Sample copywriter job description and interview questions

Are you looking to hire and need the perfect copywriter job description to bring in top talent? Hiring is a lengthy and costly process so it’s best to get it right the first time — and that means bringing the best applicants into the interview process. This job description template will help you understand the role of a copywriter and what to look for in potential candidates.

In this BusinessManagementDaily.com article, we cover:

• Copywriter job description checklist.
• Interview questions for hiring the best copywriter for the job.
• Duties and responsibilities of a copywriter.

So, before you hire a copywriter for your business, read all about a copywriter’s duties to help you make the right decision.

Copywriter job description

Position: Copywriter

Salary Range: It’s a good idea to include a salary range for your position to avoid having applicants that might later reject an offer.

Reports To: Who will the Copywriter report to in your company?

Copywriter job description

What does a copywriter do? At our company, copywriter duties include writing copy for media advertising, brochures, newsletters, product releases, and other corporate communications. Copywriters must also be able to research topics to ensure information is accurate, and strategically craft copy to accomplish specific goals.

Qualifications & skills

You must possess exceptional written and oral communication skills and be able to consult with management to determine strategies for writing marketing advertisements and support materials; analyze market research as it applies to writing copy for company products; and understand advertising trends and monitor competitive advertising.

Additional copywriter qualifications include:

• Must have excellent written and oral skills and be able to interface with all levels of management.
• Knowledge of graphic arts is a plus.
• High-quality research skills.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Interpersonal skills.
• Familiarity with style guides.
• Basic WordPress experience.
• Time management skills.
• Microsoft Word and other word processing knowledge.

Copywriter responsibilities and duties

Below are approximations of the amount of time you’ll spend carrying out key functions of the position.

Education/Background

A Bachelor’s degree in a related field (Advertising, English, Marketing, Business Administration) is required, along with two years’ job-related experience. Knowledge of graphic arts and experience in writing multi-media copy are both pluses.

Copywriter interview questions

Once you bring in great candidates, consider some interview questions for achieving the best results for hiring a copywriter. These questions will help you distill the traits or qualities you want out of your copywriter using the answers given. Use a 1-5 rating system to grade the applicant’s answers. You may also require a cover letter from applicants.

Here are a few interview questions to consider:

• What attracted you to copywriting in the first place?
• Tell me about your favorite advertising campaign. Why did it impress you?
• Do you write copy and create ideas independently or do you work best as part of a team?
• How long do you think it would take you to get up to speed to write good, clear copy for us?
• What aspects of our advertising attracted you to this company?
  • Applicants for copywriting jobs should be able to tell you a great deal about your products and related advertising since they will be writing about them. Those who can’t show a lack of interest.
• It’s frustrating to write good copy only to have it turned down by management. How do you handle this type of situation?
  • This question is designed to measure a copywriter’s ability to accept direction and get along with management. Copywriters must have the ability to work with managers at all levels to ensure that company literature is accurate and honest. Sometimes this means that creativity must suffer.
• Do you consider yourself an “idea” person or a “finisher?”
• What do you do to get your creative juices flowing?
• Do you prefer autonomy in your writing process or do you prefer more supervisory input as you write?
• When do you think it is appropriate to let creativity take precedence over content?
• What skill do you possess that would make you an asset to this company as a copywriter — besides writing talent?
• Do you want copywriting to be your career?
• What was the best business writing you ever did and what made it so?
• If you could immediately improve one skill, what would it be?

Wrapping up interview questions

Human resources: feel free to add additional questions to the list that may be specific to your operation.

Write an overall impression of the applicant, and give them an average rating of 1-5 for further comparison with other applicants.

You can also give upper management three recommendation choices:

• Hire
• Do not hire
• Second interview

Follow the above formula for successfully hiring candidates for the copywriter position. Don’t forget to spread wide when putting out job postings — the more online platforms you use for hiring, the better the candidates you’ll get. We hope this helped you hire the perfect copywriter.