Interview tips with Jelly Marketing

Whether it’s your first or your thirtieth, interviews are an inevitable part of your future career. Like anything, practice and preparation significantly improve your chances of success. While most people prepare their responses to common questions, asking your own insightful questions can help you stand out and better understand your potential employer. Darian Kovacs, the founder of Jelly Digital and Marketing & PR, provides a blog post with four insightful questions you can ask to distinguish yourself at your next interview. The blog post does more than just list questions to ask, Kovacs offers insights on how organizations might respond and how you as an interviewee can react and follow up. Now, the questions provided by Kovacs are fantastic and worth adding to your interview toolbelt, but his biggest takeaway is “if you have questions, ask them.” Showing curiosity to a future employer is a great way to show how you think and how you engage with problems.

With the second-year Marketing Communications students preparing for their internships there are lots of interviews ahead. Take a few minutes to add these questions to your repertoire and nail that next interview.

Written by: Zach Blaney, Communications Committee

You can read Darian Kovac’s full blog post below!

Four Questions To 'Wow' Your Next Agency Interview

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of getting asked in for an interview with a creative agency that you really want to work for. Whether it’s your first agency gig or a step up on your agency-based career, there are certain criteria that agencies are looking for in employees. At my agency, we look for a blend of competence, aptitude, and attitude on top of our core values in potential recruits. Asking smart questions is a quick-fire way to show that you are engaged and able to think on your feet. But what is a smart question exactly? Here are four questions to help you stand out at your next agency interview.

Do you pay retainer vs. hourly?

Understanding how a client is billed can give candidates insight into potential culture challenges for an agency, especially if they are working on a billing-per-hour model. If not enough hours have been used by the end of the month, there suddenly becomes a mad scramble to use those hours, often ineffectively. Jonathan Stark’s book, Hourly Billing Is Nuts, says that the psychology of per-hour billing leads to employees being seen as labor, often being asked to perform menial tasks that serve little strategic purpose.

Both hourly and retainer billing have their pros and cons. And even if an agency charges by the hour, it's not a big enough warning to send you running for the hills.

Pros Of Hourly Billing:

• It's often the easiest and most efficient way of doing business

• You know how many hours that you have to work with

• It can take the stress off your boss as the client pays for the time you spend

Cons Of Hourly Billing:

• It can lead agencies to waste time to spend hours if there's a surplus

• Clients can refuse to pay if hours aren't accounted for properly

Pros Of A Retainer:

• It means that workers can take their time on work

• It can allow the business to forecast more accurately, which can lead to improved work conditions

• More time can be focused on understanding and tackling issues important to the client

Cons Of A Retainer:

• It can lead to scheduling conflicts and excessive project management

• Clients can come and go if they aren't willing to commit

• It can lead to less budget for advertising spend

What motivates you as an owner/manager?

Whether it’s industry recognition, cold hard cash, loved ones or a desire for work/life balance, understanding what keeps your supervisor motivated and going is important. After all, you could easily be spending 40-60 hours per week with them. This type of question also provides a snapshot of their life and is perfect for follow-up questions, especially if you have a shared belief or motivation.

On another note, do your research on the person interviewing you. Most working professionals have quite a bit of information online. With a few targeted searches, interviewees can find a treasure trove of information on the person interviewing them. Asking about specific moments in their career can really help you stand out from the crowd.

Is there an annual review of salary?

Every year, it seems to cost a little more just to live and enjoy even a simple lifestyle. Yet, this additional cost is rarely reflected in an annual raise. And nobody enjoys having the often awkward chat asking for a raise. Word of warning: If handled incorrectly, this interview question can be seen as inflammatory to an employer. So, just how should you word it? Here are a few good options to try out:

• Do you perform annual reviews so that we can talk about how I can continue to help the company achieve its goals, salary, and responsibilities?

• If I'm looking to grow and take on more responsibility in my role, what would the process look like?

• Does the agency have a pay structure chart so that I can see where I am at and how I can progress?

How big do you want to grow your staff and where will your offices be?

Knowing the aspirations of your (hopefully) future employer allows you to set and temper your own expectations. For example, if the agency your interviewing with is a bespoke agency that specializes in small businesses and you’re a copywriter who wants to work on large national campaigns for the car industry, there’s a high likelihood that the relationship isn’t going to work out in the long run. The answers will also tell you about the progression of your career with that agency. Perhaps you could be the one to help open the new office or even take a sabbatical at the Amsterdam office.

The biggest tip I can offer you as the principal of an agency is this: If you have questions, ask them. It doesn’t just enlighten you as to the agency’s goals, it also shows who you are, your thought process, and that you are actively engaged in your role. You never know -- your next job might just depend on asking the right questions.

Darian Kovacs, Vancouver SEO Expert at Jelly Digital Marketing & PR

Darian Kovacs is the founder of Vancouver-based SEO company Jelly Digital Marketing & PR and Digital Marketing School Jelly Academy. He brings 15 years of marketing experience and a passion for education, and creativity. He is the host of the TV show Marketing News Canada found on Amazon prime and all podcast channels. Darian specializes in mixing PR with digital marketing and has worked with numerous internationally renowned brands on developing and executing their digital marketing strategies. Darian lives in Fort Langley, BC with his wife and four children and likes to mountain bike, watercolour, and read in his free time.