Common Interview Questions for e-Marketing Specialists

The most profitable marketing is now done online and in the mobile sphere. As a result, skilled e-marketing specialists are in heavy demand. The strong demand for workers in this field means the pay is very attractive. If you can consistently put together profitable email, Web and mobile marketing campaigns, you can enjoy a lucrative and satisfying career as an e-marketing specialist.

The first step is landing an interview and then acing it. By anticipating the interview questions and being ready with winning answers, you can set yourself apart from the competition.

"What Is Your Background in Digital Marketing?"

First and foremost, companies want to know what you have already achieved in the field. While some businesses are willing to hire and train promising new graduates with limited real-world experience, they at least want to hear about an internship you held or a project you completed in college that required putting your e-marketing knowledge to good use.

If you have some experience in the field, highlight your successes and be sure to explain how your previous experience puts you in the best position to make an immediate impact once you are hired. Recent graduates and young professionals with limited experience can still shine on this question. Describe a time in college when you used viral marketing to promote a fraternity event or harnessed the power of social media to raise money for a cause; these kinds of things demonstrate a knack for e-marketing.

"Where Do You See the Industry Heading in Five or 10 Years?"

The most successful e-marketers are forward thinkers. The field evolves quickly from one year to the next. Mobile marketing was almost nonexistent in 2010. By 2013, most cutting-edge businesses had mobile-friendly websites and engaged in some form of text-based marketing. Google, the dominant search engine, regularly overhauls its algorithm for ranking websites organically. Digital marketers who fail to stay on top of these changes get their sites buried in the search results.

Since no one can see the future, there is no right or wrong answer to this question, and your interviewer knows that. However, he wants to see that you have given the issue some thought and, if hired, you won't be plagued by inertia. Spend some time before your interview brainstorming changes you think might happen in the industry, and then organize those thoughts into a well-articulated answer.

"Tell Me What You Know About (Esoteric Industry Term)"

At some point, your interviewer is likely to throw out a technical term used in the industry and ask you to define it and tell him what you know about it. For example, he might ask you to differentiate between search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). For reference, SEO is getting a website ranked in a search engine's organic (free) results, while SEM is a broader term that includes SEO along with paid search advertising, such as pay per click (PPC).

Make sure you do your homework and obtain a working knowledge of the field's intricacies before your interview. While companies expect a learning curve with new hires, they strongly prefer knowledgeable candidates who require little handholding or remedial training.

"What Questions Do You Have for Me?"

When an interviewer invites you to ask questions, he is not simply flipping the script and allowing you to interview him. He is judging your questions just as much as your answers to his questions. Asking thoughtful questions shows you are serious about the position and have prepared for the interview.

Come ready with questions about upward mobility, leadership opportunities and career paths. Wait for the offer session to go over any questions about vacation time, lunch break policies, dress codes and anything else that shows more of an interest in not working than working.

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