Media Interview Questions & Answers

After completing some longer answers in the screening process, I was invited to an video interview - except it was really a one way interview. The questions were revealed to me individually and I then had just 30 seconds to prepare my answer, then about 90 seconds to deliver my answer. It is not possible to play back what you have recorded, so once it's done, it's done.

Why do you want to work for our company rather than another company?

Research the full extent of NBC's activities, leaving no stone unturned - so that if it comes up in the interview you can impress them with how much you have understood about them. Make sure you have a GOOD camera, even the new iMac built in camera wasn't good enough (you have to record your interview via an external app). Dress smartly and smile.

No assessment center.

The first stage of the interview process took place over the phone. One of Camargue's recruitment team emailed in advanced, asking if we could have a short informal phone chat. The conversation was anything but! It was intensive, and lasted over half an hour. I was thrown straight in to the deep end, and was asked tougher questions than in any of the subsequent interviews. I remember the first question asked was, 'What is your understanding of crisis management within PR?... And describe a recent example you're aware of.'

At the end of the phone conversation, I was asked to meet with the same member of the recruitment team the following day. This was far less formal, and was more of a job description before going over the logistics (salary expectancy, holidays, etc).

I was then invited to an interview with a director of Camargue PR, which took place within four or five days. This was the main interview, and went particularly well. The director seemed to take a real interest in my studies and work experience, and we engaged in intellectual conversations, such as the future of print media and the conflict in Ukraine. I got the distinct feeling that the director was examining my character over my job credentials.

I was asked: if you were assigned to the National Grid (one of Camargue's clients), how would you improve relations with angry locals opposed to the National Grid's expansion plans?

That was relatively difficult to answer. But that was the limit. No really difficult questions were asked.

If interviewed by Camargue PR, make sure you are fully prepared and have done mountains of research; they were impressed by my knowledge and understanding of their client base and current campaigns.

I would also recommend interviewees to bring examples of their work. After discussing my previous work experience in depth, I was asked if I had brought along any work to share. Unfortunately I hadn't, and I regret that to this day.

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I was invited to an interview with two different people from the company. One was from HR and the other was the e-Commerce manager. It was very relaxed and they were extremely friendly and made me feel very comfortable. The first part of the interview was just questions about my goals then situational questions. The second half was a 15 minute case study.

The situational questions were questions like....
Can you tell me a time when you lost your temper?
Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision.
Tell me about the most creative project you have worked on.
What is your proudest achievement to date?
Why did you apply to DMG Media?
Where do you see this role taking you?

Describe a situation where you lost your temper? I forgot to use the STAR approach when answering this question and had to be promoted to give a what happened, how it was resolved and a reflection,

Use the STAR approach when answering questions. Take your time when answering questions and definitely do your research! They were extremely friendly but seemed to overlook that I wanted to go in to journalism, which was clear on my CV. In the telephone stage of the interview when the recruiter calls to confirm your details ensure you're clear about the field you want to go in to. Even if you're a great candidate for the role they need to ensure there is the potential for a role to become available if you get through!

After the questions I was given a case study.
The first half was a competency based question. I was given some generic figures about newspaper distribution and was asked to estimate how many copies of the Metro I thought were distributes in London. (Prior research really helped with this)

The second half was a scenario. I have just become the CEO of Metro newspaper. How would I ensure the paper survives the next ten years with the print industry declining?

Creative but realistic answers with explanations are useful.

My recruiter briefed me initially after I got in touch with her and said I was interested in graduate roles in the digital sector. The interview with her was short and informal but helped me understand what interviewers would be looking for. She then said IPC would be conducting a group interview whereby 4 candidates would interview in a group situation. It was for a project management role so proving that I worked well and diplomatically in a team was key. She emailed me the brief which included the job description, attachments of the types of ad campaigns I would be project managing and all the necessary details of the interview.

"Tell me something interesting about yourself you wouldn't usually say in an interview"
This was the ultimate curve ball question but I was able to think on the spot and come up with something surprising but at the same time uncontroversial.

Try not to be nervous, they pick up on this and don't like it. This includes how you project yourself verbally and your body language. I found that taking a step back , breathing and rye composing yourself after every question is asked helps. Make sure you stay on track with the question that has been asked. The nerves can take you away.
Be prepared for curve ball questions.
Arrive 10 minutes early as you have to go through security first.

Firstly IPC introduced themselves, the company and what the role entails. Then the floor was open for questions. Then each of us were asked to introduce ourselves in a prepared short summary of what we did at university, past experience and our hobbies and interested. Then we were asked to perform a group exercise in which we were out into teams of two and given a list of survival items if we were to get stuck in the Amazon. We had to choose 6 things from a list of 10 and read them out to the group. This showed our ability to work in a team, be constructive and diplomatic. The floor was then opened to questions, then each of us was asked standard interviews questions individually.

My initial interview was with a senior member of the buying team I would be working with. During the interview, which lasted around an hour and a half, he brought in other members of the team. I felt this was quite long for a graduate interview, but it was very relaxed, so it wasn't too intense! He began by going through my CV; he wanted to know about my degree, my past work experience, and more about what I was interested in outside of work. He also used the cover letter I wrote to begin to ask more about why I was interested in working in media, and what I thought the job might involve. After these questions, I had to take a numeracy test. They were fairly simple questions, but you only have 15 minutes to complete the test, and I felt quite short of time. I wish I had revised percentage, percentage increase/decrease, and fractions a bit more. Also- make sure you know what the current VAT is!

I was invited to a second interview- but I had a two week wait between, so I was beginning to give up hope. This was conducted by two more senior directors of the team I would be working with. This interview was much shorter- around 20 minutes. They spoke to me about why I was interested in the job, and asked me a bit about how I thought my work experience might equip me for the role. They told me more about the role at this point, and they wanted to check I would be interested in numerical role.

One of clients is McDonalds, and from your CV I can see you have a social conscience. How do you feel about working with this client?

How do you feel you would cope when negotiating costs?

Revise GCSE maths!

Make sure you can talk about why you want the job.

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I had a phone interview which was conducted by the head of recruitment at Starcome Mediavest. It lasted around half an hour. During this time we spoke about why I was interested in the role, what I thought it would involved, and why I thought my degree would be helpful. We also spoke about Starcom Mediavest, and she was very interested in seeing how much I knew about the company. At the end of the interview, she gave me a chance ask anything I would like to know.
I found it quite difficult to speak on the phone; it was a new experience and this threw me a bit. I also felt there was little time to think about what I wanted to say- it was difficult not to be able to see the interviewers reaction.

We describe ourselves at Starcom Mediavest as a 'Human Experience Company'... What do you think this means, and how do you think it effects our work?

Do in depth research on the company.

Practice speaking on the phone.

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Very shaky interview to begin, I wasn't given the information needed for the interview, the company email given on the correspondences wasn't the website worked by the company themselves. Seeing as it was MY field and I could relate to everything being asked of me, I related everything to what I've been doing personally, within the last couple of months and such. My motive was to make my Ill preparedness an advantage by not having a script, the role is creative thus allowing me to be creative within mp the parameters of my responses, I tallked about writing online, daily fact finding research I did and my overall history. It was initially a telephone interview, where we discussed the fact that it wasn't a paid role, this was a deal breaker for many apparent,y but I was happy, if hired for the experience.

"Have you taken a look at our website? Not that one, this one?"

"Oh.."

As per discussed this was an important section of the overall interview, because the series of questions that followed would be on, what did you like about the page, where could we make improvements etc

Be yourself. If you ever find yourself in a compromising situation as I did, if it's a role that you really value and desire, let your personality flow. The employer will feel more relaxed and you would too, giving you better chance to display your vast array of skills suiting the role.

There was no assessment centre, the interview consisted of myself and the editor.

The first recruitment step that Perform employed was a detailed online application form. This consisted of all the standard application questions i.e. contact details, education, work experience, CV etc. It then moved on to ask you 5 specific questions regarding the sporting environment in which the company currently operates. They were predominantly based on sport and how technology is changing the way we consume sport and how we access it on a regular basis. The length required for each of these questions was around 400-500 words each. This was quite a time consuming process because it required you to take your time and really focus on what they were asking you. Upon completion, the company got back to me in about a month saying that I was successful in passing this stage and that they would like to invite me to an assessment centre, which I duly accepted. The assessment centre was nearly 2 months away from when they asked me. In that time I was required to complete a psychometric test in which the survey asked about various personality traits to try and match me to the job. This was a bit difficult at times as it required you to pick 3 statements from the list of 5, which reflected you best. But on most occasions, more than the 3 might have appealed to you so you had to really scrutinise about which options to choose.

Describe a time when you have shown entrepreneurial skills?

Prepare in advance for the assessment centre. The presentation was based about their products, so having a good knowledge of their products is useful.

Take your time during the presentation. I spoke way too quickly and ended up finishing in just a few minutes.

When the assessment centre finally came round, I travelled down to London where Perform booked a room for me in the Premier Inn the night before (Nice touch!) and they would later refund my travel expenses. The day began with a lot of waiting around as 2 people never showed up for the day. That left 10 of us, with 3 of us being selected at the end of the day.

The day started off with a group based activity. We were split into 2 groups of 5 and sent off to separate rooms with 4 assessors in each. We were then presented with several case studies in which to read through and then discuss in the group. This lasted about 50 mins with 4 case studies.

Next was some more waiting around, followed by a presentation. We were given 40 mins to read a case study and prepare a short 5 min presentation on a given subject. This was where I was let down because my presentation skills are significantly weaker than my other interview skills. You presented in front of another 3 assessors (different from the first activity). They would then each ask you a question after you presentation.

Next was a LONG lunch break as you waited for everyone to complete their presentations and then have lunch. I was first to present so I was sat there for around 2 hours.

Straight after lunch was the interviews with 2 assessors. They basically sat there with you and asked questions about your CV and your past work experiences. They then related this experience to some competency questions to see how you dealt with different scenarios. I usually interview well so I thought this stage went well. I then had to wait another hour because I was second to be interviewed.

The final stage of assessment was a 20 min numerical reasoning test which consisted of 18 questions. Some of which were fairly tricky, but that is to be expected. Most questions were based around percentage changes.

The Assessment centre then finished about 2 and a half hours earlier than expected which was a bit annoying because I had booked an advance train so could not catch an earlier one. So yet again I had more waiting around.

We were due to receive feedback at the start of the next week (the centre was held on a Thursday). But it got to the next Thursday I had not still heard anything. So I emailed them and they had "forgot" to get back to me, which didn't bode well. So the next day I got a sympathetic phone call from the lead assessor saying that I had not been successful and then tried to give me "detailed" feedback, which did not meet my expectations.

On the whole, it was a useful day to experience, but there was a lot of waiting around and I was expecting more feedback than "I showed good commercial awareness and the interviewers didn't say anything bad about you"

My video interview was unique. It felt strange, as I didnt really know what to do, or how to act. But the instructions calmed me down. It was fun in the end, but it was hard to look back on how i answered the questions.

My assessment centre was a fun day, with lots of activities. There were 2 group work, and 2 interviews. It was fun and a creative day. The interviews were intense, and the group work was fun. However as everyone was vying for the same role, there were personality clashes.

My weaknesses? - I didnt want to come accross as having a severe weakness, so I struggled to answer this question.

Be confident, and make sure you research the company before. Make sure your CV is up to date.

The assessment centre was for about 12 people. In which 2 roles were offered. It was a fun day, and the people were really friendly.

My assessment centre was a fun day, with lots of activities. There were 2 group work, and 2 interviews. It was fun and a creative day. The interviews were intense, and the group work was fun. However as everyone was vying for the same role, there were personality clashes.

My initial telephone interview lasted 20-30 minutes. A recruitment member called me asking informations about the CV I sent to the company a few weeks before. First, I talked about my graduation experience including the final essay, then about my previous job experience and the way I used to work in team, facing problems and finding solutions.
The second part was focused on several questions about the Company (market position, competitors, marketing strategies, etc).
In the last part, the recruitment member asked me to continue our chat in english (we started in Italian, my first language): we talked about my personal skills and personality, future job ambitions and personal life philosophies. Although it was a structured format, the approach was informal, I felt comfortable with the kind of questions and the way we discussed about the several topics.
In the end, I received all the informations about the next steps I should face if I succeeded the phone interview; otherwise an e-mail should inform me about the end of my submission path.

"Describe a mistake you did, and the way you came out of the problem."

"Which are your weaknesses?"

"Do you think that our Company (marketing) strategy is suitable to face competitors' offer? Have you got any different suggestions?"

Be yourself. No cheating, not exceeding in self-promotion, just try to do your best expressing your skills specially in groupship dynamics. Be careful reading instructions and listening moderators' hints during the whole assessment. Try to express what makes you different (passions included), translating your previous experience in solutions. Listen to other candidates, respect deadlines and give priority to group's needs.

I took part in an 8 people group assessment. First of all we had to introduce ourselves (in english) to other candidates explaining which was our special feature. Then we were split into four groups for a business simulation (faking a Company crisis), in which every couple had to face specific problems in finance, hr, supply chain, ecc. After 20 minutes the couples had to debate the best solutions for every issue, building together a rescue plan for the Company. The second simulation was a accountant-customer roleplaying. In the last part we were supposed to be a board of directors involved in choosing our new Company manager, trying to find a joint solution.