List of Social Media Interview Questions

Over on the StlRecruiting.com blog, I've been carrying on a short e-mail conversation with Betsy Beard, the inhouse recruiter for Fleishman Hillard, a major PR firm looking for a new media/social networks account executive in St Louis.

So I saw the job description, but decided to create my own list of interview questions for social media consultants. This is a bit more involved than just blogging, but if want a job like this, or are hiring for a job like this, you could do a lot worse then to add these to your job description:

List of New Media Interview Questions

The Basic Job Description:

1. In Plain English, tell me what I’m actually going to be doing for Fleishman, or if I get to create the position. How much flexibility is there on what needs to be done?
2. What is my manager like. Do they understand social media, or am I going to be managing my manager for the first few months?
3. Has anyone else done this position for Fleishman Hillard before?
4. I’m going to rattle off a few names here – do they sound familiar? Twitter, Flikr, Typepad, Wink, Photobucket, Techcrunch, ValleyWag, Technorati. Does anyone at Fleishman know what these are and use them?
5. What is the salary range? Do I get bonuses for bringing new projects or billing extra hours?
6. How much travel is involved?
7. Do my duties as a social media expert consist of doing the job, or training clients to do so?

The Tough Questions:

1. What kind of internet access does Fleishman have? Are there any blocked feeds or websites?
2. What is the work from home policy?
3. Will I be asked to create or post on fake blogs or leave fake comments?
4. Do you have a corporate blogging policy in place?
5. What about my personal activities? What happens to current blogs and current properties I have a stake in?
6. Will I be signing a non-compete or a document that says Fleishman will own anything I create while I work there?
7. Do you have other social media and Web 2.0 types there that I can learn from?

The important details:

1. Do I get a cool laptop? Mac or PC?
2. What is the dress code?
3. Which IM client do we use?
4. How far away is the nearest Starbuck’s? Is there a local coffee shop I will be able to visit?
5. What about parking?
6. Any cool perks? Awards – trips to other cities?

Update: Jeremiah Owyang has some additional questions and comments on community managers. Cameron Olthius has more.

I've sent this list to Betsy asking her for her responses. I hope she will be able to answer them all, and if she does, well, one of you better come through. At the very least, link this post if you like the questions.

Fleishman isn't the only one looking - IBM is looking for a social media guru who wants to travel 100%. If either of these positions suits you, shoot me an e-mail and I'll pass your name along, if you have the chops. No resumes - Let your url's do the talking.