How to Answer Public Relations Interview Questions
A public relations job is one of the most interesting jobs that allow the employee to think out of the box. The public relations job deals with communicating with/to the public about a company and its products. Public relation campaigns are used widely in generating publicity for new projects using mass media.
A public relations interview concentrates on finding an individual with good knowledge and creativity about the field. Questions in public relations interviews are informational, behavioral, technical and stress inducing.
Informational and behavioral questions in a public relations interview include the following.
- Tell us about yourself.
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
- How will your strengths help you in a public relations job?
- Have your weaknesses interfered in your profession?
- What are the basic qualities of a public relations manager?
- What is an ideal day in office for a public relations manager?
- What is your worst experience in office until date?
- What is a publicist's dream?
- What are the basic requirements of a company or project to ensure successful publicity?
- Rate yourself as a public relations manager 1 to 10.
- How would your boss rate you in terms of creativity?
Technical questions in a public relations job interview include the following.
- How do you ensure a successful campaign in a different language?
- What is a spin?
- How does a public relations manager use a spin effectively?
- When and how should a spin be used?
- Who is a spin doctor?
- What is a Flack in public relation terms?
- What is a desk visit?
- Explain the principle and uses of astroturfing.
- How is a talk show useful for public relations?
- What are the advantages of blogs in public relations and promotion?
- What are the disadvantages of blogs?
- How does the public relations industry benefit from the internet?
- What are the most beneficial types of media in terms of reachability?
- What is a pseudo-event and how is it useful for promotions?
- Give an example of a famous pseudo-event.
- What is a photo op?
- Define hyperreality.
- What are the aspects for a publicity stunt to be successful?
- How do you deliver a message in a publicity stunt?
- What is a sound bite?
- What are buzzwords?
- Explain green PR.
- Define greenwash.
- What is a survey? What are its uses?
- How are the results of a survey published?
- What is the role of advertisements in public relations?
- What are the disadvantages of an advertisement?
- What is a Q score? What are the forms of Q score?
- How is television Q score calculated?
- What is cost per conversion?
- What is view-through rate?
- How do you calculate view-through rate?
- What is organization-public relationship?
- Define control mutuality.
- Define Favor and Face.
Stress inducing questions for a public relations job include the following.
- How will you respond to criticism?
- How do you handle stress?
- What is your most successful campaign to date?
- What is your biggest failure and what have you learned from it.
- What do you know about our company?
- Why should we hire you?
- What are your blind spots?
- What are your hobbies?
- Do you have any questions for us?
