Interview Questions

Do you have experience in being responsible for executing elements of a

Communications strategy?
Yes. I developed and executed with success the communication strategy for the
Steve Biko Foundations annual Steve Biko Memorial Lecture delivered by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Dr Navi Pillay in September
2014.
I liaised with and secured a live broadcast of the Lecture (T.V. & Radio) with the
SABC, wrote the press release, brainstormed ideas and crafted the marketing
material (flyers, posters, e-flyers) and started a social media campaign
(#BikoLec2014) on Facebook & Twitter using targeted advertising systems to market
the event.
I also developed a media briefing document, an information pack about the guest
speaker, a brief history of the Steve Biko Memorial Lecture, and a short biography of
the Steve Biko Foundation and the host of the event, the University of Cape Town.
Part of my duties also included my handled and arranged all the media interviews for
Dr Pillay and Mr Nkosinathi Biko, son of the late anti-apartheid activist. As such, I
developed an effective scheduling system in order to maximise the number of
interviews, giving preference to the more prominent and bigger media outlets like
SABC, ETV, Sunday Times and Sowetan.
As a result of effectively executing the communication strategy, the Jameson Hall at
the University of Cape Town was fully packed with about students and members of
the public in attendance. Moreover, the hashtag #BikoLec2014 was trending on
Twitter on 11 September 2014 and various debates and conversations around issues
of human rights in Africa ensued on the Steve Biko Foundation Facebook page. The
event appeared on front page news in some of the top newspapers in the country,
and also appeared on television. The Lecture also generated broad discussions on a
number of youth radio outlets like YFM.
This campaign was successful because we increased the number of our followers on
our online and social media platforms and generated discussions around the legacy
of Steve Biko and the work of the Steve Biko Foundation.
Do you have experience taking briefs & executing actions as per
client/stakeholder briefs? Examples
Yes. In September 2014 the Steve Biko Foundation was approached by Ditsong
Museums of South Africa to co-host the exhibition Biko: The Quest For A True
Humanity to commemorate the 37th anniversary of Bikos death in detention.

Ditsong Museums SA had never hosted an exhibition of a political icon before, and
they wanted to use the exhibition to also generate discussions around Bikos life and
legacy. And coincidentally, the Biko exhibition had also never been seen anywhere in
Gauteng.
Part of my work therefore involved asking a few questions from the client (Ditsong) to
ascertain: 1. The scope of the project - including what they wanted to achieve and
deadlines; 2. Their target market; 3. Branding aspects of the project; 4. Their end
goal and how this will be measured; and 5. Their budget.
Ditsong Museums SA wanted to create a space where people in Gauteng could
engage in discussions around Steve Biko and his legacy. The product they were
selling was the exhibition. Their main excitement was merely getting the exhibition
up on the venue, with minimal consideration of how the space would be activated
Through various meetings and discussions, I suggested that the exhibition should be
accompanied by dialogue sessions to generate not only an audience, but also the
kind of discussions that they wanted to facilitate.
I suggested that the dialogues should involve prominent South African leaders in
politics, the arts and business, as well as students. I also advised that the venue of
the exhibition should also have various television screens (with earphones)
screening the relevant clips of Steve Biko to generate more interest.
I oversaw the whole process of identifying relevant guest speakers, as well as
drafting the programme for the dialogue sessions which were scheduled to take
place on a monthly basis at the Museum for six months.
I was also responsible for not only issuing out email invitations to guests, but also
developing and writing the press release and arranging media interviews for the
Executive Director of Ditsong Ms Neo Molao and the then Director of the Steve Biko
Foundation Ms Obenewa Amponsah.
The launch of the exhibition was a success, attended by over 200 guests who all
signed Ditsongs visitors book. With assistance from the Ditsong communication
team, we generated discussions on our respective social media platforms and
increased the followers of both organizations. The event also received coverage on
the SABC news as well as on various Gauteng-based print media. In the subsequent
weeks and months, Ditsong continued to enjoy unprecedented visits and interaction
with people from various communities around Gauteng.
Please provide an example of how you would handle difficult media situations
and challenging stakeholders?
One morning I went into the office and found myself under siege from various
journalists who wanted a statement about the resignation of the then Chief Executive
Officer of the Steve Biko Foundation, Mr Nkosianthi Biko. I had absolutely no
knowledge of such a resignation.

So I urgently contacted my boss Mr Biko, and the Director of the Foundation Ms

Amponsah to report this matter to them, and to find an appropriate response to the
media. They confirmed that following a recent board meeting Mr Biko had
announced his resignation and would be replaced by Ms Amponsah.
I subsequently wrote and issued a media statement affirming Mr Bikos resignation.
As well as an internal statement to the staff and SBF stakeholders and partners
informing them of Mr Bikos resignation and Ms Amponsahs appointment.
I then developed and executed a social media campaign on our various platforms,
highlighting the achievements of the outgoing CEO, and the vision of the incoming
one.
The media wanted to create controversy around Mr Bikos resignation, particularly as
there was a contentious issue regarding the auctioning of his fathers (Steve Bikos)
autopsy report around the same time. Through the various interventions I initiated,
we took ownership of the narrative and generated positive publicity around Mr Bikos
resignation.

What qualities/competitive advantage do you feel that you can bring to the
JSE?
Im a vibrant and innovative communications professional with broad networks
across various spheres of South African life. Ive built up a very enviable network of
contacts which I think would bring much added value to the JSE. I have developed
successful and key relationships with various civil and political institutions.
The JSE is a key feature of the country's economic landscape, yet has a precautious
relationship with the majority of Black South Africans who perceive it as an enclave
of white corporate economic interests. I can change this false perception through
effective strategic communication, and build a positive brand image for the company.
I believe life is about continuous learning. Im ambitious, highly driven when given
the opportunity and I relish a challenge. I also have great ability to work with diverse
people and to build mutually beneficial relationships.
I have great passion for multi-media and communication systems, and Im willing to
grow and learn more about the work of the JSE.
My personality and creative genius is the precise ingredient for the JSEs diversity
and growth, particularly in relation to its communications.

If a political party announced that it would march to the JSE, how would you
handle that?

The work of communications is a work of intelligence. A good communication officer

would be able to not only foresee such a threatening scenario, but also, through
effective use of communication tools and systems, be able to prevent such an event
from taking place in the first place.
But if this were to happen, Id request an immediate meeting with the CEO of JSE
and all other relevant internal stakeholders to discuss our approach to the matter and
draft two statements: 1. Letter to the specific political party seeking clarity and an
alternative discussion of the matter; 2. Media statement acknowledging the
announcement by the political party, affirming the JSEs values of authenticity and
diversity, and willingness to dialogue.
Therefore, I would assemble a team and initiate a social media strategy and
campaign to counter the propaganda and misperceptions of the JSE upon which
such a political party would base their action.
I would also conduct strategic interviews with JSE staff, starting with the CEO, to
show the diversity within the company, what the company stands for and the impact
its work has on ordinary South Africans. These videos would also be published on
our YouTube channel and circulated via our various other social media platforms.
Our aim would be to win the minds and hearts of the people against such political
campaigning, while also assuring our stakeholders of our diligent handling of the
matter.
Basically, such a political party would be using such an event for mere political
campaigning and propaganda. And a good communications officer understands the
interplay between politics, business and propaganda. I work to always project a
holistic and positive view of my company.
My work as a communication officer is to prevent our company from such negative
publicity and propaganda.

Given that you work in a comms team, what process would you follow if you
were called by a journalist asking for your comments on behalf of the CEO?
Id first have a discussion with the journalist to try and ascertain who he/she is, as
well as try to find out what his/her approach to the story would be in a subtle manner.
Then take the questions plus the full details of the journalist, and tell them Id revert
back to them with an official response. I think it would also be very important to do
research on the journalist, so Id definitely browse online to find out what kind of
journalist were dealing with. This would help in how we craft our response to them.
Thereafter Id request a meeting with the CEO to discuss the appropriate angle of
response to the questions posed by the journalist, drafting all the important points
down.

Then I would write the official response with the CEOs views, then, after careful
proofing, issue this out to the journalist.

Describe a situation when you were challenged in the work environment and
how you handled this situation?
At my previous company I project managed a radio dialogue in which we were
collaborating with a particular youth radio station. The dialogues were broadcast live
and took place on a monthly basis in front of a live studio audience. The show was
listened to by over 25 000 young people.
The critical challenge was that the radio station manager threatened to shut down
the show because the listenership was declining. So I had to establish the reasons
why our listenership was decreasing and find remedial action.
I then initiated a survey of the show in the following three months, asking the
members of the live studio audience to complete survey forms inquiring their
thoughts about the show, as well as their suggestions. I also circulated the survey on
all our social media platforms.
I found out that most of our listeners complained about the strength of the moderator,
while some did not like the topics we discussed.
So I scheduled I called for a meeting between our company and the radio station to
discuss the matter in depth. At the meeting I suggested a number of interventions
including the following:
1. That our moderator get more training, or that we also consider having one of
the radio station DJs as a second moderator;
2. That we request members of the public to suggest topics they would like
discussed on the show, and;
3. That we should be flexible enough to change old scheduled topics for new
topical ones in order to be relevant to and current with our audiences.
After three months of implementing these interventions amongst others, our work
yielded positive results. Our listenership increased, and we received more active
participation from our audiences through telephone calls to the studio, as well as
conversations of our various social media platforms.

12. What are your salary expectations?

R30.000 R45.000 Per Annum

Marketing Manger
What is your approach to tracking and managing the day-to-day CE's that come in from agencies?

We want to launch a new savings product to a retail audience. How would you approach the research for
the target market?

A campaign on social media was just completed, what would you want to compile in your report to
showcase the success or failure of the campaign?

There are a number of activities happening at the same time with tight deadlines. How would you manage
delivery?

A colleague oversteps the boundaries of your mandate and this impacts your delivery. How would you
approach the situation?

12. What is your salary expectations?

PROJECT COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST JSE

What is your salary expectation?

Are you proficient with the Microsoft Office products such as WORD, EXCEL, POWERPOINT? etc.
Ratings Fair Good Excellent

What is your approach with relation to providing communication to relevant stakeholders?

Please describe the level of stakeholders that you engage with on a daily basis?

Have you conducted training before or had to teach/explain to someone how to use a system or
process?

How have you managed situations where you and your manager disagree on the manner in which
something should be handled?

Provide us with examples of the types of writing you have had to produce?
If you could change three things about yourself, whether part of your appearance, personality, or
something else, what would they be and why? How would you go about making these changes?
Suppose you are working on a project and no matter what you do, it won't work out right. Would you
keep trying, take a break and try again later, ask for help, or give up?
What is your expectation of this role?
Explain the experience you have in communications have you written newsletters, monthly reports etc?