Good Example Of Can You Tell Me About Yourself Please? Essay

Interview Questions and Answers for Vice President

Interview Questions and Answers for Vice President

Introduction

Cereal Stuff Company is a medium sized Company specializing in cereals and other related products derived. Being a medium sized company, there is need for growth and expansion. Looking at the Company’s mission statement, one is able to identify that Cereal Stuff is focused towards provision of cereals and their related products to consumers in different markets. To be precise the mission statement of the company states, “To provide the world with cereals and good stuff that it can make.” Having considered views and suggestions being raised by the company’s customers, there is a need to introduce new cereal product containing quinoa. Introduction of the product will also require expansion of the market, which is in line with the ongoing plans to expand the business into both Mexican and Canadian markets.
The current system embraced by the company requires each department to be headed by a vice president responsible for its decision making. The need to introduce a new cereal product as well as expansion of the market requires establishment and empowering of the sales and marketing department. The new department requires recruitment of a new vice president, who will be in charge. The new vice president has to demonstrate his competency in championing not only the mission and vision of the Cereal Stuff but also be guided by the existing company values. He has to ensure that right information concerning the use of quality organic foods are in the production process to satisfy the customers’ needs is well communicated.
The recruitment process of the new vice president will entail receiving applications from interested individuals and followed by a thorough interview process for the shortlisted candidates. The interview process will embrace well structured interview questions aimed at identifying a competent person suitable for heading the marketing and sales department. The questions will cover areas such as 21st business landscape, leadership roles and styles as well as various ways of bringing trust to both the corporation and globalization. Before the interview process, the interviewer will have a list of desired answers to the structured questions for easier decision making.

Interview questions

The following questions will be used during the interview process to determine the suitable person to head the marketing and sales department, as the vice president.

Can you highlight to me about a marketing brief you managed to develop for any recent marketing program or project?
Is there a marketing project that required you to managing and coordinating people of different diversity?
Please tell me if you have ever managed a tight budget aimed at accomplishing a given market activity.
Are there instance in which you used online marketing tools, if yes please provide examples.
Is there any sales campaign that failed to work as planed?
Please tell me about a marketing project which you introduced under a desired budget.
Please provide a description of a situation which needed innovative course of action.
What are the most important factors for consideration while trying to influence consumers’ behavior?
What are some of the most difficult challenges facing marketing vice presidents today?
Please provide a list of the best work samples that you would recommend during sales and marketing.
Please tell me any of our products that appeals to you most with reasons.
Desired answers to the questions
The answer and response provided by the interviewee should bring out their competency as well as provide assurance of good leadership for successful expansion and growth of Cereal Stuff. The interviewer will be looking for specific and convincing answers from the shortlisted candidates. For instance, the first question of the interview should be answered by providing a chronological highlight of education, career as well as the current situation. The interviewer should be specific when highlighting his or her profile with respect to the question. The interviewer should provide only relevant information concerning the position of vice president for marketing and sales department.
The second interview question seeks to identify if the candidate has had a chance to develop a planning tool aimed at designing as well as implementing marketing program. In order for a successful candidate to able to head the department of sales and marketing, him or her must have demonstrated the capability to come up with a planning tool appropriate for implementing marketing projects. This is necessary to promote and facilitate expansion project of Cereals Stuff in the Mexican and Canadian markets. The candidates should clarify the outcomes of the marketing program as well as provide an appropriate focus of the necessary activities and targets to be achieved.
All the company departments are headed by vice presidents. Each vice president will be responsible for decision making as well as execution of all projects in their respective departments. It is therefore necessary for the interviewees to provide details of their preferred management skills. Examples should be used to back up how one was able to delegate and coordinated activities to people of different diversity effectively and in a professional way. One should demonstrate the ability to divide market roles and responsibilities while avoiding the clash of personalities. Various ways of reducing conflicts during marketing should also be discussed.
The other area that needs clarification from the interviewee is managing a tight marketing budget. Since the company is aiming at in traducing new cereal product to the market as well as expanding its business activities into the Mexican and Canadian market, a suitable candidate for the position of vice president should demonstrate the capability to carry out effective planning and organizing so as to realize positive return on the marketing budget. Various controls of tracking and monitoring marketing activities and projects should be provided to show the effectiveness of the interviewee in meeting new marketing demands as well as accurately handling constraints.
Looking at the latest technological developments, most of marketing activities are being conducted online. He interviewee is thus required to provide information that shows his or her awareness in the use of the internet for marketing. At least one should point out various instances that he or she made use of the internet while introducing and promoting new products to the market. Candidates should point their skills in use of search engines as well as designing advertisements that captures consumers’ usability. The use of social media in marketing should be introduced in the answer due to the increased access of the sites among members of the public. Another aspect that needs to appear in the response is the various ways for tracking down success of online campaign in introducing and promoting cereal products to consumers.
It will also be necessary for the interviewee to provide examples of marketing plans that failed work as planned. Any candidate suitable for heading a marketing and sales department should be having an example of a failed campaign followed with lessons learnt, after failure. One should provide clear reasons for the failure and give suggestions on how the challenge can be effectively handled in future. The interviewer will look at scrutinizing problem solving skills of the candidates. In most cases marketing programs and projects fail due to poor groundwork or research. A vice president need o be aware about such issues to avoid making the mistakes while introducing and promoting cereal products to Mexican and Canadian markets.
Vice presidents for marketing and sales department need to be conversant with timely introduction of products to the market. It is therefore important to have a specific question targeting the capability of shortlisted candidates in conducting accurate market research as well as developing realistic objectives. Vice president should demonstrate the ability to develop relevant strategies for monitoring activities aimed at achieving the set objectives. Interviewee should bring out their analytical skills and other strengths necessary for heading marketing and sales department. By highlighting relevant strengths needed for introduction of new cereal products to consumers, the candidates is able to convince the panel that he or she is suitable for the job and will be a reliable asset in expanding business activities of the company.
Another important trait of a vice president will be the ability to analyze the situation at hand and determine the appropriate steps and innovation. An ideal candidate must demonstrate the ability to analyze all the resources available and how they can be used in an innovative way to promote quality marketing of the company products. Persuasiveness as well as creativity of the candidate is important in demonstrating ones capability and competence while conducting marketing and sales projects. In addition, anyone desiring to head the sales and marketing department should be able to identify various factors for consideration while persuading consumers. It is important to understand political factors, social factors, cultural, psychological and personal factors that influence the choice of products among consumers. A good answer is when the interviewee provides a product that him or her developed how he or she applied the factors when promoting the product.
Leading a department in any given company is challenging. The interview should provide a platform whereby the interviewee will provide information about the most challenging situations those vice presidents of marketing and sales department face. The candidates should be able to identify biggest challenges that vice presidents are facing in the today’s sales and marketing department. By being able to identify the challenges, interviewer is convinced that the candidate is aware of all possible challenges related with the position. With regard to Cereal Stuff, one of the biggest challenges is to meet consumers’ demands satisfactorily in both existing and new markets. The need to expand business activities of the company to new markets presents the greatest challenge to the marketing department and anyone wishing to take up the position should demonstrate having the capacity to handle marketing pressure and apply technology to increase profitability.
Good sales and marketing practice supports the use of work samples when introducing new products to consumers as well as introducing product to new markets. It is thus necessary to request the interviewee to list preferred work samples for introducing cereals products to the Mexican and Canadian markets. The list should include the use of brochures, presentations, advertisements, seminars and web pages. Moreover, the interview questions should to identify the level of awareness that interviewee has in the company. Therefore, the interviewee should be asked to state any of the company’s products favorite to him or her. The candidate should provide reasons that make the identified product his or her favorite.

Conclusion

The twelve questions selected for the interview seeks to identify the most appropriate vice president from among shortlisted candidates. The successful candidate should be someone whose response captures the mission statement as well the company values. Also, the candidate must demonstrate his or her ability to offer appropriate decisions for the marketing and sales department while expanding the company businesses to both Mexican and Canadian markets. The responses should reveal ones leadership style as well ability to master various roles of a vice president aimed at bringing trust to the corporation.

Bibliography

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