You’re in the middle of a job interview. How do you prove your experience with Content Management systems?

1 Know the basics

Before you go to the interview, make sure you have a solid understanding of the core concepts and features of CMS. You should be able to explain what a CMS is, how it works, and what benefits it offers. You should also be familiar with the common types of CMS, such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and Squarespace, and their main differences and advantages. You should also know how to use the basic functions of a CMS, such as creating and editing pages, posts, and media, managing users and permissions, installing and updating plugins and themes, and configuring settings and options.

2 Show your portfolio

One of the best ways to prove your CMS experience is to show your portfolio of previous projects that you have worked on using CMS. You should have a website or a blog that showcases your work and demonstrates your skills and creativity. You should also be ready to explain the process and the challenges that you faced while working on each project, such as choosing the right CMS, designing the layout and the navigation, optimizing the performance and the security, and integrating the content and the functionality. You should also highlight the results and the feedback that you received from your clients or your audience.

3 Share your tips and tricks

Another way to impress your interviewer is to share some tips and tricks that you have learned from your CMS experience. You can mention some useful plugins, extensions, or tools that you have used or discovered that enhance the functionality or the usability of a CMS. You can also share some best practices or recommendations that you follow or suggest for managing and maintaining a CMS, such as backing up your data, testing your updates, securing your login, and improving your SEO. You can also show some examples of how you have customized or tweaked a CMS to suit your needs or preferences.

4 Demonstrate your skills

If you want to really stand out from the crowd, you should be ready to demonstrate your CMS skills in a practical way. You can ask your interviewer if they have a CMS platform that you can use or access during the interview, or if you can bring your own laptop or device with a CMS installed. You can then show them how you can perform some common or specific tasks using a CMS, such as creating a new page or post, adding a widget or a menu, changing a theme or a color scheme, or installing a plugin or a module. You can also show them how you can troubleshoot some problems or errors that might occur while using a CMS, such as fixing a broken link, restoring a deleted file, or resolving a compatibility issue.

5 Ask relevant questions

Finally, you should also show your interest and enthusiasm for CMS by asking some relevant questions to your interviewer. You can ask them what CMS they use or prefer, and why. You can also ask them what challenges or opportunities they face or foresee with CMS, and how they plan to address or explore them. You can also ask them what skills or qualities they are looking for in a CMS expert, and how you can fit or contribute to their team or organization. By asking these questions, you can show your curiosity and your passion for CMS, and also learn more about the job and the employer.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?