This page aims to help you prepare for a job interview with one of our member agencies. 
Research. Research. Research.
In advance of any interviews you may secure, make sure you do your research.
1) Ensure that you are familiar with the role itself and what would be involved on a day-to-day basis.
2) Try to do as much research about the agency and their clients as possible. Not knowing about the company you are interviewing for gives the impression that you are not bothered about the job. Think about advertising campaigns you liked and why you think they were good. Who were they trying to target? Do you think they managed to do that? What do you think their strategy was? What was the brand trying to say? How did this ad compare to those of their competitors? Could it be applied across different channels? You will need to have an opinion and be able to defend that opinion in an interview scenario.
3) Research the industry as a whole. Read relevant trade press such as Campaign, Media Week, Marketing, Marketing Week and log on to Brand Republic. Watch some brand films on IPA TV. Borrow someone’s copy of Advertising Works
4) Re-read your application form and CV, twenty times if you have to! Make a list of the things on your application form that you would like to talk about in more detail. You should also have a think about things that you didn’t get to put into your application form that show you in a positive light — try and slip these into the interview when you can.
5) Also, make a list of the characteristics you think are needed to excel in the role you are interviewing for, and then think about specific examples of things that you have done that show that you possess those characteristics.
What to wear
In Adland, men tend to dress smart casual, so a shirt, trousers and smart shoes are the sort of thing you ought to be aiming for. You can dress in a suit and take off the tie if you like, as not many people wear suits in ad agencies. Or, of course if you feel more at home in a tie, keep it on! The key is to feel comfortable and to hold back on any huge style statements that could go against you. Keep the disco, punk or rock attire at home… at least until you’ve signed the contract!
The same goes for the females amongst you. Wear something that translates into smart casual. A smart top with trousers or a skirt will be just fine. Hold on the jeans. You need to look as though you have made an effort. This hopefully will, in turn, translate as you taking the interview seriously.
The Interview
First round interviews are generally conducted by two members of the agency and will last anything from half an hour to an hour. They are designed to assess whether what you said on your application form and/or CV was true. You need to prove that the bits they liked, are a true reflection of you as a potential employee.
The types of questions you may get asked will vary from agency to agency. You may be asked to give examples of ads you do and don’t like, or think are successful, and explain why. Think about who they were trying to target? Do you think they managed to do that? What do you think their strategy was? What was the brand trying to say? How did this ad compare to those of their competitors? Could it be applied across different channels? You also may be expected to sell an ad in to your interviewer. Think about the above points but also think about how your ad will build on the clients’ business as it currently stands — what are they trying to achieve…. do they want to gain more customers? get current customers to buy more? or get current customers to buy this instead of the competitors’ product?
You will also be expected to have an opinion on the future of the advertising industry. You may get asked how TV and digital advertising will be affected in the future or how advertising has been affected by the emergence of social media. And of course an opinion on ‘What is a brand’…… In fact you need to have an OPINION on everything. Your interviewer will want to see that you have a point of view and that you are able to SUPPORT that opinion and really put a convincing argument across.
As for questions about you, think about the sort of questions you are likely to be asked and make sure you have already thought of answers to them. You will probably be asked “Why do you want to get into advertising? Why would you be good in Account Management/whichever position you are interviewing for? What skills do you think are needed to succeed in Advertising? Describe yourself. Why do you want to join us?” - all fairly standard questions. If asked what your weaknesses are, try and limit them to one or maybe two but then show how you’ve tried to address them and the progress you have made.
To give you an idea of what to expect, here is a selection of questions that previous years’ applicants have been asked by some of the well known agencies :-
• What is your idea of a perfect night out?
• Tell me a joke.
• If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
• If you were stuck in a lift with someone who would it be?
• How would your friends describe you?
• If you could have designed any building, which one would it be and why?
• What do you watch on TV?
• Do you know of a campaign that has actually made a company worse off?
And then of course there are the competency based questions designed to identify whether you possess some of the core skills needed to do the job. Some examples are:
• Talk me through a time when you had to change your point of view or your plans to take into account new information or changing priorities; this is testing ‘adaptability’.
• Talk me through a time when you really had to pay attention to what someone else was saying, actively seeking to understand their message; this is testing ‘communication’.
• Tell me about a time when you had to analyze a problem and generate a solution; testing ‘problem solving and judgement’.
• Describe a time when you identified a new, unusual or different approach for addressing a problem or task; testing ‘innovation’.
Please note that these examples are just that, examples, but should give you a flavour for the sort of questions to expect.
At the end of the interview you will most likely be asked if you have any questions. ALWAYS have questions to ask. It shows that you are interested. You might ask them a question about one of their campaigns or you may even turn a question round that they asked you earlier in the interview and find out what their opinion is e.g. What is your favourite ad? Other areas you can ask questions on include:
• Your career path within the firm. Perhaps ask for an example of someone who has done the role before.
• The training you would receive there.
• Recent news within the media — where is the organisation heading?
• The personal reasons for your interviewer joining the organisation.
One of the most important things to remember throughout the interview process is to be confident, but not arrogant, and to be yourself. You will find that different agencies have different cultures and you should not try to change to fit in with a particular agency culture — instead, be yourself and be confident that being YOU is enough to get you that eagerly anticipated job.