Columnist Interview Preparation Guide

Download PDF

The question can reveal how introspective the candidate is about personal and professional development, which is a quality I have found to be highly correlated with success and ambition.

Plus, it can show what attributes and behaviors the candidate aspires to.

This inane question immediately puts an interviewee on the defensive, because there is no right answer or wrong answer. But there is an answer.

It's a question that asks for a creative response. It's an invitation to the candidate to play the game and see where it goes without worrying about the right answer. By playing along, it tells me a lot about the character, imagination, and inventiveness of the person.

The question, as obtuse as it might sound to the interviewee, is the beginning of a story, and in today's world of selling oneself, or one's company, it's the ability to tell a story and create a feeling that sells the brand--whether it's a product or a person.

This was the very first interview question I was asked during my very first job interview (it was at Cosmo!)—and I completely stumbled over my answer. I was a senior in college and desperate to find a job in publishing, so to be honest, I couldn’t think of much aside from writing cover letters that I’d done in recent memory. In many cases, editors want to know you have a life because you’ll be writing about life—fashion, beauty, travel, relationships, food, etc. Be ready to talk about your favorite restaurants, things you like to do with your friends on the weekends, etc. It’s meant to be a no-stress question—and on a human level, editors just want to see if you’d be a fun person to have around the office.

Editors want to know you have a strong social media presence. Steer the conversation toward the platform you love and use the most, and your enthusiasm for it will become evident. If the editor asks, “Well, what about Twitter?” Or, “What do you think of Facebook?” You say: “They’re still strong and relevant ways to drive traffic.” (Or, if you really know your stuff, talk up the new guard of social, whatever that may be!)

Good content writers should start by asking questions and doing research. Who is their target audience? What are the goals of this project? Look out for writers who say they “just start writing.”

This question should give you an idea of what this writer is like to work with. While good content writers should be able to defend their choices, they should also be receptive to constructive feedback from their clients.

All writers make mistakes, but good writers should know how to catch them. Great candidates should have a proofreading strategy, whether it’s reading a printed copy, reading their piece aloud, or even reading the piece backwards.

I did my education in yuvakshetra college and I have worked as a junior editor in a renowned newspaper too.

Newsday produces one of the top Newspapers within the country. I do not know more than that but what I can say is that the crossword puzzles are much harder when compared to the other leading newspapers.

I want to be a writer and my become an editor I can not only share my expertise I will be in an environment where my work may get more recognition.