Interview Questions for Potential Employees
| One of your most important jobs as an entrepreneur is to recruit and select the best employees possible for the business. You are needing to hire a new Sales Manager and a Social Media Marketing Coordinator. You have put together a job description for each position, which you will find at the end of the assignment. Based on this job description you posted an ad and now you have attracted several potential employees, how will you decide which one(s) to select for your business? Of course you want to find the best candidates for the job. Each person has different skills, experience and personality. You want to be fair, consistent, and efficient. The hiring process is time consuming. Remember, time is money! 1. Your Legal Counsel has recommended that you use behavioral interview to select the best candidates for the two positions you have available. Do some research and write a summary report that provides a definition of behavioral interviews and it’s pro’s and con’s. Describe how organizations use behavioral interviews to hire employees. 2. Now that you better understand what behavioral interview is and how you may use it to hire your first employee, develop a set of 10 behavioral interview questions for each position (Sales Manager & Social Media Marketing Manager), that you will ask potential candidates. 3. What categories of illegal questions should you NOT ask at all? Do some research and write a summary report that will help you ensure you are not asking illegal questions of the candidates you interview. 4. You must decide between 2 good candidates. What criteria would you use? Are there any legal issues you should be concerned about? |
Social Media Coordinator Job Description
We are looking for a creative, experienced Social Media Coordinator to join our team and help our social accounts improve reach and engagement. You will be responsible for conducting research on our target audience, and designing social campaigns and a social media strategy that will help us reach our goals. Excellent communication skills are a must, to ensure cohesiveness in all the text, image, and video content created for our platforms.
Our ideal candidate will have previous experience in a similar role, and a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field. You should have a strong understanding of current best practices for multiple social networks, and previous experience using tools to monitor and measure the effectiveness of the campaigns you create. If this sounds like you, apply for our job.
Social Media Coordinator Responsibilities
- Research the preferences of the target audience
- Discover any current trends that may be applicable
- Develop, implement, and manage our strategy for each social media platform
- Create engaging content in text, image, and video format
- Design social media posts that will sustain the curiosity of readers and create a buzz around any new products or services
- Measure all web traffic
- Ensure maximum effectiveness by staying up-to-date with any changes on all social platforms
- Facilitate conversations online with customers and respond to any questions
- Report on online feedback and reviews from fans and customers
- Create an optimal schedule for posting, considering both customer engagement metrics as well as web traffic
- Oversee the layout of all social media accounts
- Suggest new methods to attract prospective customers, such as competitions or promotions
- Suggest ways to optimize content and measure campaign success
- Stay on top of the current best practices and technologies for each social media platform
Social Media Coordinator Requirements
- BS/BA degree in Marketing, New Media, or a related field
- Previous experience working as a Social Media Coordinator or in a similar role
- Knowledge and expertise with multiple social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram
- Previous experience doing audience research and buyer persona research
- In-depth knowledge of Google Analytics, keyword research, and SEO
- Ability to deliver creative text, image, and video content
- Familiar with marketing channels and online marketing strategies
- Familiar with web design and publishing
- Ability to grasp future digital technology trends and act on them proactively
- Ability to multitask
- Strong analytical skills
- Excellent communication skills
- Critical thinker
- Excellent time-management skills
Sales Manager Job Description
Our company is looking to hire an experienced, high-performing Sales Manager. You should have proven sales experience and a commitment to excellent customer service. You will be maintaining our existing customer accounts and working to extend our reach to new clients. Our ideal candidate will be friendly, dynamic, and able to resolve customer complaints and issues in a way that preserves the company’s reputation and ensures customer satisfaction.
The successful applicant will have strong verbal and written communication skills. You should have a good understanding of marketing and advertising trends, and be comfortable networking and cold calling to generate new leads and close customer contracts. You will be using automation tools to track progress toward goals; experience with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems like Salesforce is advantageous. You should be analytical and able to multitask, as you will be analyzing data to predict trends while you nurture leads and expand our client base.
Sales Manager Responsibilities
- Educate customers about our business solutions
- Generate new leads and cold calling
- Generate new sales
- Use sales (such as Salesforce) software and automation tools to report goals and track progress
- Analyze consumer needs
- Develop innovative solutions
- Create detailed business plans to meet goals
- Present products to prospective clients and communicate their value
- Respond to customer complaints and resolve issues to ensure customer satisfaction
- Preserve the company reputation in the event of any issues
- Improve client retention
- Form sales strategies and set sales quotas
- Follow up with prospective clients throughout the sales cycle
- Ensure client needs are being met
- Compile and analyze data to find trends
- Nurture relationships with external contacts
- Maintain a database of client information
Account Executive Requirements
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Experience negotiating
- Strong problem-solving abilities
- Knowledge of current marketing and advertising trends and current best practices
- Knowledge of market research, negotiating, and sales
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Proficient in MS Office suite, including PowerPoint and Excel
- Proficient in CRM software (Salesforce)
- Strong leadership skills
- Ability to network and build relationships
- Organizational skills
- Time management skills
- Proven business acumen
- Deep understanding of business sales processes
Grading Rubric: Questions 1-4
| /20 Content | Does not adequately cover the assigned task. Answers provided may not be clear or if it is, little topic development is evident. Assertions made in the writing are either weakly supported or no support is offered. | The assigned task is covered sufficiently. Answers provided may be clear but there is some room for further development of the topic. Support is offered for assertions that are made but that support could be stronger, more compelling or more inclusive of all issues. | The assigned task is thoroughly covered and completed. The primary thesis is clear and fully developed. Assertions made throughout the writing are compelling and clearly supported. |
| /20 Organization | Paper lacks logical sequence hence causing format to interfere with readability. Does not use proper paragraphing. Topic sentences do not lead to rest of paragraph or are missing altogether. | Paper follows logical sequence with identifiable beginning, development, and conclusion. Generally proper use of paragraph structure and topic sentences. Organization and/or headings help the reader to follow and find information. | Paper flows well with appropriate beginning, development, and conclusion. Paragraph structure contributes to flow and transitions. Organization and/or headings help the reader to understand and remember information. |
| /20 Style | Overuse of simple sentences. May misuse words or idioms. May include slang. Wordy rather than concise. Writing shows lack of sophistication or variety in vocabulary. Awkward. Little or no use of business terms. | Sentences vary in length and style. Strong action verbs are used. Occasionally uses jargon or clichés. Vocabulary and word usage generally is correct and shows some variety. Uses business terms appropriately. | Demonstrates a sophisticated grasp of the language in terms of both sentence structure and vocabulary. Writes fluidly and concisely. Includes appropriate business terms. |
| /20 Mechanics | Significant errors in word usage, sentence structure (run-ons, fragments), spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Errors undermine credibility of content and readability. | Relatively free of errors in word usage, sentence structure (run-ons, fragments), spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Mechanics do not detract from credibility of the content. | No errors in word usage, sentence structure (run-ons, fragments), spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Strong mechanics help to establish credibility. |
| /10 No Plagiarism | Plagiarized. Used more than 3 consecutive words from a source without quotation marks | Quotes properly but excessive use of quotations. | Rephrases in most cases. Uses only occasional quotation that is in quotation marks and is correctly cited following APA style. |
| /10 Referencing | References (if called for) are missing or do not use correct referencing style. | Generally correct referencing (if called for) using APA or MLA style. | References (if called for) are consistently correct using APA or MLA style. No missing citations. |
