Marketing Happy Hour - How to Nail Your Next Job Interview with the Three Cs

Episode Date: November 6, 2025

In this episode, Cassie and Ally sit down to unpack what it really takes to stand out in today’s competitive job market. After being laid off in early 2025, Ally found herself navigating interviews from a new perspective—and along the way, she discovered a framework that reshaped the way she communicates her strengths and value: The Three Cs—Clarity, Conviction, and Concise. Together, they break down how each “C” helps you show up as your best self in interviews, from defining your point of view to speaking with confidence and precision. Whether you’re job hunting or just want to articulate your value more effectively, this episode will help you refine how you tell your story—and get hired faster.Key Takeaways:// The Three Cs Framework: How clarity, conviction, and conciseness can transform your interview performance.// Clarity: Learn how to clearly communicate your value proposition and point of view to any interviewer.// Conviction: Why confidence isn’t just a feeling—it’s an energy you project through preparation and self-awareness.// Concise: How brevity signals competence and makes your story stick.// Preparation Tips: The power of prep docs, rehearsal time, and gut-checking with mentors before the big day.// Mindset Shift: Why interviews aren’t about proving yourself—they’re about showing up as your most authentic, aligned self.Connect with Ally: LinkedIn____Say hi! DM me on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - I can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join our FREE Open Jobs group on LinkedIn: ⁠Join now⁠Get the latest from MHH, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

When you are thinking about how you are showing up in an interview first and foremost, you're thinking about clear answers. You are going to be likely asked questions that you may not have the answer for right away. It is okay to say, let me think about that. We so often feel like we have to respond right away. And what that comes off as is that you're not actually being clear because you're skirting around what the actual answer is. Welcome to Marketing Happy Hour, a weekly podcast helping marketing professionals build better strategies and hit career goals. I'm Cassie, consultant and your host through these unfiltered combos with your peers. Grab your favorite drink and get ready for practical insights to support your journey in

marketing. Welcome to Marketing Happy Hour, everyone. If you were watching, Ellie and I are sitting in the same room happens occasionally, but we are back. We were wearing our Mickey sweatshirts. We're headed to Disney tonight, so we had to be on theme. But, Ali, I'm not going to say welcome back to the show because I was saying, I'm so used to saying that to guess, but welcome.

Thanks. It's great to be here. I'm super excited for today's topic as well. I think it'll be really valuable. Yes. But I have to show everybody what's in our glass tonight because it's very exciting. We have the Southside gin cocktails right now. So fun. Delicious. For a little post, post-happy hour beverage. Yes. This is lovely. Thank you. Yes. Thanks Southside for sending those over. Yes, we're going to talk interviewing. Uh, you know, just especially, I think, as we head into 2026, if you're listening to this in chronological order, just preparing you for interviews in the new year. And, Allie, you have some experience to bestow on us as of late. So I want to hear all of your things. But, you know, again, chronologically speaking,

we are headed to New York soon as we're recording this. We're going to have some great meetings, go to some events, eat it, some great restaurants. You have some work to do up there. I'm excited to go with you. Very much looking forward to it, particularly the fall weather. It has just turned. Seasons are just turning here in Florida. So we're very much looking forward to being in sweaters for a full week.

Additionally, we are transitioning into Christmas, which we're so excited about chronologically. So we're starting to plan all of our fun Christmas events and things we're looking forward to doing like seeing the Grinch in theaters for its 25th anniversary, which we will be there for sure. Of course, all the theme park goodness that comes along with it. If you know us, you know we love Disney, of course, and Universal. Very much looking forward to it. All the Christmas decor is going up within the next few days. And we've just had some really good conversations lately on the show and really excited to

share those through the end of the year with you. Yep, yep. Of course, if you are not listening to this chronologically, you're catching us later. definitely go back and listen to all of those episodes that we're referring to great conversations through the end of 2025 and into 2026 and excited about that. So, Allie, we're going to talk about, again, interviewing. You have some different like fundamentals and things that you want to pass on, but we'd love for you to just kind of dive in and share what you have so far. Yeah, sounds good. So I think as Cass mentioned, most listeners at this point are pretty familiar with my career journey

and thank you to everyone that has reached out and shared thoughts and kind words and asked questions. I really, really appreciate it. Please keep doing that. I was laid off from my role at Title due to reduction in force, which is very common these days across the fintech space in early 2025. And so I was really thrown back into the world of interviewing and needing to kind of reorient myself to what the job market was and is this year in 2025. It was scary. I'm not going to lie. It was very scary to come out of a role that I was in for three and a half years back into a job market that was incredibly tumultuous post-COVID. Of course, so many things have changed for marketers in this time frame and especially how we talk about ourselves and differentiate. I learned personally so much about myself, how I show up in interviews, how I describe my strengths, how I describe my value proposition. I really need. needed to hone in on my pitch and in who I actually, like, was as a person in addition to who I was an Amazon employee.

And I think that distinction of being better about my own personal brand while also making sure that I was showing up professionally was the best kind of hybrid mix for this year. And so I'll share a little bit more about that in a few. But I wanted to take a few minutes with this episode and just share what I've learned with the community because I think, again, going into 2026, I know this is a popular time. a lot of people start to reevaluate what their career looks like. Maybe you're thinking about a career transition in the new year. And interviewing is really daunting for you.

I bucketed my thoughts into three Cs. So clarity, conviction, and concise. The reason I framed it around these three is because I think more often than not, we can all be very long-winded when we get nervous. It's a public speaking format, right, too, which I think gives a lot of people anxiety. And I think there's an opportunity to just kind of think of it in this format and then everything that's laddering into that. So let me dive into clarity.

So with clarity, the way that I wanted to frame this is when you are thinking about how you are showing up in an interview first and foremost, you're thinking about clear answers. You are going to be likely asked questions that you may not have the answer for right away. It is okay to say, let me think about that. It is okay to take that moment of pause as you collect your thoughts. I think we so often feel like we have to respond right away and what that comes off as is that you're not actually being clear because you're skirting around what the actual answer is because you're trying to figure it out in process. So I think, and I've done that, right? Like I think we've all, we've all done that in an interview setting and it can feel almost embarrassing and that it kind of trips you up for the rest of the interview. So one of the things that I felt like was really helpful in thinking about clarity is what are the what are the pieces of the question that I know I can answer with a lot of confidence that.

I know will set me apart from the rest of the people interviewing for this role. Knowing that clarity in your value, and this, again, kind of takes a lot of prep work ahead of time, too, to kind of know that and really, like, look into yourself and look inward and say, what are the things that I'm really clear about when it comes to, when it comes to interviewing and when it comes to showing up and representing myself in a positive way, it's important to have that correct POV when you come to the table. Yeah, I think so, too. I love the idea, too, of just pausing for a second because I think it also shows leaders and hiring managers that you do want to make sure when you are sharing.

It's very intentional and thought out. And that's very normal to not know an answer right away. So I think showing that, hey, I'm going to take a second. I'm going to think about what I'm about to share and make sure that it is the best, most compelling answer. Because that's something that you're going to employ in conversations with partners and internal team members. things like that. And so I think that's a great point. That's, that's a great call. I hadn't actually thought about that, but it's so true is that your interview is also the first touch point that a company has with you when, like, especially if you're in a partnerships facing role like I was

and am, right? Is that is a direct representation of how you show up with external and internal partners, which I also think is important here from our cross-functional standpoint. It is, it is their first touch point of how you're kind of coming to the table. And so ensuring that clarity, which, again, takes that prep work ahead of time, it's incredibly, incredibly important to think about your answers and be really clear about what it is that you're saying and the language that you're using. So often, I think it's really important to touch on some of that language in the job description. Maybe it's a term that it's something you're maybe not really comfortable with. I recommend doing the research on, like, how it's framed in the job description so that you're

prepared to talk about it. Because some companies, have different terminology for different things. And so it is really important to just take that time and sit with the job description and, you know, think about the questions that you might be asked and how you might be asked to prepare them with that particular language. Yes, yes. Tell us about conviction. Yes.

I think conviction can really dovetail with confidence in a lot of ways. And it really is a representation of how you're actually physically showing up as well and also in how you're verbally showing up. So think about having conviction in the way you're presenting yourself, making you're sure that what it is that you're wearing, what it is that you, how you did your hair, how you did literally anything, like that sense of confidence and conviction

in what it is you are sharing with someone on the opposite side of the screen will make a huge difference in how you are feeling and showing up for the interview. I would also say like other people can feel that. So if you are feeling a little bit uncomfortable in terms of what it is you're talking about, like other people will likely feel. that. And so it's really very, very often important to, like, radiate the same energy and

you will receive it. So I've noticed when I've come to some of these interviews with a really bubbly and, like, excited attitude about the job description and asking different questions that are even outside of the JD or just about the company in general, there is, there's conviction in my voice and in the things that I'm saying, because I am, I am like trying to be a representation of how I show up at work. So I think so often we, mix kind of personal and professional, but I do think there is, there is a way to show up like with conviction professionally. That makes a huge difference in the interview process, most especially when you are doing

a phone screen. So I would recommend this one particularly, like having conviction in your voice and in your answers, particularly on the phone screen. I think when you're face to face with someone, there's a little bit more flexibility with that because they can sense your body language, but definitely on the phone screen, it's got to be the best representation of yourself for sure. Yeah. I would say to like smile.

you're talking. I know it feels silly, especially in a phone screen, but don't forget to smile because that kind of comes out in your tone of voice as well. So don't forget to do that. And also in video interviews as well, like smiling is important because sometimes I feel like we get so lost in like thought and thinking that we start to kind of like settle into that face that we make when we're lost in our mindset, you know. So don't forget to smile, I guess. And again, it's likely, and I don't say this to scare anyone, it's likely you're multiple, you are one of multiple interviews, right? Especially when you are on the other side of a screen. And that smile and friendly attitude is, is so, so important. And I think just to remember that we're all human, right?

They are interviewing you because they want to know if you are the right fit for them and vice versa. So it is really, really important to show up with that, with that conviction and that attitude. Yeah, attitude is key period. That's a big thing that we sometimes forget, like, personality is a huge thing. Like, people want to know if they are going to connect with you in the workplace and are you going to mesh with the team well? And so showing up with a positive attitude, as cheesy as it sounds, I think is really important.

No, it absolutely is. And culture can probably be the fourth C here in that knowing and feeling that you are a cultural fit has become more important than ever for these teams, especially when you have maybe three touch points with the person before you need to hire someone. That culture fit and that importance of this person will. get along with my team because of their attitude and the way that they're showing up is incredibly important. And then concise.

I think the last one here, like, keep it short, guys. Like these answers, you need to be able to say what you mean and what you want to say within a very, very short amount of time. I recently did a workshop with some girls from Sky Society where part of the workshop was actually building out a mini-mock marketing campaign and then presenting it back and they had five minutes to keep, get the strategy across, the audience, and the KPI's. And what they were able to do is incredible, first of all, because when you work together in 15 minutes, you're able to achieve anything. So that is, I think, the main kind of, like, value prop with something

like that. But I also think they kept a concise. Part of my feedback to them was, you only have X minutes to present this and get this across to a new audience. How are you going to use that time to be able to do it? I think getting across, one, sort of your feeling, maybe you're feeling about the situation, your, the way that you would approach it, especially when a very popular interview question these days is how do you handle challenging teammates or partners or external clients, right? And being able to pitch that back to them, being concise shows that you are prepared. That is like the best possible way that I can boil this down is showing how brief you can get something shows that you are prepared.

because when you are in a room with executives that have all of 90 seconds to hear your pitch for the marketing campaign for February 2026, you have three minutes. I think kind of along the lines of clarity being very direct and short-winded is important. Obviously, don't cut out value for the sake of being short-winded, but I think being able to explain and describe something in a very concise way is important. And that's also, again, reflecting how you'd show up and work, being concise in marketing when messaging something is very important. Attention spans are very short and same with an interviewing. And so people want to know, like, why are you a good fit as quickly as possible? So the more that you can kind of button down that response, I think the better.

Yeah, I totally, totally agree. Yeah. Well, other prep tips and things that you have, like what should we be putting together? What are some things like pre-interview that we should be thinking? about. Yeah, for sure, for sure. I think most importantly is a prep doc. So that means you have the job description in there. You have the name of the person that it is that you are interviewing with, even if it is a recruiter, and someone that you are having a phone screen with. You have looked at their LinkedIn. You know kind of small anecdotes about them. You have looked at their

posts on LinkedIn. You understand their role at the company, where they sit. That goes the extra mile, to be totally honest. And I think in a world where it may feel like all marketers are going the extra mile, I promise you that there are things that you can say and do to stand out. And having a prep doc is one of those. So ensuring that you have questions to ask back as well. You may be asked questions for the first 15, 20 minutes, but when they turn it over to you, make sure you do have questions about the role, about the company, maybe about a communication style or a recent campaign that they're really proud of. I will say one of the questions that I ask personally that I think always gets a really good response is what are some of the communication gaps that I can work to

fill cross-functionally for this team that maybe hasn't been filled before or where do you think there are opportunities for better communication between teams? I think so often these very large matrix organizations are looking for someone that can come in and really connect the dots. And so the more that you can show that you are thinking about yourself already in that role and asking questions related to it, most especially if it's a role you're really excited about, I think it even becomes more natural to ask those types of questions. Yes, absolutely. I would say to you, in addition to that, like a part of your prep time and just document

is do research on the company and the person you're interviewing with. I know that kind of goes without saying nowadays, but take time to do that. Like what recent campaigns or projects has the teamworked on? on, do some digging on people, make that kind of connection point. I think a lot of that, like showing up and showing that you are kind of on top of what's happening. That shows that conviction. It shows that you're confident in what you're talking about and in the space that

the brand is in. But that's very important as well because they want to know that you know your stuff. Absolutely. Absolutely. And also, I would encourage you all to gut check with a friend. I gut check things with Cassie all the time before I go into professional situations and personal situations. Lucky her.

But also, maybe there's a colleague from another job that you connected really well with, that you feel like would give you an honest answer on whether it is your prep doc or questions. Please, please, please use the people in your life to help you go through this. You do not have to do it alone. Mentors are also great suggestions here, assuming that you do have a mentor. If you don't, maybe it's a former boss as well or someone in a more senior position that you really respect. And you know we'll give you that honest feedback. I have done that this year particularly, but also throughout my career, and it has made me a better

marketer and a better person as a result. So I highly, highly encourage that. Yes. This was great. Well, you have it. Three Cs, clarity, conviction, concise, and then we had a bonus one. Culture. Culture. Bonus C. Four Cs. Definitely, I would say, save this episode if you go into an interview process. Re-listen to it. Very helpful, Allie. Thank you so much. If you have any questions, reach out to Allie. Her information will be below. But I hope this was a very helpful resource.

Again, I think the biggest thing is to just be yourself. Make sure you're applying for jobs that you genuinely want and you are passionate about the work that the company is doing because ultimately brands want people who are going to be excited about the work and really looking forward to backing any of the campaigns and projects that the brand is working on. So I think that's the biggest thing. I know sometimes we were putting positions where we kind of just like have to take something and get there. And I totally understand that.

But also I think doing some of this work in the back end, no matter how you feel about the position is important. And just showing up excited with a great attitude and just ready to contribute. I think that's the other thing. And everyone has something to contribute. Like do not downplay your strengths. I really lean into your strengths too and just share like what you feel you're good at. and what you can contribute to the company. I think all of that's also important.

That's a great point. Great, great point. Yes. Yes, well, thank you. Thank you. Really appreciate it. Let us know what you thought about this episode. Shoot, Ally, a message, shoot me a message, anything that stood out.

Any follow-up questions that you have, please reach out and just excited to hear about your interview process and things coming up in 2026 and beyond. And good luck. Yes, good luck. You're going to be great. All right. Chat with you all soon. Bye.

Thank you so much for tuning in to this week's episode. If you enjoyed this conversation, I would love your feedback. And if you're ready to take things to the next level, sign up for my weekly newsletter in the show notes. You'll get weekly career and marketing insights straight to your inbox. And if you have an idea for a future marketing happy hour episode, shoot me an email. Hello at marketing happy HR.com. Thank you again and I'll see you next Thursday. Thank you.