Tinuiti Account Manager Interview Questions
& Process

The process was disjointed and weird. I first submitted my resume and answered some questions, one about Google Authorship which is no longer supported, making me wary. After a long silence, I called to follow up and got a friendly reply, but it was clear no one had reviewed my resume. I had a phone interview with a talent acquisition person who asked me many questions I'd already answered. Then came a skills assessment: a 3-hour website audit with a PowerPoint outlining issues. I struggled with this because I don't approach SEO this way; I focus on client goals and strategy, not just listing problems. This assessment also asked about Google Authorship again. I created a poor PowerPoint and was okay with not hearing back, but they contacted me for a Skype interview. I come from a boutique agency with a concierge service, and the interviewer mainly asked about the biggest website I've handled. He seemed dismissive that my experience with 3,000 URLs meant I couldn't know much, and he mentioned link building as an obsolete practice. He was disinterested and dismissive throughout, making me realize I didn't want the job and they likely didn't want me. He asked about hiring/firing responsibilities, and when I mentioned my current boss handles firing, he belittled that. In my first interview, the recruiter said they hire for culture over skills. When asked about technical vs. content SEO, I described my approach to site architecture, which she called technical. In the second interview, the interviewer said they prioritize skills and asked the same question. My technical answer, based on his different definition, made me look unprepared, and he seemed to enjoy it. He had no answer when I asked about his SEO philosophy and no interest in mine. While they might have a great culture, it didn't come through in the interview. The process felt like an 'SEO factory' using outdated methods, and the interviewer was condescending.

The interview process had 3 steps. First, a recruiter reached out and I had an initial phone screening. After that, I sent my resume to the hiring manager for their review. Then, I had an in-person interview with the hiring manager that lasted about 1.5 hours, and it felt more like a conversation where we discussed my resume, experience, and skills. A few days later, the recruiter contacted me about the second round, which was a group interview that included people from the ATL office and others who joined remotely. This round involved a presentation about a project I worked on (I had a week to prepare) and a culture fit interview with employees from various departments. I really liked the whole process because everyone was smart, inviting, and made me feel comfortable. They ask tough questions to make sure you're a good fit for the team and will be happy there. My best advice is to know your stuff and be yourself!

The interview process was pretty extensive, with four stages. It included a few over-the-phone interviews and two in-person interviews. The first in-person interview required a personal presentation about my interests and hobbies. For the second phase, they asked me to analyze the performance of an old, inactive account and recommend optimizations. Work-related questions were very detailed, ranging from my philosophy on account organization to optimization strategies. You will not be able to BS your way through these. I was open and honest about where my gaps in knowledge were, and they seemed to appreciate that. One of the things that impressed me most was their attention to just overall personality. During the first phase of the interview, they provide a questionnaire that includes questions about your background as well as questions about your personal values. Elite SEM has extremely high employee retention rates, and from what I can tell so far in my short time here, that is directly related to their culture. The people here have all been incredibly easy to work with, and are all smart, driven, and willing to help and share their knowledge. Focusing on personalities in the interview process allows them to hand pick people who are not only going to drive results, but are going to contribute to that culture. After working in a few places where that aspect was either flat, or non-existent, it was really refreshing to go through a process where they pay attention to those personal details. So ultimately: be yourself, and be honest. It will pay off more than trying to tell them what you think they want to hear.