Ever considered being a sales consultant? This interview from JustJobs.com will take you through the ups and downs you can expect in the position, what it takes to land the job, what you can expect to earn and more. This sales expert suggests how to be well prepared and informed whenever one needs to deal with a new type of job interview.
I work as a sales associate for a national communication provider. I have worked for the company for the past three years, during a time of frequent change due to increased industry competition and technological changes.
While working in sales is a financially rewarding position, it is also quite stressful and the stress is probably the most common reason people leave the position. All sales consultants are responsible for achieving a monthly quota, which contributes to the overall office's sales quota.
This sales position involves selling residential customers products such as land-line service, cell phone service, internet service, satellite TV service and equipment - preferably in a package deal! I get paid a competitive base salary, commission and product bonuses.
My position is covered by a union agreement and I get excellent benefits, including a full retirement plan and comprehensive medical coverage for my entire family, which the company pays for.
I also get unlimited prepaid tuition to any school or program I enroll in, as long as I continue to advance academically.
I found this job online. I regularly searched the internet for jobs while working for another telecom company. I often searched the internet for better opportunities.
I even drove my car looking for large businesses that have corporate offices nearby, wrote down the company names found and searched them online to see if they were hiring.
Ultimately, after searching many job board websites, it was on Monster.com that I found my current job. It took about six weeks of searching before finding this job.
In addition to searching for jobs on the internet, I also researched potential employers online.
Thanks to all the information online, I was able to look up average salaries, check employers websites for the benefits they offered and read reviews from past employees.
This allowed me to compare jobs and make a decision on which company I preferred to work for, before accepting a job offer.
I also found tips and suggestions online that helped me through the application process, such as sample resumes, possible interview questions and the application process timeline.
My initial interview with my company was a 90 minute phone interview. I was mailed information about the S.T.A.R. interview method and felt pretty nervous, as this was going to be a behavioral interview.
Whether I had had one in the past, I didn't know. No previous employer mailed me information on the structure of the interview, the expectations and how to word my answers. I felt a little intimidated by such a 'formal' interview.
I further searched the internet for additional information about behavioral interviews and came up with some questions that I thought they might ask me. I wrote down answers to these questions and had these in front of me during the interview.
This was also my first phone interview. This interview went surprisingly well. By being informed about the structure of a behavioral interview, I was able to easily answer the questions.
My interviewer told me it was okay to ask for some time to think before answering, so I did when I needed to. I used the time to jot down some main points and then incorporated them into my answer.
Needless to say, I was relieved when I passed this round and went on to a live-person interview.
Recently my company was bought by another telecom company. I am thinking about moving on again.
A lot has changed since the last time I initiated a full-blown job search. One of the major changes is that the economy is currently struggling and the unemployment rate is high.
But I have a lot of resources available to me now that I didn't have before, which I hope will be useful in my job search. I use Facebook to stay in contact with co-workers or colleagues around the world.
Many people have come and gone from my company, often moving on to start their own businesses or taking higher positions with other companies. I made sure to stay in touch through Facebook. I also maintain a profile on several job board sites, such as Monster.com and a few international job search sites.
I currently do not have my profiles set to display publicly, but when I begin my job search, I will make them searchable to recruiters. I have also invested substantially in my education while working for my present employer.
When I began, I had several years of college, but no completed degree. I now have two bachelor degrees and a masters degree. I have updated my resume to incorporate my education, and the overall format of my resume has changed.
My university has an active Career Center that offers several resources that I may find useful. Right now I am particularly interested in attending some of the job search workshops they offer, going through a mock interview at their office and attending an upcoming job fair.
I also plan to email my resume to the Career Center and implement any suggestions they have for me.
Because of my advanced degree, I will be competing for higher positions this time around. I feel that I need to upgrade my job search skills and will use resources that I have available to help me with the job search process, rather than relying solely on my own efforts as I did previously.
Online job search tools image from Bigstock
Bigstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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