Know-How Exchange : Career/Training

My boss used to like to ask an estimation question. It goes something like this. . ."your in a board meeting, the president of the company asks you how many cars are sold annually in the state of Virgina. You have no access to the internet or any resources outside the room." The idea is that it's practically impossible to guess the right answer. . .but you can come up with an estimate and explain how you got there. ex. the population of this state is "x" and approximately "x%" are of driving age, this many own there own vehicles and they replace them on average every "x" years. . .so the answer is on average ____. The idea is to see if you are logical and analytic not necessarily to get the right answer--he probably doesn't know either!

Otherwise, there are a few common terms in marketing that would relate to media buying. . .cost per thousand, # of impressions, agency discounts etc. Go online, read through a few media kits in the industry that you will be buying for. Bring a calculator and listen carefully to be sure you understand the questions. You'll be fine. Besides, anyone conducting the interview will understand if you are nervous and take your time to write down the equation and do the math.

Good luck!