Job interviews can be as nerve-wracking so we forget where we are and how to present our work in the best light. It happens to everyone and it’s nothing unusual, but if you prepare well, you can decrease the chances of blocking yourself. You must get to know the future employer well and prepare questions so that communication flows two-way and avoid the feeling that you are on a quiz.
As you know, from time to time, our agency announces job positions for the admission of new colleagues to the team. We have a lot of experience in interviewing new talents in the marketing industry. That’s why we decided to translate all our experiences into one blog text so that all future candidates can prepare well for the interview and know what values and knowledge matter to us.
If you’ve decided to be part of the creative industry, or have been for a while, this is definitely a text you’ll want to read. Regardless of how many years of experience you have, it’s always good to have all the guidelines for job interviews in one place.
Pre-interview – preparation
Make sure to prepare yourself before the interview! Be ready to answer the questions, but also to ask the questions. We will ask you about the precious marketing, design, est. Experiences. We will want to understand your reasons to work with us, and the things you like the most about our agency. That approach assumes you have done a bit of research about us, which is something we heartily recommend to you. Here’s the list of things to stick to in the preparation phase for a job job interview at a marketing agency:
- Get to know the agency and the position you’re applying for (this will show us you are interested in the job and that you have prepared yourself well),
- Prepare questions for us (this way you can discover everything you find important but we haven’t mentioned in our job ad),
- Plan how to get to us and make sure to respect the time (your punctuality will show us that we can count on you and that you are seriously interested in cooperation),
- Print your CV and go through it one more time before sharing it with us (most of the interview will be based on your previous experiences),
- Think about your outfit (we prefer the business casual dress code, so you don’t have to put much effort into it).
The interview – avoid the following mistakes!
Even if you are sure that you fully meet all the criteria we have listed in the job application, you may still be nervous when the interview starts. To avoid potential mistakes due to nervousness, it is important to remember the following tips.
Pay attention to non-verbal communication
We pay attention to your answers and they are very important to us, but the way you present the information is also important to us. Do you look straight in the eyes, what kind of handshake do you have, and do you keep your arms crossed while talking? All this speaks about your character and can be one of the deciding factors at the end of the selection process. So try to show your interest at the job interview by sitting straight and leaning slightly towards the interviewer. A sincere smile always pleases and relaxes the atmosphere during the interview, while emphasizing keywords with gestures can show self-confidence.
Don’t come unprepared
Design, digital marketing, branding, and everything else we deal with in our agency assume you are familiar with certain terminology. We expect you to understand and be ready to learn, in case you are not familiar with certain terminology. Of course, we don’t expect you to pour forth 100 jargon words related to work in a second during the interview, but it is important to be familiar with basic abbreviations or the most commonly used design-related terms. That way you will feel confident enough to talk to our colleagues.
Don’t be modest when it comes to your previous experiences
The job interview is your moment to shine, so use it and show us how your excellent past results can be your best recommendation for the future and fitting into our team. Be open about your skills, courses you’ve completed, and knowledge of tools, because that’s what we’re interested in. Feel free to say what you haven’t worked on so far, because that way we’ll know you need help from your colleagues. We believe that in the end, you will overcome all the unknowns, it’s just important that we know what we need to work on.
After the interview – stay in touch
The interview has passed and now it’s time to be patient and wait for the decision. However, it doesn’t mean you should keep quiet and never get in touch with us again. It is very important to thank the agency for the meeting, send a polite email, and briefly summarize how everything went. Try to insert something from the interview, so that you stand out from other candidates.
Do not send multiple texts, emails, or call several times after the interview, as this may seem too much to the employer. Balance is everything! It’s just that sometimes there are many candidates, so it takes a few days to make a decision, and since we are not professional HR experts, we often need a little more.
Another important tip – if you think that a job is not for you, don’t ignore calls and emails, but make it clear to the agency that you have changed your mind. Colleagues take their time to prepare for the interview and for each candidate, so the least you can do is answer the call or email and explain you are withdrawing from the process.
The marketing world is waiting for you, become its part
We hope that these tips will be useful to you and job interviews at full-service marketing agencies and that you will learn something new from them. If you come to us for a job interview, be sure that we will listen to you and that we will give you the opportunity to present yourself in the best light.
We are a small team of professionals striving to always provide the best to clients with our knowledge, talents, and skills and work equally hard on each new challenge. We expect the same from our future colleagues. Finally, if you find this blog useful, feel free to share it with your colleagues, so they can easily prepare for a job interview in a creative agency.
