one of these people? On the other hand, do you enjoy pressure at work while having a very contrasting quiet life away from work? Bear in mind that you must really answer in the affirmative as pressure comes with the territory of a career in Marketing.

Influencing the behavior and even attitudes of others is central to marketing work.

Consider situations in which your ideas were obviously better than others. Of particular relevance are occasions when you influenced someone's spending habits. For example, deciding on a holiday to undertake, or perhaps the purchase of an expensive item such as a car or a house. Equally, it could be that you convinced someone to do something which they initially had severe doubts about.

Talk about the methods you have used to convince someone as well as how persistent you needed to be. Are you better face-to-face or on the phone? Would you be as effective if you tried to do it in writing? Are some people easier to influence than others? Is so why is that the case? How could you apply this to your working life? Show that you enjoy influencing other people as well as being good at it.

You can afford to be brutally honest here, because the question is about which product/service you most like. It begs the question that you do actually know about the firm and indeed have a preference. For any marketing interview you must prepare in advance by familiarizing yourself with what the company does!

A successful product/service is worth concentrating on. This will allow you to identify its appeal and then describe how the marketing strategy has worked. An example might be Walker's crisps tasting nice, but through the marketing strategy attached to them they are now also perceived as funny and good fun. This is obviously important when one of their biggest markets is children.

A bit of a challenging question. Although the simple response is that a degree alone will not get you the job. Your other skills, activities, experiences and interests should count just as much as the subject you have studied.

Focus on the constituent skills of your particular degree. For example, if you had studied Psychology you could describe in detail how any or all of the following skills would be of use to you in a Marketing situation:

* the understanding and analysis of human behavior and experience

* using scientific methods

* analyzing and solving problems

* numeracy skills.

* use of information technology

* communication skills both written and oral.

You should avoid discussing your salary at interview - so conventional interview wisdom goes! In this context, however, the question may be about a rather different issue. Many marketing jobs have the potential for staff to earn bonuses or indeed be on a contract where their salary is only a proportion of their potential earnings.

This question also suggests the future. What are your earnings likely to be in the next five, ten, even fifteen years?

You should relate your earning potential to your ability to do the job. By arguing that you hope to take every opportunity that comes your way, work hard, put in the hours required and generally get stuck in you will show that you are keen to earn as much as possible.

This is one of those hypothetical questions which many companies ask. It is very important for your answer to be both accurate and realistic. For example, if the company has a structured training scheme you could suggest that your first action would be to familiarise yourself with it and see if there was anything to do, before you start work, to prepare yourself for the training.

You might also consider meeting with all the key staff concerned with the product or service you will be marketing. The products /services themselves may also be new to you, so you may need to familiarize yourself with them when you first take up your position.

On the other hand you could want to discuss your first actions with your boss. A wise precaution for a new recruit. Your first action could therefore be to arrange to meet at his/her earliest convenience to discuss your first activities within the firm.

The easy answer is yes. You must give plenty of examples. And from as many aspects of your life as possible. University experience certainly, but also include situations from your early life in order to demonstrate that competition is natural to you. Sporting activities are an obvious source here.

Show that you are competitive on your own as well as within a team situation. You should also suggest that you are successfully competitive. Failing in competition will not look very good.

Bring into your answer how other people see you. Do they regard you as a competitive person and if so is that a good or a bad thing? Are you the kind of person others look to when they are faced with a challenge?

Very well is the easy answer, but you must do your research. Not all marketing jobs involve travel, although most do. Be certain about the requirements of the firm interviewing you. You probably wouldn't have applied to a job requiring travel unless you relished the prospect!

You should attempt to demonstrate any of the following in order to suggest that working away from home suits you:

* You have done it before, successfully.

* It is a challenge you are prepared to accept.

* You enjoy getting out and about and seeing pastures new.

* It will allow you to use your social skills with a wide range of clients.

* Being mobile adds an extra dimension to the work which you will enjoy.