Interview Guidelines
This is the most important part of the job-seeking process, and good interview techniques are a vital part of your armoury to achieve success and secure the job for you.
Before your interview we will have briefed you about the company to which you are applying, but it is vitally important that you find out as much about them as you can: check the website, use Google, whatever you do, knowledge about the company will pay big dividends at your interview.
The overall aim is to show that you are suitably skilled and qualified to do the job. You will need to show that you are sufficiently motivated to get the job done profitably and that you will fit in with the company's organisational structure and the team in which you will work.
You should dress smartly for the interview and plan to be there early. Be friendly and pleasant to all employees of the company as you never know who will be asked for impressions of you. At the interview itself you must be positive about your abilities - but keep your answers straightforward and to the point, unless asked to expand on them by the interviewer.
Before attending the interview you should consider your responses to typical questions. Your answers will vary depending on the job or company in question, so you should go through your responses just before each interview. Take the time to think through your own career and how your experiences can be presented in the best possible way. There are also some questions that you can ask them, as there is nearly always time at the end of the interview when you will be asked if you have any questions. It is a sensible idea to take a leather file or briefcase with you, with prepared questions – it reinforces the fact that you have prepared for the interview and that you are taking it seriously.
Click on the following links to view explanations on what you need to do or say on particular questions or situations:
Tell us about yourself
Have a very brief potted history ready, running through from leaving school/college to your current employer, giving brief details of significant jobs you have done, your achievements and show how your career has progressed. This should take between 3 – 5 minutes and give the interviewer a flavour of your skills and abilities – further details will be added later as the interview progresses.
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Why do you want this job/want to work for this company?
Put a lot of thought into this, concentrating on the main reasons why you would want to join this company – more money isn’t good enough! Do not get into the negative aspects of your current job, just elaborate on things such as personal development, promotion, greater prospects etc…
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What skills do you think will be required for this role?
Think of the qualities that may be required (the advert should have given you a good indication) but be prepared to use your own business knowledge and experience to build a picture of the successful candidates abilities – i.e. yours! Typical responses could include sales skills, information gathering, closing abilities, leadership ability, supervisory skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, territory management etc…
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What do you know about this company?
This gets asked at every interview and where a bit of research beforehand can pay big dividends. Tell them as much as you can about their products/services, sales figures, news, company figures, company history, markets etc. and finish off by stating why you are interested in their products/services and how much you would enjoy selling them.
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What do we offer that your previous employer doesn’t?
Don’t denigrate your current employer, just highlight things such as personal growth, future prospects, new challenges, exciting products, new markets etc.
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What do you bring to us?
This is where you start selling yourself - tell them about your past sales record and how this is relevant to the new position you are applying for, emphasizing how this can be transferred to the new company. But be careful – don’t oversell yourself or come across as arrogant. If it is a smaller company, you can say that you are looking for a more friendly atmosphere, if it is a bigger company you could say that you are looking for more stability and career progression
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Why are you leaving your current employer?
Be positive about your reasons for leaving a company i.e. a boss you don’t get on with could be turned into a desire for more responsibilities that isn’t available to you. You can discuss the training you have been given and any useful experience you have gained. You can also say that you are looking for a new challenge and that you feel that the new company offers the perfect opportunity.
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Why did you choose a career in Sales?
Be clear about your reasons and perhaps relate them to your personality. If you have changed careers in the past make a reasoned argument as to why you did so – this could be because it was a logical progression from internal sales support to field sales as an example, which shows also that you have the capability to grow and learn new skills.
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This is a new sphere (market/product) for you – how will you adapt and succeed?
Concentrate on going over past experiences where a personal change brought on success i.e. new products to new markets, changes to strategy etc… and show with relevant examples how you are someone who is able to adapt and change to suit changing needs and that you have a “can do” attitude.
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What makes you the best candidate for the job?
This follows on from the previous question in that concentrating on your previous experience and achievements which can be related to the company will show how you can benefit them. Always say that you feel you match the profile of the person they are looking for and follow up with asking them why they think they should.
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If you were successful, what would your plans be for the first six months / first year?
From your research you’ll know the target markets and the state of the company, and from that you should be able to provide a skeleton plan of action for the first few months at least. A lot will depend on the typical sales cycle and the area you will be expected to cover, but you should certainly include things like reviewing all current customers, identifying potential new customers and growing the business by a sensible percentage – how much is up to you!
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How do you see your career progressing?
Expand on from the previous question and discuss the possibilities for progression over a sensible time-scale once you have settled in and shown how well you can do the job on offer. Be careful not to look as if you are after the interviewer's job though!
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What do you feel about the vacancy on offer?
Avoid saying anything negative and concentrate on the positive aspects, such as a new challenge and a chance to expand your skill-base.
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What are the differences between your current job and this one?
You should begin by emphasising how the jobs have similar requirements rather than the differences between them. When it comes to the differences it is best to demonstrate that you have either done something similar in the past or that you can quickly pick up the new skills – use an example from earlier in your career.
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What is your current job?
Describe your typical day/week, going into some detail on how you organize yourself (and others if necessary), how you deal with your responsibilities, how you handle any interpersonal issues, your reporting requirements and how you handle your target markets. If the new job would be a promotion you will need to show that you are ready for a more challenging or senior role. You may be able to show that you have already had many of the responsibilities and the necessary skills which would be required for the next step.
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How did you increase sales in your last job?
If you have increased sales then tell them all about it and go into details on how you secured the sales and how you felt about it. If you have not increased sales then have a valid reason as to why you didn’t, e.g. general downturn in the market, etc. If this is the case then go back a bit further in your career to an example that shows that you can grow sales.
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Do you consider yourself successful?
Describe how your career has progressed, highlighting how you have consistently achieved targets, how you have grown and taken on roles with more responsibilities.
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What was your greatest success?
Have an example ready for this – you should have a work-related success e.g. a big sale that you secured against tough competition, achieving a difficult target etc.
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What has been your biggest failure?
This can be turned into a positive by demonstrating what you learnt from something that didn’t quite go according to plan and how you used that knowledge to your advantage later on.
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How would you describe yourself? / How would others describe you?
An obvious follow on from a strengths/weaknesses question, you can describe your personality – e.g. outgoing and friendly, competitive.
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How could you improve yourself?
Take care not to be negative about yourself – pick something that would be an asset such as being more tenacious when chasing enquiries.
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How do you handle criticism?
Your answer should be positive, and show how if you have received criticism in the past you have used that as a spur to greater achievements. You could then turn the question back onto them and ask if they have regular performance appraisals.
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Do you work well with others or do you prefer to work alone?
The best answer is that you are equally happy in both situations e.g., you are able to work on your own during client visits, but that you are always ready to call on other team members for help when necessary, and indeed to provide assistance to colleagues if they need it.
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Can you act on your own initiative?
The only answer is “Yes”. You can then follow on and ask how much responsibility you would have and who you would be reporting to.
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What motivates you?
Use answers such as recognition for achievement, bonuses, selling products you believe in, career growth, opportunity to learn new skills.
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How competitive are you?
In Sales you have to be competitive – its just a matter of degrees. If you will be working as part of a team you will need to show that you can work in the best interests of the team and not just towards your own targets, although employers will be keen to see that competition does motivate you.
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What problems did you encounter in your last job?
Demonstrate how you overcame an obstacle in the past and how you learnt from it - show that you are a person who can solve problems rather than someone who lets things get on top of them.
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Do you feel you are ready to take on greater responsibilities?
Show how you have progressed throughout your life and how you have accepted and taken on responsibility for the actions of yourself and others.
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How do you handle pressure?
Every job comes with deadlines so you need an example here of how you achieved something that you originally thought was unachievable e.g. a month to go to achieve an annual target and you were about 2 months worth of sales down, yet you managed to bring in 3 months worth of sales in.
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What interests/hobbies do you have outside work?
There are not really any right or wrong answers, but do try to show that your hobbies/interests give the right impression, as they can tell an employer a lot about you, such as whether you are a team player or more of a loner, whether you take the lead and organize things or whether you tag along and help out.
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Are you over qualified for this position?
They may be worries that you would get bored quickly and move on, so you can tell them that you feel that your extra experience would enable you to make a bigger contribution sooner than someone with less experience.
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How long have you been looking for a new job?
Be honest and give valid, positive reasons why you are looking for a change.
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Have you got any other interviews planned?
If you are say so. However, don’t not give too many details away - it may weaken your position later when it comes to negotiating the package. If you do not have any actual job offers at the moment just say that you have a few things to consider.
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Are you prepared to relocate?
If you do not want to move then you do not have to accept the job - try and come across as someone who is positive. You could ask about how often you will have to be at head office and negotiate a different arrangement.
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What level of salary are you looking for now?
You should know the salary range before you get into the interview, so be prepared to ask for the amount that gets you an increase on your current salary (if that is what you are looking for) but doesn’t exceed their guidelines, and be prepared to back it up with valid reasons as to why you’re worth that amount e.g. additional responsibilities, bigger area etc.. If they ask you this question fairly early on in the interview try to avoid answering it directly unless you are ready to close them yourself, otherwise just say that you need to go over the job and responsibilities in more detail before being able to give them an answer.
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What was your package in your last job (salary, OTE, benefits, car etc…)?
Only answer this after they have opened discussion on the package that is on offer, as you need to be able to show that there is logical progression and growth between your old package and the one on offer.
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Questions you can ask
The interview is about swapping information – you have to know that the company is right for you as much as they have to know that you are right for them. Therefore you need to gather as much information as you can to make that decision and by preparing questions before the interview you will be better placed to find out what you want. Typically you would want answers to the following questions, but you should also note down other questions as the interview progresses and get answers to them at the end.
- What area will I be covering?
- Who are my target customers?
- Where will I fit into the overall organisation?
- Who do I report to?
- Who would report to me?
- What do you expect from me in the first 6/12 months?
- What are my targets likely to be?
- How do the targets fit into the overall company plan?
- Where are the company plans for the next 1-5 years in terms of sales growth?
- What are the chances of promotion and what are the likely timescales?
- What is the package on offer? [Do not bring this up too early in the interview - wait until they are sold on you.]
- Will relocation be required now or in the future?
- What training do you provide?
- I’m very interested in the position – can I ask if you’re prepared to make a decision here and now?
- When do I start?
- Are there any reasons why you wouldn’t want to employ me?
After all of this preparation, you should be ready to face any interviewer in a confident manner, and just to round it all off, here are a few final things to consider during the actual interview itself.
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Body language – give out the right, positive signals. Don’t slouch in the chair, maintain a smile and keep good eye contact with the interviewer (but don’t stare!). Give a short, firm handshake, not a limp fish and certainly not a rock-crusher.
Appearance – dress smartly, with clean clothes and polished shoes. Take out earrings (if you’re male!) and make sure your hair is neat and tidy.
Always bring a folder with you with your CV, your pre-prepared questions and any letters of commendation from previous employers or customers. Take notes as you go through the interview, this will help with your questions at the end and it shows that you are taking the process seriously.
Keep your answers clear and to the point, try to avoid stuttering and stammering, ummming and ahhhing
Don’t be late – if you think the traffic could be bad then leave earlier
Don’t be negative about previous employers and companies, you never know who knows who.
Above all, be prepared and Good Luck!
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