Looking for a sales rep job? A career as a sales representative can be extremely rewarding, and with experience, very lucrative. However, before you can land that first foot in the door, you’ll need to face the dreaded job interview – a prospect that can be even trickier when it comes to sales, as at first you’ll have to show the confidence to sell yourself before you even begin to think about selling as a career.
To learn how to catch an employer’s attention at the interview stage, read the tips below.
Sales Representative Jobs: Excel at Interview
- Try and play down your nerves. No matter how confident and talkative a person you are, you’re likely to have a few nerves on the day of the interview. It’s completely natural – but it’s important not to display this to the interview. Walk into the interview room with confidence and offer a firm handshake; usually, the person interviewing will indulge in a little small talk, so be polite and build a rapport before the real crux of the interview begins.
- Always heed the warning that failing to prepare is preparing to fail – it might be a little tedious to state, but doing your research on the company’s sales department beforehand really gives you the best chance of making an impression at interview. The interviewer will be eager to see whether you really have the passion to work for the company – if you don’t put this across, you may scupper your chances of landing the job.
- Continuing the preparation theme, practice potential interview scenarios beforehand – this should ensure you don’t slip up on any tricky questions. However, make sure your answers seem fairly natural to the interviewer on the day itself.
- Always wear formal clothes to an interview – even if the company generally has a fairly relaxed policy towards staff uniform on a daily basis, they will expect you to be presentable for the interview. Similarly, timing can be all important on the day of the interview – turning up too early could prove an inconvenience for HR staff, and if you turn up too late your chances of employment will be very slim indeed.
- Finally, try and keep a cool head at all times – if you need a couple of seconds to ponder how to answer a question, take them – it’s better than jumping to the wrong kind of answer. Even if you sense the interview is not going well, stay professional – even unsuccessful interviews can prove useful as you continue your search for sales representative jobs and gain more understanding of the processes involved.
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