Southwest Airlines Marketing Intern Interview Questions
& Process

I applied for marketing internships in August 2015 for the spring. After applying, there were three steps: an essay, a phone interview, and an in-person interview in Dallas. About a month after the application deadline, I got an email asking for a "Why Southwest" essay. After that, I got a call for a phone interview. It was pretty casual, starting with a job overview. (Save the job description! You can't get it later). At the end, they said they might fly me out for an in-person interview. Almost a month after the phone interview, I got a call asking if I could come in the next week for an in-person interview. The Southwest People folks are super nice when you get there. The receptionist was really welcoming. I got fingerprinted and filled out some paperwork. Then I interviewed for two positions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. My recruiter and potential supervisor were on the panel. They first described the jobs more, then asked the same questions as the phone interview. I was surprised because I didn't expect so many repeats and tried not to say the exact same things. They do this so your supervisor can hear your answers directly. At the end, they asked if I had questions. They thanked me and said they'd call with an update. A month later, my recruiter called and thanked me, but I didn't get an offer. The recruiter explained why I wasn't chosen and gave good interview advice. I was really bummed because Southwest was my dream internship and I'd spent about 40 hours researching the company and industry. But I'm still thankful for the in-person interview experience and the recruiter's feedback. It's another reason I love Southwest and hope to work there someday.

So, I had a phone interview where they asked the typical fit questions. Then, they flew me to Dallas for an in-person. It was pretty chill, everyone was super nice. Basically, I went over my resume with someone from HR and the manager I would have been working with. They asked a lot more personal stuff than I thought they would, like about why I chose a certain path over a hobby or why I wasn't just sticking with my current job. In the end, they told me I didn't get it because I lacked sales experience for this specific role. They called me to let me know, which was pretty fast and polite.

I applied online and then a recruiter from the marketing department emailed me to set up a phone interview with another recruiter. The phone interview was pretty tough, with a lot of behavioral questions and questions about connecting past experiences and coursework to marketing concepts. I was surprised when I got offered an in-person interview. I went in expecting to just meet with the recruiter, but it ended up being a 6-person panel interview with people from the department. They were all really nice and friendly, but the questions were all about my past work experience, my preferred aspects of marketing, and how I've handled certain situations. The whole thing lasted about an hour with questions from everyone in the room.