If you’re hoping to land a job in social media, one of the final steps is getting and nailing an interview. An interview is all about showcasing why you’re the best candidate for the job and what expertise you bring to the table. It’s also your best chance to learn about the company, department, and team you might end up working for.
To help you ace your interview, we’ve put together some preparation tips as well as a list of the top 20 commonly asked social media interview questions so you can be ready for anything that comes your way.
Let’s get started.
How to prepare for an interview
First of all, making it to the interview round of the hiring process is a huge accomplishment. The hiring team has already weeded out 98% of candidates — you made it because your application materials and referrals made you stand out as a good fit for the job. Give yourself a pat on the back for getting this far.
When it comes to job interviews, there’s really no such thing as being too prepared. Here are a few tips that will help you show up confidently.
Pick a few key stories and talking points
Think of job interviews as a review of your past experiences that predicts how you would perform in the future. You’ll need a selection of stories about your work experience to lean on. At the end of the day, walking through a hypothetical solution is not as convincing as a story about a time you solved something.
Run through the job description and highlight the concrete responsibilities and skills listed. Then line up a few stories or talking points from your past work experience demonstrating your ability for each skill or responsibility. You don’t a ton of anecdotes because one story likely demonstrates multiple skills or experiences. It’s even better if you can line up these stories with the accomplishments on your resume.
As you’re tapping into your past experiences, think about these classic career storylines:
- A time you solved a complex problem
- A time you made a mistake
- A time you faced a challenge or setback and pivoted
- A time you took the initiative to try something new
- A time you took on a leadership role
- A time you managed multiple stakeholders
- A time you used data and/or research to make a decision
Research the company
Have a thorough understanding of the company, its products or services, and its position in the market. If you stumble upon questions during the research process, write them down for the interview Q&A!
For a social media job specifically, review all of the company’s social accounts as well. Try to glean important pieces of their strategy, like a focus on short-form video, or investment in influencer marketing. This will help you tailor your talking points.
You can also review other marketing channels, like their blog or landing pages, to learn how social media plays into their marketing mix and identify challenges and opportunities you can address.
Rehearse answers to common interview questions
The next section of this article lists 20 common interview questions. Spend some time running through these questions and outlining an answer for each. Even if these questions aren’t asked specifically, they will still help you prepare for some of the most common topics in a social media interview.
Sometimes it’s the easiest questions that trip us up. “Tell me about yourself” is usually the first question asked, and your answer will set the tone for the entire interview — for the interviewer and yourself. If you’re not ready for it, it’s easy to start rambling about every bullet of your work experience. This wastes time and might leave you frazzled. If you practice, you can decide on the specific experiences you want to call out and save room for interesting details that help the interviewer get to know you. This will leave you feeling confident and ready for the next question.
Prepare your own questions
You’re interviewing this company just as much as they’re interviewing you. Prepare some of your own questions about the role and company culture to make sure it’s also a good fit for you.
We’ve included a few questions you can ask at the end of this article.
Plan your outfit and environment
Even though we’re in the era of video interviews, you’ll still want to look sharp on screen. If you think the company is casual and does not follow a dress code, putting on something business casual can help you feel more confident and in charge.
If you’re planning a video interview, get your environment ready. This doesn’t just mean tidying up your on-screen space, but also eliminating potential distractions that could interrupt your interview.
Commonly asked social media interview questions
Knowing some of the questions you might be asked in an interview can help you feel more prepared. Here's a list of 20 questions you might be asked in an interview for a social media position. We'll walk through each question in detail below.
20 common social media job interview questions
1. Tell me about yourself
This is the standard opening question designed to get a sense of your background, career trajectory, and your main interests. Interviewers want to know how your previous experience has prepared you for the role. You can include personal details that help them understand your interests and what you’re passionate about.
You might also be asked to "Walk me through your resume," so be prepared to share key milestones in your career while tying them to the job you’re applying for.
2. Why do you want to work here?
This question explores your motivation for applying to the company. It’s a chance to show that you’ve researched the company and are genuinely interested in the role. Be sure to highlight aspects of the company culture, mission, or industry that align with your values. You might also be asked, "Why do you want this job?"
3. What are you looking for in a new position?
The goal here is to understand your career goals and what you're seeking in your next role.
You may also encounter related questions like "Why are you leaving your current job?" or "What do you like best/least about your current job?" These are aimed at understanding what you're looking for in terms of growth, culture, and responsibilities.
4. What’s your work style?
This question helps the interviewer assess whether you’re a good fit for their company culture. It also gives insight into how you handle tasks, deadlines, and teamwork. You might also be asked, "What type of work environment are you looking for?" or "What’s your approach to collaboration?" or “How do you like to be managed?”
If you’re applying for a people management role, you’ll probably be asked about your management style, how you approach leadership, and how you support direct reports
5. What is your greatest strength / greatest weakness?
Interviewers want to know how self-aware you are and how you leverage your strengths while working on your weaknesses. Be honest and constructive in your answer. For example, discuss how you’re improving on your weaknesses and give examples of how your strengths have benefited your work.
6. What is social media marketing to you?
This is an introductory question you might hear that gauges your overall understanding of the industry. Plus, many interviewers are interested in hearing how each candidate would explain it to ensure they find someone whose perspective aligns with their company’s.
7. How did you get into social media?
This question asks about your background. What made you want to work in social media? And how did you get into the industry? With so many ways to break into social media marketing, the company is likely interested in hearing about your experience.
8. What social media platforms do you have experience with?
A question like this helps the interviewer understand what your past experience looks like and if it matches the type of work you’d have to do with the company. If they prioritize LinkedIn, but you haven’t yet used that platform for marketing, it might not be a match. Then again, it’s always possible to translate your story of success on one platform to another platform — just be sure to show that you understand the new platform’s audience, trends, and content style.
9. What industries have you worked with in the past?
Again, the interviewer wants to get an idea of your past experience and if it aligns with the type of business you’re interviewing with. If you haven’t yet worked with the industry that you’re interviewing with, explain why you’re still confident you’d do a great job.
10. Which social media marketing tools are you familiar with?
If the company uses specific social media marketing tools, they might want to hire someone who already has experience with those tools. However, if you’re dead set on a tech stack you highly recommend, share those tools and why you love working with them so much.
11. “Tell me about a time when you….”
The open-ended nature of these questions can be intimidating, but here’s a quick solution: Look for the real question inside. At their heart, these questions seek to understand how you handle a problem or situation. They are usually more focused on your process and approach to work.
For example, “Tell me about a time you tried something that didn’t work. What did you do next?”
The deeper questions are:
- Can you deal with failure or mistakes?
- Are you flexible and adaptable?
- Do you wait for permission or take the initiative to improve outcomes?
- Can you solve problems and pivot when you’re up against the wall?
When you break it down like this, it’s easy to select a story that addresses the true purpose of the question.
12. What is your favorite social media platform to use personally and your favorite to use for marketing? Why?
This is a multi-part question, but lets you show off a bit of what you love about the social media industry. Share what your favorite social media platform is to use for your own consumption as well as which one you prefer to use for brands.
13. How do you stay up-to-date on social media trends and changes?
Companies want to make sure that you’re always staying in-the-know, especially in such an ever-changing industry like social media marketing. Share where you get your news so you can implement strategy changes based on algorithm changes and other updates.
14. What are your favorite brands on social media right now?
We all have a few brands that we always stop scrolling for. Share your favorite brands on social media and why you love what they’re doing. Better yet, break down the strategy a favorite brand is using and explain how the company you’re interviewing with could do something similar.
15. What metrics are the most important for a business to track?
This is testing your knowledge. Share the metrics that you think businesses should track in order to prove ROI through social media as well as how you would get those metrics. If you have a good understanding of the company’s marketing goals, you can even suggest specific metrics tailored to their strategy.
16. What social media platforms would you recommend for our business?
This is where research will come in handy. Look at which social media platforms the brand is already using and share any changes you think they should make — or if they’re already making the right decisions.
17. What strategies do you recommend for improving social media ROI?
Share some actionable strategies you would implement to help a business improve their social media ROI. This is another great way to showcase your expertise in the interview. Don’t go too broad here — listing a handful of basic strategies only shows you know a few buzzwords. Instead, summarize the unique approach or process behind one or two key strategies.
18. How would you develop a social media advertising budget?
If the job description has you involved in social media advertising for the company, they may ask you what kind of budget you’d recommend for them and how you’d come up with that. This is another great way to share what you know.
19. What is your process for content creation?
Talk the interviewer through how you create content for a brand, from how to decide what content they should share to the content creation process to the calendar-making process. Also share if you prefer to work with certain teammates to get content created.
20. What is your process for creating a social media strategy?
And finally, with this question, you’ll walk the interviewer through your social media strategy process, from audit and creation all the way down to implementation.
Questions to ask in your social media interview
Looking for ideas for questions to bring to your interview that can help you get a better understanding of what working for the company would look like? Consider including a few from this list of 9 questions to ask in your interview.
- What does a typical day look like in this role?
- What are the most immediate tasks that need to be addressed?
- What kind of budget would I be working with?
- Is this a new role or am I taking over for someone else?
- Can you tell me about the team I’d be working with?
- Where do you think the company is headed in the next few years?
- Are there opportunities for training and growth?
- How would you describe the company culture?
- What do you love about working for this company?
Start prepping for your social media interview today
Start preparing for your social media interview so you can kickstart your social media career today! From getting prepped and feeling confident to rehearsing answers for the top interview questions, this guide should help you feel ready for anything.
