1. Tell me what do you enjoy about writing?

☛ Why it's important to ask this: Content marketing is a lot more than writing; however, I consider this talent to be a foundational element of a superstar content marketer. You have to love what you do.
☛ What to look out for: Look for indicators that they have a passion for writing. Understand what drives their passion, what outlets they've used to express this passion, and what personal benefits they get out of creating content.

2. Do you know the difference between content and copy?

Copy is sales-oriented, while content is value-oriented. Copy is the stuff you'd find in a brochure, while content is what you'd find in a bona fide newsletter. A good writer should know the difference between the two.

3. Tell us about the best book you've read recently?

The best writers love to read, and not just blogs and e-zines. On my list of acceptable answers would be any marketing or general business book, as well as any book that shows your writer is a well-rounded individual.

4. Tell us how would you handle working with different clients?

Working with different clients often means having to change not only the topic of your work, but even the tone and style. This is where a very good writer is going to be your goal, and the research about the topic can be learned.

5. Explain how do you apply SEO best practices to your writing?

Savvy use of SEO best practices is vital if you want your company's content to be found online, so you want to hire a content marketing writer who understands and knows how to do SEO and do it well.

6. Explain me a situation in which you were given feedback on a content piece?

☛ Why it's important to ask this: I certainly want a content marketer to have an opinion about what works and what doesn't work. However, it's also important that they can accept critiques about their work and make changes as necessary.
☛ What to look out for: Understand what type of feedback they received, how it made them feel-and most importantly-what they did with that feedback.

7. Tell us how would you create content to appeal to our company's target audience?

The prospective writer's answer to this question will help you figure out how she thinks and whether her thinking will work well with your industry, your company and the type of content you want to create.

8. Tell me what different styles, tones and voices do you have experience writing in?

A key part of building a strong, cohesive brand is establishing a style, tone and voice for all of the content you create. Some good writers can write well in a variety of styles, while others are more limited. It doesn't matter which you hire, but you want someone who will be able to match the style, tone and voice you've decided on for your brand.

9. Tell me do you work well on your own, or do you prefer to work in groups?

For this job, it's important to be happy working alone and setting your own daily goals.

10. Please explain why did you choose content writing as a career?

This one is pretty easy. Because I always felt writing is in my bones J I am an Engineering graduate and understandably this was a standard question in all interviews. I gave the same reply in all interviews and it worked just fine.

11. Tell me what process do you use when proofreading?

☛ Why it's important to ask this: I certainly want a content marketer to have an opinion about what works and what doesn't work. however, it's also important that they are able to accept critique about their work and make changes as necessary.
☛ What to look out for: Attention to to detail and an understanding of proper usage of the english language is key elements of quality content. (Did you catch the three mistakes?) Follow-up questions could include:
► What are some of your greatest “pet peeves” when editing someone else's writing?
► Which style guide(s) do you depend upon? See “Great Responses” in the Content Marketing Interview template.

12. Explain me where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

As a successful writer possessing wide experience and ability to consistently write high quality write-ups that are relevant yet simple to grasp. Anything you might want to add here.

13. Tell us which professional organizations do you belong to?

A good writer views his or her work as a business, one that is worth investing in-and part of that investment involves joining professional organizations. They offer the opportunity to keep up with trends, sharpen skills, and benefit from interaction with other professionals. And a good writer will find a way to come up with the annual dues.

14. Do you know how do you know if your content has performed well or not?

Mediocre Response:
☛ Usually I just know if it's done well or not.

Great Response:
☛ I look at Google Analytics after a few days to see how many page views it has received.
☛ I search on Google for the target keyword I was optimizing for to see if it ranked in the first page.
☛ I look at the Twitter counter on the post to see how many tweets cite this post.

15. Write a short article on the given topic (test)?

As a candidate for content writing job this small test is to be expected. But don't get nervous, remembering that you have written enough content previously (even if you have no formal work exp.) to write the small piece. Be cool and calm and take your time to write a good, simple, relevant article without any grammatical errors. Any error will definitely give a negative impression, so avoid it like plague.

16. Tell me how Do You Define a Credible Source?

Attention to detail is important in all endeavors, including content writing. While blatantly making up facts, figures or sources is an obvious no-no, a content writer should also be cognizant that not every source is as credible as the next. Looking over writing samples, are there links to credible sources (medical journals, direct quotes from experts, respected newspapers like the Wall Street Journal or New York Times, etc.), or are the links from user-contributed sites like Wikipedia where there is little to no oversight? Keep in mind that every word on your site is a reflection of you and your business, whether you wrote it or not.

17. Do you know what is proofreading process?

There's more to good proofreading than reading your content over and over again on the screen. A good writer will have a process (or several to choose from) for proofing each piece of content. Some of my tactics are reading the content out loud and reviewing a printed copy. Give bonus points if they mention my super-ninja trick for when it's gotta be perfect: reading it backwards.

18. Explain me what Ideas Do You Have For Our Blog?

Probably not the first question that comes to mind, but an important one nonetheless. The old adage goes that if you keep doing the same thing, you're bound to get the same results. There's a reason you're hiring someone else you want a different perspective, a different voice, right? This question can be answered by asking what blogs, books or magazines they read, who would play them in the movie version of their life, or what profession they would choose if they could start all over. You might be surprised by the answers, but what you're really looking for is to be entertained by their responses!

19. Explain what do you think about key word research?

This question is a bit tricky to get to know about the way the writer writes their content. Also you would come to know whether the writer is aware of the importance of using keywords. It would also help to know about the knowledge level of the writer especially the usage of appropriate words that is mostly in use. You would need to get them to speak about their examples and how they utilize their language skills. From such aspects it will help to know whether they are updating themselves.

20. Tell me do You Have a Strong Work Ethic?

The best content writer in the world is of no use to you and your business if they never submit their work to you! Some people might worry if a writer has a full-time job in addition to freelance writing gigs, but if the writer is skilled at time management or realistic in what they can and can't accomplish in the amount of time available, a full-time jobshouldn'tbe an issue. Instead, ask about theirprocess in completing jobs. Do they use the entire time available to them, or do they wait until the last few days to complete jobs. Have they ever turned work in late? If they have, did they let the client know ahead of time, or not?

21. Tell me what content marketing blogs do you read normally?

☛ Why it's important to ask this: Is the candidate really interested in content marketing? Do they take personal initiative to educate themselves and grow as a content marketer? Or will they only grow solely through your mentorship on the job?
☛ What to look out for: See if they mention specific blogs. If they just say, “you know, all of them,” or “the usual ones,” they are likely not reading any.

22. Explain me your Strong and Weak points?

Although this question is normally asked in a written submission but it's quite relevant as it can be used to convey a good impression when handled with tack. Obviously you will easily jot down your strong points like organic SEO writing, discipline, creativity, originality, consistency, team work and so on but what about the weak points. Aha..here lies the sticky point. Write the weak points in such a manner that they seem like your strong ones. For instance you may say/write that you are a stickler for deadlines, grammar, creativity and originality and so on. Just remember you should only convey such points which will either give a good or neutral impression and not any negative one.

23. Tell me how do you optimize your content for search?

A good content creator will be familiar with the basics of search engine optimization (SEO). Your ideal candidate will answer this question by describing how he or she (a) determines which keywords to focus on and (b) works those keywords into the content.

24. Tell us how do you kick off a project with a new client?

What you're looking for here is listening. A good content writer will spend time with the client to get a feel for the brand's personality as well as the needs of its target audience.

25. Explain me what steps do you take when you actually create your content?

Mediocre Responses:
☛ I write my blog post in Word and then post it when it's ready.

Great Responses:
☛ I write my blog post in Word, add hyperlinks to at least three other pieces of content on our site that we've published, and add at least one hyperlink to a third party resource.
☛ I ensure there's an associated featured image for the post by going to a stock image site.
☛ I always make sure there's a clear call to action at the end of each post.
☛ For quality control, I make sure at least one other person has proofread it before publishing.
☛ I optimize the title for a target keyword by looking at what terms people are searching for in Google.

26. Tell us what do you know about Social Media Optimization (SMO)?

SMO is an upcoming and very exciting avenue for enhancing website popularity and traffic by harnessing the power of various social media like Twitter, Facebook, Digg, YouTube etc. Be prepared to suggest some ways to promote a product, service or website on Facebook and Twitter. So go sign into your Twitter and Facebook accounts and try out a few things to develop enough confidence in the field. Nowadays SMO is an expected skill for most content writers and SMO has blurred the distinction between SEO and content writing as both, Search Engine Optimizers and Content Writers dabble in the field. Check out my post on SMO tricks to get a better grasp of the subject.

27. Tell me what was/is the profile in your previous/present company?

This question is relevant only for candidates with previous content writing experience. If you have written on variety of topics then it will be definitely better than having written just one type of content as most companies want writers for all types of writing jobs and not just one or two. Still, hardcore technical writers will not be expected to have a wide writing range except for their own domain. For others it's advantageous to present yourself as generic content writer and not specialized unless the job demands so; for instance, travel writing job. Apart from the writing part also mention other associated responsibilities like, finding keywords, URL suggestion, title tags, page layout decisions, content selection, handling a team, editing etc.

28. Tell me please indicate how you went about the process to get such articles done?

It will help to know what techniques the writer has used and what were the various websites referred. Also it will tell whether the articles were thoroughly read through before writing. Getting to write the appropriate content for the subject requires a step by step process. Some articles are to be written in sequential way and from the writers perspective you would come to know about the way he/she underwent to get the desired content. This will help in making your selection of writers.

29. Do you know how do to decide what to content create?

Mediocre Responses:
☛ My manager tells me what I should write about and gives me an outline.
☛ I look at what's trending and pick an interesting topic.

Great Responses:
☛ I keep a backlog of keywords that people are searching for in Google related to my target topic, and create posts based on the backlog.
☛ I set up Google News alerts and a feed reader to look at which topics are trending in the news that relate to my topic area. I come up with spins on those topics to newsjack those stories.
☛ I regularly ask the sales team what questions their prospects are asking, and use the responses as fodder for my next post.

30. Explain me what are some good ways to get other people to link to your content?

► Why it's important to ask this: The candidate may understand Google ranks content based on inbound links, but they also need to know how to accumulate inbound links.
► What to look for: A good content marketer knows how to get links by producing great link worthy content, and promoting it in a clever manner. Here are some good responses to the questions:

☛ I interview influencers, not only because they have good things to say, but because they promote the resulting content to a large audience as well-and some of those people will end up linking back to my interview.
☛ I include content others can reuse. For example, I may create a quick infographic that other bloggers may want to curate or include in their own posts, with a link back to mine.
☛ I write long form content so I have the most comprehensive and authoritative post on a particular subject, which tempts others to link to me as the reference source.

31. Explain me what do you know about your target audience, and how do you really make sure you are leaving a lasting impression?

This is a tough question to answer, but most good candidates will explain that the target audience is typically small business marketing departments. This of course depends on the type of company that the candidate wrote for in the past (which might very well be slightly different than your current audience).

32. Role-specific News / Article Writers Interview Questions:

☛ Why do we invest in producing content that we give away for free?
☛ How do you think people discover our content?
☛ What's the importance of voice for a brand?
☛ How would you go about giving voice to a brand?
☛ If I told you you need to make 50 pieces of content per week what would you say?
☛ How many pieces of content do you think you could deliver in a week?
☛ How would you go about prioritizing one piece of content over another?
☛ What new content would you recommend for our marketing operation?
☛ How do you go about improving SEO for content?
☛ What's the value of an infographic?

33. Operational News / Article Writers Interview Questions:

☛ There can be a considerable amount of repetitive work - how would you stay motivated?
☛ How do you maintain attention to detail?
☛ How do you approach proof-reading material?
☛ What would you expect from us as your employer to keep you motivated?
☛ Tell us how your background and experience makes you a fit for this role?
☛ What do you know about this company?
☛ Who are our customers are and where are they located?
☛ Where would you ideally see yourself a year from now and in three years from now?

34. Technical News / Article Writers Interview Questions:

☛ Challenges faced during information gathering?
☛ List of publication tools you have worked?
☛ Different between Ms Word and Framemaker?
☛ Different between Structured Framemaker and Unstructured Framemaker?
☛ Different between XML and HTML?
☛ Can you explain me the process involved in DDLC?
☛ Can you explain me the process involved in SDLC?
☛ How do DDLC and SDLC work parallel?
☛ How do you estimate time for documentation?
☛ What is topic based authoring?
☛ How do you interview SME's?
☛ Challenges faced during interviewing SME's?
☛ Have you worked on UML? or What is UML (Unified Modeling Language)?
☛ Have you worked on Video Editing? (Ex: Camtasia)
☛ Could you show me your sample documents?
☛ Different between active voice and passive voice?
☛ Different between which and that?
☛ Different between its and it's?
☛ Different between there and their?
☛ Types of clauses? What is restrictive clause and non-restrictive clause?
☛ Types of commas?
☛ What do you mean by callout?
☛ What process do you follow for translation?
☛ Overview on Robohelp and MS Word?
☛ What is text conditioning?
☛ Review process involved in technical writing?
☛ Different between User Manual and User Guide?
☛ Have you worked on API documentation? (Only asked, if the project is related to API Documentation).
☛ Have you published any article?
☛ When do we use Organise and Organize?
☛ Different between your and you're?

35. General News / Article Writers Interview Questions:

☛ Can you please walk me thru your CV? (The interviewer can interrupt you, and ask you the question based on the information provided on your CV).
☛ Can you tell me about yourself?
☛ Why did you choose technical writing as your career?
☛ Have you done any certification course?
☛ What are the challenges faced by technical writer?
☛ Can you explain me the workflow of your current organization?
☛ What made you to hunt for a new job?
☛ Are you comfortable working extra hours?
☛ What are your achievement as a tech writer in your present organization?
☛ How will you add value to our organization?
☛ Different between CV and Resume?