4 Essential Interview Tips for Mid-career Sales Professionals -

4 Essential Interview Tips for Mid-career Sales Professionals -Yur palms are sweaty and theres a sinking feeling in your stomach. Youre about to walk into a job interview and youre feeling completely unprepared. Youre ordinarily confident during a schlussverkauf pitch why are interviews so tricky?Feeling nervous before a big interview is normal. Many successful mid-career professionals who I help distribution policy feel this way. When its been a few years since youve interviewed for a new position, brushing up on interview best practices can help you feel comfortable, confident and ready to land your dream job. Heres how to channel your fears into effective preparationThe fear Youll ramble and your answers will sound disorganized.The solution Practice your answers using the STAR method.Dont panic when you hear questions like Tell me about a time or Give me an example of These questions are asking for a short anecdote about your work experience. Organize your answer using the STAR m ethod Situation, Task, Action, Result. Describe the challenge, describe your responsibility, describe what you did, and quantify the outcome.For example our schlussverkauf were down 10% from last year, I had just been promoted to sales manager and needed to motivate my team, I put together a new incentive structure and talking points, and my team exceeded our sales goal by 20%. Brevity matters dont lose your audience on a lengthy tangent. Drill down to the essentials and keep your answers in the two minute range.The fear Your accomplishments wont sound impressive.The solution Quantify and contextualize your successes.Dont assume a hiring manager will understand the ins and outs of your current role. Its your job to provide enough information that they can appreciate what youve achieved. Do so by quantifying and contextualizing your success. For example, rather than saying, I exceeded my numbers, provide additional context. How many people at your company also exceeded their numbers? How did the company perform overall? How did the industry perform? Extra details, when appropriate, can make a huge difference. Its much more impressive to say I was the only regional sales manager to exceed my target goals three straight years and I did this even as industry sales dropped by 8%.The fear You wont say the right answer.The solution Know your numbers.People sometimes think interviews are a quiz and that theres a right answer for everything. The truth is a little more complicated. On one hand, its important to be an authentic version of your professional self. Theres no benefit to squeezing yourself into a position thats not a good fit. Even if you get the job, youre setting yourself up for professional frustration.On the other hand, there is a formula to a successful sales interview and it comes down to numbers. Percentage growth, revenue size, and territory size are all critical. Youll almost certainly be asked about these figures, so get ahead of this question and p repare your numbers in advance. Then, you can focus on letting your authentic self shine through.The fear Your job history is confusing.The solution Know your reasons for leaving past jobs.Dont worry most mid-career sales professionals dont have perfectly linear career trajectories. Maybe you started in a different industry or a different role, like operations or marketing. Maybe youve taken a few years off, worked part-time or stepped back from regular travel. Companies value candidates who arent jumpy. If youve switched positions several times in the last few years, this can be a red flag to a prospective employer they dont want you to leave them, tooI recommend preparing a short, two-sentence answer that addresses a career pivot and then refocuses on the job at hand. For example, After five years in operations, I moved to sales and my expert systems knowledge has been a tremendous asset for prospective clients. Since I understand their challenges and they trust my recommendation s, I grew our systems sales by 18% in just one year.How a Sales Recruiter Can Help You Prepare for InterviewsThink of your recruiter as your interview ally were here to help you be successful. Since were in close contact with hiring managers, we know what they expect and any idiosyncrasies that can impact interview performance.Heres an example I work closely with an HR representative who always insists on a short kontrolle call with candidates. The HR rep doesnt discuss much on these calls and she often leaves people with the impression that she isnt interested in them as candidates. As a recruiter, I know this low-energy approach is just her style, and I prepare candidates for that. Its part of the process and its not indicative of their hiring prospects. In fact, I had one candidate who told me, I think that went really poorly, and she sailed right through to the next round.

6 Things Ive Learned as a Forever Job Seeker - Jobscan Blog

6 Things Ive Learned as a Forever Job Seeker - Jobscan BlogPosted on November 27, 2017August 30, 2019 by Paige Doepke Ive successfully been a freelance writer for two years now, and heres the thing, freelancing is just as cool as youve heard. I get to make my own hours, choose my clients, and take meetings in my PJs. But freelancing is also just as hard as youve heard.I often call myself a forever job seeker, constantly looking for work while managing my current workload. Finding a job opening that sounds like the perfect fit is rare and getting hired is even more rare. Imagine doing that every single week. Welcome to my lifeThe good news is, just like with any job, over time, Ive gotten better at it.About 20% of my work week is spent job hunting. That means Ive spent a casual 800-plus hours job hunting in just two years. You better believe Ive become an expert. Here are my top six lessons for any job seeker1. You wont hear back from most companiesYou just wont. Learning not to take it personally is a valuable skill that will keep you from getting discouraged in your job search. For reference, if I apply for ten jobs one week, I know from experience that I can only expect to hear back from one or two.2. Your productivity is up to youHands down, the most difficult part of any freelancers day is staying focused. Sure, I can take a random Tuesday off, but Id better be prepared to work Saturday if Im going to bill the same number of hours that week.In your job search, you dont have a manager or weekly goals to keep motivated. Set your own goals and hold yourself accountable. If you miss a day of applications, be prepared to make that day up later in the week.3. Accepting the not-quite-perfect job is not always settlingFreelancing is often humbling. One day Ill get an email announcing my article was picked up by a major online publication. Those are the days that I dreamed of as a writing student, and they feel just as good as I imagined they would. But most days ar ent the perfect job days. fruchtwein days are spent editing, taking calls from potential clients, and getting plenty of articles rejected.But its the days full of editing, networking, and rejection when I learn the most. Maybe a job has some solid potential to give you that perfect, dreamy feeling every so often, but not daily. If it also has the potential to help you learn and grow, its worth it. The more you grow, the more dreamy days will lie ahead.4. You are an expert, so act like it.When I first started meeting with potential clients, I felt like I was a little kid dressing up in my moms work clothes. How could anyone want me to produce and control all of their companys content? My third client meeting ever was with a hotshot CEO at a fancy building in Chicago. The second he sat down he said, Im an expert at what I do, but I know nothing about content. Youre the content expert. I think I sat up straighter immediately.Whether you feel like it or not, you are an expert in what yo u do, and you have specific, valuable skills that most other people dont. Go into interviews with corporate recruiters knowing that you are an expert.5. Know your worthI compete with writers who accept only 20% of what I dienstgrad my clients. How can I get away with charging more? I constantly research the salaries of writers in my area with my credentials. Plus, I know the quality of my work is worth the cost.Research average salaries in your area and get comfortable respectfully countering salary offers and other benefits. But remember, never talk about salary until the job is actually being offered to you.6. Never burn a bridgeIt can be hard to bite your tongue when a hiring manager calls to tell you they are going in another direction, but its important that you do. As a freelancer, much of my work comes from the referrals of other clients, even clients for whom I only did one small project. The point is, you never know where your next job could come from, so its important to l eave all of your connections with a positive opinion of you.One common thread throughout each of these lessons is to remain confident but humble. Know your worth, but accept that there is always room for growth in your career. Get started with an open mind, and let my 800 hours of job searching make your search as efficient as possible.facebook inc Commentswpdevar_comment_1 span,wpdevar_comment_1 iframewidth100% important