Top Interview Questions for CRE Marketing Jobs

Interviews are a quintessential part of the hiring process. Some commercial real estate companies have not just one, but multiple rounds of interviews in order to find the next employee out of all potential candidates for the role of a Marketing Intern, a Marketing Coordinator, a Digital Marketing Specialist, a Chief Marketing Officer, or even a VP or President.

In order to get the right answers from any individual, it is important to ask the right questions. It’s a chance for them to showcase not just what they know, but who they are and how they will fit into your business. After all, in most situations, they will be co-workers that you will see during many hours of any given week week, so choosing wisely is pivotal.

Here are some key categories of inquiries and related questions to consider when in search of the perfect candidate for your CRE Marketing needs:

First Impression:

These are the introductory questions that are fairly predictable both for the candidate and the interviewer. They are used to hash out whether or not the potential employee did some research and actually cares about the company and CRE industry, or whether you were just one of the tens or hundreds of applications they filled out during their job hunt.

It’s important to see some desire from the candidate, and as a candidate even a little goes a long way as far as mentioning the core values or vision/ mission statement during the interview. Furthermore, it’s a way to find out if you are a right fit in the culture, as while you may love the industry, you may not exactly find a match with the style within the workplace itself, and that’s okay.

• What do you know about our company?
• How did you find out about us?
• Furthermore, why do you want to work for us?
• Tell me what you like about commercial real estate?

Situational:

These questions are a bit more challenging. It’s a chance for the candidate to reveal a bit more about themselves other than what is on their resume and the templated answers you can get from the aforementioned questions.

It’s the first opportunity for the interviewer to see some “true colors” and gauge the candidate’s experience in a more tangible manner. Often times, it shows a lot about someone if they are able to own up to past mistakes or lessons learned and furthermore how they can apply them to this current position.

• What would you do if you got hired? Where do you start?
• We have a new client that needs help with lease-up (or sales) of their property, what are some suggestions you would make in order to accomplish this?
• Walk me through a marketing plan you would develop for one of our properties?

Honest/Experiential:

This is a similar category to the Situational questions; however, they dig a little deeper. It’s a chance to see someone be vulnerable. We are human, after all, and it’s okay to have a humbling moment or two within the interview process.

When a candidate shows some candor in these questions, it’s a humanizing experience that shows more than what they will do on a day-to-day basis during their working hours. It will reveal who they are and how they will possibly deal with the inevitable challenges of the job for which they are vying.

• What frustrated you at your previous job?
• What has been your biggest challenge (or failure) and what do you consider to be your best accomplishment thus far?
• Describe a time when you had to interact with a difficult client. What was the situation, and how did you handle it?
• When you’re supporting a large number of brokers, it’s tricky to deliver excellent service to them all. How do you go about prioritizing the team’s needs?

Tangibles:

The candidate has shown their research of the company and opened up regarding who they are and how they conduct themselves; however, do they actually know how to do what you need them to do with the CRE marketing job?

This is a chance to see some concrete proof of what they have done that is applicable to the job opening. Perhaps they fire on all cylinders, but it’s clear they will need a lot of coaching and training to get to the level that is needed. This is the chance to see if such an investment of time and resources are worth it.

• What experience do you have in marketing and/or in commercial real estate?
• What metrics or KPIs are important for CRE marketing?
• What tools or services do you have experience with?

Personal:

The candidate has now been grilled on a variety of levels, and now it’s nice to follow up with some softer questions to clear the air a bit. While these are an opportunity for them to simply state who they are and what they do outside of the workspace, it’s also an opportunity to see if they will fit into some of the company’s values.

Are they highly involved with their family, community service, music, sports, etc? These are things that reveal more about the person and how they will connect to people at the company. While working is important, working is not the only thing that is discussed during the job. Having some sort of connection between them and those that are already employed is another way of ensuring you’re getting the right candidate from the mix into the CRE marketing position you are looking to fill.

• What do you like to do on your “free time”?
• Do you have hobbies or passions outside of the workplace?

Bonus- Flip-the-Script:

Do you have any questions for us?

This is a good opportunity for the candidate to show what is important to them, or perhaps if they are fully engaged to the task at hand. Having at least one or two questions prepared shows that the candidate for the CRE marketing position is on the ball and thoughtful when it comes to the decision of working at a particular company. While the interview is ultimately an opportunity for the candidate to prove themselves, it is also a chance for them to see if the company matches their abilities and priorities.

These are all things to consider when trying to fill a job opening for a commercial real estate marketing job.