Catapult Marketing Interview Questions
& Process

It started with a phone interview with a recruiter who seemed really keen on hiring me and barely asked anything about my background. They quickly scheduled an in-person interview at the Minneapolis office. When I got there, I met with 6 people in about 1.5 hours, so like 15 minutes per person. It was super rushed, I barely had time to ask questions or talk much. It was mostly me showing my portfolio and past work with retail brands, but super fast. It was so rushed it felt awkward. Then, the recruiter called back saying they loved me and wanted me to present a shopper marketing strategy for a fake cereal brand, Nutty Flakes, with a PowerPoint. I worked with a friend to create what I thought was a great strategy. For the second interview, which was basically the Nutty Flakes presentation, there were about 8 people (more than I expected) and the recruiter joined on a call. I presented my strategy and answered some tough questions. I spent hours on this presentation and research, only to be told I didn't get the job because I lacked shopper marketing experience. I was baffled, especially after paying $40 for parking twice without reimbursement. If you interview here, be prepared for an awkward and uncomfortable experience.

I initially got a surprise call from HR, who found me on LinkedIn. I became more interested as I learned about the company. My first interview was onsite, but there was a lot of chaos because they were getting ready for their annual company outing. After a long wait to find my interviewer, I met with three people for about 20 minutes each. The interviews were great; everyone was passionate and curious, and they liked candidates with diverse experience who were flexible. The next day, HR contacted me about moving forward and I was invited for a second interview. I was given a creative brief and asked to bring my portfolio. The second interview lasted two hours, which was good because I presented my work and had a long discussion about my background, the industry, the company, and their excitement about future projects. It was a good chance to meet the people I'd work with most closely. I heard back the next day. I know others have had a harder time; I received a specific brief because my role was unique within the creative department, and I was hired early in a hiring wave. Coworkers have mentioned that briefs are usually too long and demanding, and that it can take weeks to hear back, but that wasn't my experience.

The interview process involved phone interviews with three business-related individuals and HR. Following that, there was an onsite case study which required three hours of preparation and a one-hour presentation. The group conducting the case study seemed disorganized. While all candidates undergo a case study as part of their recruiting strategy, the audience apparently hadn't reviewed the study beforehand and would switch between the characters they were supposed to represent. Expectations were unclear; a shopper plan was requested, but it became evident a customer plan was actually desired. The company made no effort to promote themselves. During the 2.5 hours of phone interviews, only about 30 minutes were allocated for candidate questions. For the onsite, three out of the four hours were spent alone in a room, with one hour for the presentation. There were no opportunities for questions, no market tour, and nothing else. It's likely no more exciting than any other agency to work for, but their extreme disorganization and apathy towards selling the company to candidates is puzzling. This probably isn't a good fit for anyone who has worked in marketing at a medium-sized or larger organization.

I had a private meeting with the head of Interactive for about an hour. We reviewed my resume and qualifications and discussed current company challenges. The interviewer was very personable and easy to talk to, and I felt a good rapport with him and liked the office environment.