Interview Tips on Job Interview Preparation from a Working Sales and Recruitment Manager

These interview tips on how to prepare for sales job interviews can be the difference between success and failure. These job interview preparation tips come to you from an experienced sales manager with over two decades of sales recruitment experience. They will help you to prepare the evidence and examples of your experience and skills to match the job you are applying for. Follow these tips and you will match your answers to predicted interview questions and avoid common mistakes that many job candidates make.

When candidates go to a sales job interview they are attending a meeting that may increase their income, give them a greater lifestyle, and lead to many positive life changes. And yet I see so many candidates that obviously haven’t prepared. Their lack of investment in this possible life improving meeting becomes obvious in the first few minutes of the interview.

When job interview preparation isn’t done a candidate struggles to answer basic questions that they should have expected and are really quite easy to prepare for. You can’t predict the exact wording of every possible interview question you could be asked. But it’s not difficult to predict 90% of the topics of the interview questions. You can also prepare how you will present basic interview answers and the evidence that you match the role on offer. A good interview tip is to gather all the information you can about the job, the company, and the industry and market place. This information can come from the job description, the vacancy advert, the Internet, people that already work there, and don’t be afraid of contacting their publicity department. When you have all the information you can possibly acquire about the company and the role they are recruiting for you can start to prepare the answers and information you will use to show you are the right person for the job.

Start by writing a list of all the question topics they may ask you in the job interviews. Pay special attention to all the information you have about the job role. They are looking for someone that can present evidence of their skills and experience to fill this role. So write your list of interview questions that could be asked to discover if candidates have what the role requires. When you have your list match your skills and experience to the predicted areas you will be questioned on. Start with the areas of the role that you are strongest in. These will be the easiest to answer. Then work through to the weakest areas. Remember you will still have to answer questions on areas where you have no, or little, evidence to offer. You still need to present your answers confidently and communicate well. Don’t just say you haven’t done that, or you have no experience in this area. Put a positive spin on your answer and tell them how you could quickly pick up any training you are given, and then use a similar experience of learning as an example of your capability to learn new skills.

Once you have covered all the job skills and experience requirements start looking at the attitudes and personality traits the interviewer could be looking for. For example: A sales job interview with a company that build its business on customer service will be looking for a different type of person than a business that makes one off sales and is sales target driven. Look for the indicators in the job description of where the company sits on the scale between customer service and sales is all that matters. You can get an idea of the company focus from their adverts. Are they price driven and sales focused with special offers and reductions, or do they focus on the quality of their product or the high level of service they offer?

Now build an image of what type of person the recruiter will be looking for at the interview. A company with a high focus on sales will be looking for a different type of personality compared to a company that advertises quality and service. Will they want a high flyer that plays the numbers game and hits targets by making one off sales with a quick closing technique? Or, are they the type of organisation that wants an account manager to build relationships and gain repeat business and referral sales?

With a clear picture of these differences in your mind, assess what they will be looking for in you. Then look at your experiences, both personal and work related, and choose the ones that you want to present that will match the image you have of the ideal candidate. These should be experiences and examples of how you meet the personality type, and have the attitudes the employer is looking for.

Remember this important job interview tip: You cannot project an image that covers all possibilities. You cannot use a shotgun approach and project an image that portrays you as both a caring, customer service focused account manager, and a sales focused fast closer, all at the same time. Only by investing in the right job interview preparation and following interview tips like these can you score highly in a sales job interview.