Provincial Sales Head Interview Preparation Guide

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This question will help you assess a candidate's ability to explain a concept they know intimately to someone who isn't as familiar with it. If their hobby is training for a marathon, ask them what advice they'd give you if you woke up one day deciding you wanted to train for a marathon. Are they able to communicate it clearly?

One candidate taught me how to make tagliatelle, which is hand-cut Italian pasta. She gave me the full run-down on how you make the noodles, how you form them and cut them, and which ingredients go into the sauce. She relayed the step-by-step process to me in a way that was very clear and understandable. I felt like I could've gone home and made tagliatelle myself. Not only did this tell me she knows how to convey information clearly, but it was also gave me insight into her personality and interests.

This is one question that you know you are going to get so there is no excuse for being unprepared. Concentrate on discussing your main strengths. List three or four proficiencies e.g. your ability to learn quickly, determination to succeed, positive attitude, your ability to relate to people and achieve a common goal. You may be asked to give examples of the above so be prepared.

This question isn't specific to banking. It is, however, of particular interest to banking recruiters who are especially keen not to pick up damaged goods now that their hiring budgets have been cut.

Faced with this question, you must never cite disagreements with your boss, problems at your previous firm, or annoying ex-colleagues

This is a comment rather than a question, and it works best when you're hiring people with strong personalities who need to push through constant "no's", like sales reps or sales leaders. They then will do one of three things:

They may ignore you and skip over the comment. They may agree and try to move on. Or, they may try to sell you on the benefits of bringing them into your business, specifically bringing up the main reasons why you can't afford not to hire them. That's the kind of person you want in your business, right?

For interview questions about marketing failures there are several things to note about your answer:

☛ Do not get defensive. If you had an expectation that failed, admit it.
☛ Explain how you found out it failed using numerical, analytical measurements as examples.
☛ Describe the adjustments that you made in order to make the campaign more successful.

This'll show you how well a candidate understands all the different tactics of inbound marketing and how to tie them together into a holistic plan. It'll also give you insight into how creative they are and whether they can come up with new and interesting ways to do marketing.

This question is really about your self-esteem, confidence and career aspirations. The answer must be 'yes', followed by a brief explanation as to what it is about your career so far that's made you happy. If you have hit a career plateau, or you feel you are moving too slowly, then you must qualify your answer.

The employer is looking for evidence that the job suits you, fits in with your general aptitudes, coincides with your long-term goals and involves doing things you enjoy. Make sure you have a good understanding of the role and the organisation, and describe the attributes of the organisation that interest you most.

This is an enlightening question because naturally people don't want to talk about their failures during an interview. However, this question forces a person to be reflective and honest about a past experience. What they say usually reveals a lot about their personality.

In in-person interviews, I have been known to hand the candidate a shuffled deck of cards and ask them to put it in order. Then I listen for what questions they ask, and use that to determine how they think about solving a very ambiguous problem. Usually everyone asks what I consider order to be, and I usually say, "Whatever you want it to be." People I pass on are people who don't ask any questions or who outright panic under the stress, since neither is a good trait.