How to ace an interview as a marketing consultant?
Preparation is key. As a consultant, you should prepare yourself well for every interview, just as you would do for any other job. The only difference is that your interviewer is now a 4P square client. When doing an interview, it might even be possible to influence the result and to know the result at the same time. More on this later.
Apply for marketing consultantFirst, some tricks on how to prepare for an interview as a consultant:
Ask the 4P account manager for more information
Every 4P consultant is contacted by a specific account manager for potential projects. Hence, this is your go-to person for all of the info regarding the project proposed.
In the first place, ask the account manager for the entire job description and read this description well. Make sure that you can counter every requirement of the job description with facts, education, or work experience.
In addition, find out what the account manager knows about the interviewer. What kind of manager is he/she/they and what is their personality like? It might be interesting to find out what color their personality is like, according to their Insights profile. This way, you can alter your responses according to what type of person you have in front of you.
Do online research
Needless to say, that online research of the client is necessary. Check out their website, blog, social media, etc. Think critically about the elements you like and what you would do differently. Want to really impress the client? Look at the competitor’s website as well and think about what makes the client’s website different and better.
Carry out offline research
If the client has physical locations or shops, it can be effective to visit one of the shops. Take pictures and again think critically about their best practices and what can be improved.
Think about yourself
To prepare yourself for the actual interview, it is a good idea to draft some questions the interviewer might ask you and prepare what you want to respond.
Your strengths and weaknesses
In addition, a popular question is to explain what your strengths and weaknesses are. So, to prepare yourself, you can make a SWOT analysis about yourself. It is important to think about your weaknesses as well. Make sure you do not use mainstream answers. Be creative and come up with memorable weaknesses that you can flip into strengths.
Check your resume carefully
On the one hand, you need to check if there are mistakes and if your resume is an honest reflection of yourself. On the other hand, you should alter your resume with keywords corresponding to the client’s job description.
Prepare your questions
No, not what question you may get from the client, but think about qualitative and impactful questions concerning what you want to know about the client. Show the client that you are interested and that you want to know more in detail what the job content will be and what the client expects from you. Possible questions are:
- How is the marketing team organized?
- What are your biggest marketing challenges within the company and within your department?
Expect the unexpected
You might get questions about marketing skills or even about competencies that are not in the job description. Advice: be honest, transparent, and above all yourself. Tell the client truthfully if you do not have experience yet. However, you can still convince the client you are the right consultant for the job. You can do this by communicating your “can-do” attitude and that you are eager to do whatever it takes to make the project successful.
In addition, you have the entire 4P community to count on when you need some additional advice from an expert.
Time for the interview
Want to make a good first impression on the client? Next to being respectful, you should also be on time. If the interview is taking place online, test the online invite well in advance and enter the online meeting 5 minutes before your interview starts.
In addition, listen to the interviewer and let him/her/they finish their sentences. Portray your “can-do” attitude and curiosity in the conversation. And eventually, thank the interviewer at the end of the interview.
Want to find out subtly the outcome?
Be brave and ask one of the following questions:
- When do we start?
- How many other candidates are still in the running?
- What are you still hesitating about regarding my candidacy?
Be brave and beware of doing it respectfully and friendly.
Want to become part of our 4P square community?
Apply for marketing consultantAbout the author
Géraldine is an enthusiastic marketeer with a can-do attitude, currently working as a Marketing Consultant at 4P square. She has obtained a Master in International Marketing and has started her career as Marketing Coordinator in the automotive sector. Géraldine prefers to work with transparent communication and is a firm believer of teamwork.
Want to know more about Géraldine? Feel free to start a conversation with her on LinkedIn.
