How can you overcome a lack of experience in a Brand Strategy interview?

Before a brand strategy interview, thoroughly research the company's mission, vision, values, audience, and competitors. Analyze its current brand strategy, including identity, voice, and visuals. Identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats enables you to address questions about challenges, goals, and improvements during the interview, showcasing your strategic thinking and preparation.

When asked about how to accomplish a campaign and the strategy to do about it? Do not be worried about your experience. Instead, do your research on some brand campaigns and share that you have not conducted that yet but show them the metrics on how that worked and how you plan to execute it for your organization. Highlighting complementary skills and how you showcased them is a great step for making up for inadequate experience.

Preparing for a brand strategy interview without extensive experience can be tackled by thoroughly researching the company and its brand. Demonstrating a deep understanding of the company's mission, vision, values, target audience, competitors, and unique selling proposition is crucial. Analyze the company's current brand strategy, focusing on its identity, voice, tone, message, and visual elements. This analysis will help you identify the brand's strengths, weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats in the market. Armed with this knowledge, you'll be better equipped to discuss the brand's challenges, goals, and opportunities, and even suggest improvements or ways to differentiate the brand.

Demonstrating thorough knowledge of the company's brand, market position, competitors, and industry trends shows that you are well-prepared and genuinely interested. For example, if the company recently rebranded or launched a new product, you can mention specific aspects of this in your interview, like how the rebranding aligns with current market trends or the potential impact of the new product on the brand's positioning. I typically go through their ads and observe what has changed and what has remained consistent throughout the years. Further, try to form your opinion over what you liked, disliked, or felt could have been better. You can also map their revenue or share value with changes in their strategy

To compensate for a lack of brand strategy experience in an interview, showcase your skills and knowledge. Share examples of past work, projects, or courses related to brand strategy, and present your portfolio, website, or social media demonstrating your abilities. Emphasize your understanding of key brand strategy concepts, frameworks, and trends, like positioning, differentiation, segmentation, storytelling, or customer journey mapping. This illustrates your expertise and commitment to staying informed in the field.

A great way to demonstrate ability with a lack of historical experience is to present the interview panel with a set of mock case studies (do say they are mock-ups) that demonstrate your abilities with a range of issues and examples the company normally handles.

Experience is relative. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be hands on for it to be termed experience. Gaining insights from other people’s experience can become your experience. It’s an experience because there was a problem/failure, a lesson and a solution. If you can get these three things from other peoples experience, you’ve created an experience for yourself. As long as you have this figured out you can’t feel inexperienced in any interview, it’s simple logic.

Focus on the skills and knowledge you do have that are relevant to brand strategy. This can include skills like critical thinking, creativity, market analysis, or any past experiences that required similar competencies. If you've taken a course in marketing or have experience with data analysis, discuss how these skills can be beneficial in understanding market trends and consumer behavior, which are crucial in brand strategy. My first switch was from software development to account management in digital ads company! In the interview I consistently gave examples of brand strategy and share my thoughts on what's working for which brand. And yes, it worked - I got the job!

In a brand strategy interview, compensating for lack of experience can be achieved by highlighting your relevant skills and knowledge. Showcase examples from previous work, projects, or courses that involved brand strategy or related areas like marketing, design, or communication. If you have a portfolio, website, blog, or active social media accounts, use these to demonstrate your ability to create and communicate effective brand strategies. Additionally, emphasize your understanding of key brand strategy concepts, frameworks, tools, and trends. Discuss your knowledge in areas such as positioning, differentiation, segmentation, archetypes, storytelling, or customer journey mapping.

Lack of experience should be compensated with eagerness to learn and grow. Let your questions lead the way. Confidence in your curiosity is the bridge between inexperience and expertise. They say experience is the best teacher, but sometimes a fresh perspective can shake things and show that with your questions.

The main thing that helps you go from the beginning to the end in your brand strategy journey is being eager to learn. The foundation of brand strategy rests firmly on two indispensable pillars – observations and research. To unravel the intricacies of the brand you are immersed in, it is imperative to delve into a comprehensive understanding of each aspect. Consistently pose insightful questions, as they act as the compass guiding you toward a more nuanced and refined brand perspective.

To overcome a lack of experience in a brand strategy interview, ask insightful questions that showcase your curiosity and interest. Inquire about how the company measures the effectiveness of its brand strategy, its main challenges or opportunities in the market, or how it aligns brand strategy with business strategy. Demonstrate enthusiasm by asking about best practices, resources for developing a brand strategy, the skills of a successful brand strategist, or how the team fosters innovation and collaboration. This not only exhibits your interest but also highlights your proactive approach to learning.

Insightful questioning is the backbone of great strategy and to use this skill on the interview panel will really help to demonstrate your abilities.. Don’t forget to ask: Why this job?, why now?, why me? As with all brand work this is a game of connection with PEOPLE.

The most successful people are also the most curious. If you are seeking a brand strategy role (or even if you are not, and approaching an entirely new role), one of the best ways to standout for your fellow candidates is to be relentlessly curious by asking strong questions. And not just the standard cookie cutter questions. Ask about how the team develops strategy? Who makes the decision? How do we collaborate? How do we evaluate resource allocation? And it's not just about showcasing your interest in the role but also demonstrating your proactive mindset and genuine eagerness to contribute. You'd be amazed how much mindset can set you apart from others when you show up as a thought leader in training.

Overcoming a lack of experience in a brand strategy interview can also be achieved by displaying confidence and honesty about your abilities and potential. Convey your passion and motivation to learn and grow in the field of brand strategy, emphasizing that you possess the foundational skills and knowledge to contribute positively to the company's brand success. It's equally important to acknowledge any limitations or gaps in your experience, demonstrating a willingness to address these through feedback, learning from others, and embracing challenges.

I have interviewed a lot of people and honesty always win in the long run. Be transparent that you might lack some skills but that you are willing to learn. I primarily look for the right personality. If you have the right attitude and you’re getting things done, there are always people who want to hire you. And even if you don’t have the working experience and practical skills, you can get the theoretical skills on your own. The are so many good online courses, forums and other resources. Having more solid theoretical skills will make you so much more confident in your daily work, and it will also make you learn the practical parts more quickly. As the old saying goes - hire for attitude, train for skills.

Confidence in your abilities, even if not directly related to brand strategy, can be compelling. At the same time, honesty about your experience level shows integrity and a willingness to learn and grow. If asked about direct experience you don't have, confidently redirect to related experiences you do have. For instance, if you haven't worked in brand strategy, but have experience in market research, discuss how those skills are transferable. All you need to show is a willingness to learn. Many companies appreciate that more than anything!

We can explain that we have life skills and soft skills. _We can demonstrate flexibility, which is an essential part of a brand strategy. _Show full readiness to learn and perform tasks as required.

Show your passion for branding - it's a specific discipline and hiring managers value people with a genuine interest in it. Prepare some examples of great brands, B2B and B2C. (Relevant ones to the hiring company, if you're interviewing for an in-house role) Be ready to explain why those examples are great - in terms of strategy and execution. Also be ready to share examples of brands you think are getting it wrong, why, and what you'd recommend they do differently.

Create mock research + strategies for existing or emerging brands (startups for example) to demonstrate your thought process. This will go a long way into reassuring the interviewer about your potential and commitment.

I'd suggest being honest about your background and that you don't have too much experience. But just be extremely curious about the consumer and the industry. Talk to real people (real or potential customers), read blogs, customer forums related to the industry and their products. From all the research, if you can come up with a few interesting insights and possible action items in strategy, that would be helpful in the interview. Don't share a ChatGpt report though. :)

Leverage Transferable Skills: Highlight skills from previous experiences that are applicable to brand strategy. For example, if you have a background in graphic design, emphasize how this has honed your understanding of visual branding elements. Discuss Related Achievements: Mention any achievements in other fields that demonstrate relevant skills. Provide Fresh Perspectives: Emphasize the advantage of your fresh outlook. Share unique ideas or insights about the industry or the company’s brand, illustrating how your new perspective can contribute positively.