It's Wednesday evening, and you just received an email confirmation for an interview with a small marketing startup in two days. You finally have a chance to get your foot in the door and land your first job in marketing. That's quite an accomplishment – but suddenly, it hit you. You must sell yourself and prove that you are a good fit. How will you do that? What kind of questions will they ask? How can you prepare for an experience when you don't know what to expect? These are all valid questions, and now, suddenly, you're starting to feel unprepared. Luckily, we have anticipated this situation, and have an answer for you – have you considered a mock interview?
Interviews can be intimidating, and you may feel nervous, counting down the days leading up to one. That's where mock interviews come in. Indeed, calls a mock interview a practice interview that recreates the real-life interaction between an interviewee and a hiring manager. [1] In other words, you get someone to ask you the kind of questions you would hear in an interview, and you practice responding as best you can. You practice these answers, your delivery, remaining calm, your body language, maintaining eye contact – everything you would do in an interview. While you can't simulate the experience completely, you can practice getting comfortable with answering questions, speaking about your experiences, and selling yourself.
If you're going to do a mock interview, dress the part and get comfortable answering questions in business attire. Making the environment and conditions feel as realistic as possible could help you relax when you go in for the real thing. Since this is a mock marketing interview, prepare questions that will challenge you to answer from a marketing perspective. While you may write the questions down, if asked randomly, you won't know what's coming, and you can react naturally to each question when it's asked. If your interviewer notices a failure to make eye contact when answering questions, you know what to focus on. Ensure you conduct thorough research on the company, so you have a few marketing-related questions to ask at the end.
If you need more tips, CMA NXT has blogs on interviews, like what to do after an interview, questions that will make you stand out, informational interviews and how to leave a good impression. The CMA NXT platform also features a variety of videos with tips focusing on the interview process, including how to make a strong impression, interviewing as a creative professional, and covering both in-person and video interviews.
To prepare, research some of the most common interview questions and have your mock interviewer ask you them one at a time. An article called 9 Interview Questions to Expect (With Answers) [2], by Indeed, might give you the practice you need to answer these questions confidently and impress your interviewer. Here are five of the nine questions that we found the most interesting from the list:
Why did you start a career in marketing?
Talk about what drew you to marketing in the first place. Was it the commercials in the middle of your favourite show? The headlines on magazine covers? Was it the ads you saw while shopping online? Were you inspired by a professor, a class or a friend? Tell your story by expressing where your passion for marketing came from.
Describe the company's target audience.
Here's your opportunity to demonstrate that you conducted thorough research on the company and understand its brand and target audience. You may have even developed some valuable insights that you would like to share.
Describe a product or service you successfully marketed.
This question may not be directed to you if you're looking for your first marketing job, but don't be so sure. You may have marketed products or services in a volunteer capacity. The product or service you are marketing could be yourself. It all depends on how you approach the question and the level of experience you can draw on to answer it.
How do you stay current with marketing trends and techniques?
What are you doing to stay ahead of the curve? If you didn't already know, marketing is constantly changing – always evolving. Today, it's generative AI; tomorrow, it could be something completely different. What are you doing today to stay relevant in the marketing field tomorrow?
How would you respond to a situation where a customer left a negative review on a social media platform?
Here's where your diplomacy and people skills come into play. There will always be negativity; how you handle it is what differentiates you from the next person and the person after that.
Mock interviews can be a significant benefit because, unlike a real interview, they allow you to practice your answers in a safe space. With a mock interview, you can always start over or try to reframe an answer. Your interviewer can also criticize your responses and help you refine them, so you deliver your answers more confidently. Mock interviews also allow you to:
Since you're applying to a marketing startup, they'll be interested in reviewing your portfolio. Ensure you have your best pieces and can explain the creative choices you made. Since creativity is subjective, having an explanation ready may help your interviewer see your perspective even if they don't believe it works. You don't have to do all the creative work alone. If you have pieces that you worked on with peers, add them to your portfolio; just be sure to give them credit for their contributions. Have your mock interviewer go through your portfolio and select a piece at random to ask you about. You shouldn't know what the mock interviewer is going to ask; all you need to know is the concept and the reasons behind the creative decisions you made.
You can practice your answers by holding a mock interview or two to prepare some questions and practice answering, so that you'll be nimble enough to pivot without missing a step or tripping over your words. Interviews are hard – they're supposed to be, because companies won't hire just anyone – you must be the right fit. While you can't anticipate every question, you can practice answering common questions, so you have a list of answers ready to share at any given time. Remember, as Jack Dempsey once said, "The best defence is a good offence."
[1] “What Is a Mock Interview? (With 6 Example Questions)” Indeed, 9 June, 2025, https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/mock-job-interview
[2] “9 Marketing Interview Questions To Expect (With Answers)” Indeed, 9 June, 2025, https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/marketing-interview-questions
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