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Sample Interview Questions you will be asked
Interviews are full of questions: some personal, some professional, some from interviewer, some from interviewee, but all of them are for one purpose - to judge your character. Here we'll provide you the most popular sample job interview questions and their answers.
The golden rule of interviewing is the way you answer questions says as much about you as the answers you give - the delivery of your answers, your timbre, your style, inflection, enthusiasm and tone are the emotional value judgements your interviewer will take away from your interview.
Interviews are, by nature, full of little inflections and suggestions that can muddy the clarity of your answers, so consider your answers less of “this is the only time I can tell this person these facts!” and more of an exercise in quality assurance.
With well chosen answers to some of the most popular and expected of questions about your job search, you will lay the foundations for the rest of the interview - more personal questions about your work history and reasoning for moving, your plans for the future, your personal life (where appropriate), your hobbies and likes and, of course, the questions you will ask your interviewer.
Why do employers use phone interviews, and what kind of interviews should I expect?
Sales is an art form - that curious blend of marketing, behavioural judgement and assessing demand - and as such, you’ll more than likely be asked a series of related questions to your field, so your interviewer can judge your Sales credentials.
There are two primary types of questions - competency or behavioural questions, to do with your emotional and professional responses to situations, embellished with anecdotes and evidence within work; and skills related questions, to do with your working knowledge of software, programmes and qualifications, and how you work within a team.
Here is a shortlist of the most popular questions you’ll be asked as a Sales professional:
Tell me about yourself
- See this as the “Sell me This Pen” of the personal world. Feel free to be as florid as you like, but always remember the context of your interview - if this is a phone interview, keep it short and sweet. If it’s a face to face interview feel free to use this as your ice breaker but always remember you’re trying to get a job in Sales - sell yourself, and use it as a tool to show off your conversational prowess.
What are your strengths as a Salesperson?
- Keep it simple, but choose the best examples on record - this is the easiest question you can answer. Highlight a selection of big hitting strengths, and always remember to choose the most relevant highlights to suit this job. If you’re going for a senior leadership role, highlight your “in the trenches” credentials of course, but never forget the interviewer is looking for leadership examples, so feed that in where you can.
Do you have any weaknesses?
- The humblebrag is a hard to learn skill, but this tricky question isn’t designed to catch you out - it’s a question designed to see if you have self awareness. The golden rule is don’t be negative against your previous employer, and try to feedback any highlighted weakness into a story of self improvement.
What’s your greatest accomplishment as a Sales person?
- Use this question as a chance to pull one big “Sell” and highlight your sales funnel management/channel management/strategy. You can focus more on how you develop clients and business development, how you develop a marketing strategy, and of course use referenceable examples - the sales world is smaller than you think, and verifying landing a “whale of a new client” is easy to check. Don’t lie, but don’t be too humble either.
Can you tell me the biggest challenge you’ve faced in a Sales role?
- Most critically here is the balance of being honest about facing difficulties in your existing or previous roles, but not being unfairly critical of your previous employers. Interviewers know you’re looking for something new, and they may figure out in time you’re unhappy in your current role, but always be professional. Highlight, more, a contextual sales issue - perhaps a misaligned logistics issue, or a marketing message gone wrong - and where you can, try and lead it back to solutions: what you learned from it, how you got around it, how you made it better.
What are the most important things you’re looking for in your next role?
- Be as honest as possible about your motivations, and focus on the realistic goals you want to achieve through this role - again, keep it relevant.
Why are you leaving your current job?
- Reiterate your personal career development as the main driver for leaving, rather than any negative reason for exiting at your current employer - frame this answer in what you’re looking to gain, rather than what you’re looking to avoid by staying where you are.
What are your salary expectations?
- Do your research, and know what you’re worth. There are a myriad salary calculators and comparisons online, so make sure you know what you’re walking into, what your benchmarks are, what the brackets are (lowest and highest in your market) and be prepared to negotiate AFTER the interview (not during!).
What drew you to our company?
- This is the sweetener, and you can talk to the high heavens about what this employer will do to your career, your lifestyle and your plans. This is also the chance for you to flex your research - you can highlight a certain strategy, or sales milestone, or client base, that you admire. Where possible, try and feed back your reasons to the company's mission or values - link yourself to their why.