Professional Sales Job Interviews

While browsing news on the web, I chanced upon this site called TheSalesJob.com that is dedicated for sales jobs and sales jobs alone. The job site is UK-based but has local job sites in different countries.

Once you visit the site, it automatically detects your ip address that if you’re not from the UK, they are kind enough to direct you to their local job site in your host country. Moving your mouse downward, you will see a wide range of sales jobs based on positions, current offerings and popular sales job searches.

If you’re looking for a sales job, why not try your luck at TheSalesJob.com? They have ample resources and services in store for you, from creating your own resume to requesting career advice from their resident career experts.

Preparation is key to a successful sales job interview. From clothes you will wear to how you will present yourself in front of the hiring manager, there is always a preparation needed.

One of the most difficult things to prepare for is the interview questions that will be thrown your way. If you have ample time, try doing a research about how a sales interview is conducted and what kind of questions are usually asked by the hiring manager. Remember that one wrong or flawed answer can lead to failure. Make sure to answer each question in an intelligent manner as much as possible.

Here are some common interview questions from CollegeGrad.com for you to practice on to increase your chance of acing a sales job interview:

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. What do you want to do with your life?
3. Do you have any actual work experience?
4. How would you describe your ideal job?
5. Why did you choose this career?
6. When did you decide on this career?
7. What goals do you have in your career?
8. How do you plan to achieve these goals?
9. How do you evaluate success?
10. Describe a situation in which you were successful.
11. What do you think it takes to be successful in this career?
12. What accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction in your life?
13. If you had to live your life over again, what would you change?
14. Would your rather work with information or with people?
15. Are you a team player?

Job interview for sales professionals differ greatly from interviews for other professions. When a sales interview is going on, it is very much like a selling scenario where the interviewee is the product and the seller at the same time, and the hiring manager the customer.

Selling is key to ace a sales job interview. You have to reach out to your client (the hiring manager) and convince him to buy you.

Here are some strategies that work:

1. Research about the company. Take time to know what the company sells, whom they sell to and how it has grown in the past years.
2. Arrive to the place ahead of schedule. This shows your professionalism and sincerity to get the job.
3. Make a strong connection. Listen attentively to each question and when it’s your turn, ask as much as you want to know about the company.

It is quite common to hear college students and new graduates reject the thought of pursuing a career in sales. They often say salespeople are hated since they sell stuff that people don�t want. This notion is utterly misguided and baseless.

A salesperson may sell a product, but you may also sell a service or a cause depending on the company. From selling different stuff lies the biggest challenge and that is to be able to convince your client that they need the product you are selling.

Many business leaders today started out in sales and believe that their sales experience is the biggest factor responsible for their success. It is because the organizational, communication and persuasion skills learned and honed in sales are crucial in understanding the complex world of the other career fields and in realizing the goals of almost every organization.

Many job seekers who want to pursue a professional sales career often take interview too casually, which results to failure.

The job interview process is a venue where you can make a negative or positive impression of yourself. It is very similar to an important sales call that demands intelligence, commitment, attention to detail and effective presentation.

During the interview, it is best to respond to the interviewer�s needs just like how you would to the inquiries of a consumer in a sales call. You should also focus on the relevance of your own skills and working experiences and be prepared to ask smart questions, if given a chance.

More and more research studies show that emotional intelligence or EQ, not intelligence quotient or IQ is the best predictor of success.

According to Collen Stanley of the Business Journal, emotional intelligence is important for sales people as it is a powerful tool in decision making and understanding the sales process. He mentioned two EQ core competencies, emotional awareness and self-regard, as vital in facing tough situations in the sales industry.

Sales persons who are good at understanding their own emotions and reactions do not make the same selling mistakes. On the other hand, self-regard is the sum of a person’s confidence and worth. Sales persons with high self-regard recover easily from failure and are forward-looking instead of backward-looking.

A professional sales person is graded based on his performance. How he deliver on the job is measured by his sales. While there are many good professional sales persons in the world today, there are those who are kings in their field. They are the top-producing sales people who perform greatly and consistently.

So how can we single these people out? What do they have in common? Here are some of the characteristics of top-notch professional sales person:

1. Eager. They continuously seek new knowledge to sharpen their skills.
2. Coachable. They receive and give out help.
3. Consistent. They have goals and work towards realizing them.
4. Committed. They love their job and nurture it.

Sales is a stressful job, and requires some quick thinking. So there will be times, during an interview for a sales position, that your interviewer will suddenly ask you some questions that are off the beaten path, like what it was like handling a stubborn client or an annoying co-worker or simply give a hypothetical situation where you’re asked to put yourself in a compromising or awkward position. This is done to judge your responses when caught of guard, to know how quick you are on your feet, and the final answer you give will also affect the way you are assessed. So be prepared for these types of questions and don’t panic. Focus on the positive aspects, like what you would do to turn a situation to your advantage and how you would solve a problem.

Many fail the interview because of their overall composure, unable to answer questions they fidget and squirm like catfish on a red hot skillet. Use what you have to eliminate the butterflies in your tummy, be say, standing in front of the mirror at home and trying to anticipate the questions that can be asked. Seasoned job hunters fail to use their past experiences in interviews for sales jobs by not showing their good sides. Personality is one of your best assets in sales and this is often tested by your answering abilities. Practice again and again till you lose your fears and develop confidence in yourself.
You might not get the job but you’ll fell better than a beat up dog, stand tall an thank them for their time. Maybe next time round you’ll get it right. try and try till you exhaust all openings, sometimes it may be necessary to re-apply, but let some time pass before you do for you may end up getting turned away for too much persistence.

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ちゃんとした仕事 が見つからないまま数週間が過ぎると、精神的にまいってしまうことがあります。 気分が非常に落ち込み、絶望して打ちのめされてしまうこともあります。 このつらい気分に押されて、忍耐力やポジティブなエネルギーはすぐにすり減ってしまいます。

このような気分になってしまったときは、 次のようなちょっとした事実を思い出してください。 あきらめることは何の解決にもなりません。 偉人の伝記は、世代を超えて人々に感銘を与えてくれます。

• トーマス・エジソンは、一生の間に1093個の発明で特許をとりました。 そして、エジソンは今私たちが使っている電球を発明するまでに一万回の試行錯誤を繰り返したといいます。
• ミルトン・ハーシーは、何度も失業し、最初に起業した会社が破産した後、努力し続けてチョコレート会社のハーシー社を設立、その工場の場所がハーシー市という街になるまでに大成功しました。 今ではハーシー氏は「チョコレート・キング」として有名です。
• ウォルト・ディズニー自らが手がけたミッキーマウスのシリーズも、すぐに人気が出たわけではありません。 しかし、ディズニーはあきらめず、シリーズに音楽を追加して、ついに1928年に大ヒットを記録します。

山あり谷ありがあたりまえ

いつも成功ばかりではないのが人生です。 就職活動中にも、調子のいいときと悪いときがあるのは普通のことです。 気持ちはジェットコースターのように上下するものです。 ある時には脈のありそうな求人に希望を持ち、不採用になればとたんに落ち込むでしょう。 まずは、就職活動とストレスは切り離せないという事実を認めましょう。 あなたの感情をコントロールできるのはあなただけです。 そして、感情があなたを支配しているのではなく、あなたが感情をコントロールしているのだということを忘れないでください。