Dave Allen
How many people make it to adulthood and regret giving up the creative pursuits of their youth? Hobbies of all kinds, from piano playing to painting with watercolors, often go by the wayside upon entering the working world; it gets harder to find time to practice, of course, and those lessons that tuition money once paid for no longer look so affordable.
Upon entering the working world and beginning your career search, though, don’t shy away from making your creative endeavors a part of the package. Even if you never dance ballet or pick up the oboe ever again, there’s a place for non-traditional skills on your resume and in your job search.
Skills in the arts can be an eye-catching item—listed under “Other Interests,” perhaps—because you never know if a former musician or current aficionado might reading your resume. But skills you’ve gained as a performer or creator can be valuable in the working world, too. A tour with a choir or dance company could be presented as significant abroad experience, for example. If performing or other creative work makes up a considerable part of your career experience—say you spent a year or two after school playing as a musician on cruise ships—it can be a main item on your resume.
Studied ballet or other choreographed dance? You’re teachable! Led a section of a band or orchestra? That certainly builds leadership skills. Take and develop art photographs? You have an eye for detail and are comfortable with step-by-step processes.
The skills needed to succeed in the modern workplace don’t only come from hours spent at internships or in the classroom. They can come from anywhere, and it’s worth making the ones that don’t fit the typical mold part of a creative and considered job search.
From: InterviewQuestionsAndAnswers.biz
Marketing and sales manager interview questions and answers
You can use Marketing and sales manager interview questions below to ask candidates or self-answer in a job interview for Marketing and sales manager.
1. Tips to answer Marketing and sales manager interview questions
• Identify key duties, tasks, job specs, job standards of Marketing and sales manager positions then ask question: How to do, how to become, how to measure performance, how to monitor, how to control…
• Always ask by yourself : what are things related to your position field in this interview questions before answering.
• Research the company and its business carefully: company history, organization structure, your division structure, product/service list, competitive advantages and disadvantages..
• Always ask by yourself: What are proofs that are needed for this interview questions/this job?
You can use free interview questions samples of Marketing and sales manager as below:
• Please tell me a little about yourself?
• What have you learned from your past jobs that related to Marketing and sales manager?
• Why did you leave your last job?
• Tell me about your last position and what you did?
• Where would you like to be in 3 years? 5 years?
• What made you choose to apply to Marketing and sales manager?
• What are key tasks for Marketing and sales manager?
• How to do each Marketing and sales manager position task/function?
• How to control each task/function of Marketing and sales manager? Etc
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What are top top 3 skills for Marketing and sales manager?
• How to measure job performance of your position: Marketing and sales manager?
• What do you know about this company?
• What do you know about the position of your Marketing and sales manager position?
• Describe two or three major trends in your did you choose this profession/field?
• What tertiary qualifications have you attained that related to Marketing and sales manager?
• What is the most recent skill you have learned that related to Marketing and sales manager?
• What tertiary qualifications have you attained that related to your Marketing and sales manager position?
• What is the most recent skill you have learned that related to your Marketing and sales manager position?
3. Job titles related
The above interview questions also can be used for job titles related to Marketing and sales manager as follows:
• Marketing advisor
• Marketing coordinator
• Marketing consultant
• Marketing director
• Marketing executive
• Marketing manager
• Marketing officer
• Marketing specialist
by: Todd Metcalf/For the Times-Standard
Volunteering is an excellent opportunity to acquire job-related skills and improve access to job opportunities. In a recent study conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service, almost 25 percent of adult volunteers report that they have become volunteers for this purpose — to make themselves more attractive job applicants in a tight job market.
The desire to improve employment prospects is a common motivation for volunteering among younger and unemployed volunteers. Ninety-four percent of employers believe that volunteering can add to job skills and 73 percent of employers would recruit a candidate with volunteering experience over one without.
Recent studies conducted by the Points of Light Network show that 75 percent of volunteers report gaining interpersonal skills as well as communication, organizational and management skills.
Not only does volunteering help with potential employment, volunteering also serves as a platform to develop social networks and form valuable ties within the community. These vital connections provide an opportunity to meet potential employers and/or those who may know of an organization that has an unadvertised job opening.
In returning to the paid workforce after some time away, a volunteer’s activities show that he or she has remained sharp and involved. If you want to change careers, it may be your volunteer work that tells a prospective employer that you’re worth the risk, even if your previous employment history is in some other field.
When looking for a job, your resume gets your foot in the door. One way to capture the interest of an employer is to show that you are an involved citizen — someone who works to make the community a better place in which to live. It is essential that you include your volunteer work on your resume. When preparing it, include a “Community Service” or “Volunteer Work” section. List highlights of your volunteering activities — show that you have breadth of interests, flexibility, energy, the will to improve your community — these attributes enhance your potential to be an asset to your new employer.
Studies have shown that outstanding salespeople share certain traits, whether they run their own business or work for someone else.
According to Jim Cathcart, well-known speaker and author of Relationship Selling: The Key to Getting and Keeping Customers, whether people are professionals isn’t determined by the business they are in, but by the way they are in business.
Sales professionals:
- Are committed to the success of their clients’ businesses, as well as their own.
- Have clearly stated business and life goals.
- Take time to educate themselves, and are always open to learning how to improve their sales skills.
- Spend spare time in sales-related activities, whether within their industry or contributing to other entrepreneurs.
- Take personal responsibility for both their successes and failures, rather than blaming others for any setbacks.
- Keep track of their progress, including accurate records of conversations with clients and appropriate follow-up times, as well as their level of activity during each step of the sales process.
- Are determined and persistent, and don’t let anything discourage or slow them down.
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Now more than ever, it’s critical to make the right hiring choices when hiring a new sales representative. Here are the TOP 5 THINGS You Need to Know in order to make the right decision.
- Use results-based questioning in the interview. The very best question you can ask a potential new sales representative hire is “Tell me about your best sale ever.” Ask them to elaborate. Talk about the prospecting, the approach, when they overcame objections, how they closed the sale and, most importantly, what was the RESULT of the sale. So many interviewees will go through all the information and close with “and we got the sale.” How much? For how long? What kind of life-time revenue? Make sure you get all the details.
Here’s a clue… if they don’t have all the details or, heaven forbid, they have to think long on this question, they are likely not your choice for hire. I’ve been out of direct selling for over 11 years and I can recite every single step of my best sale ever today. You never forget those details or the joy of success that comes with it. My big sale came in Knoxville, Tennessee and I still thank them.
- Talk to your top candidates several times. Make sure you’re getting a full picture of the candidate, not on just one really spectacular day. And change up the time of day you interview. You don’t want to find out 2 months down the road that your hire is a morning person and fades into the sunset after lunch.
- Watch the follow-up and indicators of their specific nature:
. how quickly did they follow up or did they even follow up with after the interview.
. what the thank you note looks like, how it is written, and when it came
. how the candidate dressed, and what kind of behavior you noticed
- Use an assessment tool: DISC, Caliper, OPQ, or, in our case, in Nashville we use Profiles International nationwide. These weighted assessments take the “personal” element out of it and give you a more unbiased view of the person.
- CHECK REFERENCES. NEVER skip this step. Have the same 8-10 questions for each reference and encourage them to elaborate. Of course, many HR professionals adhere to the two answers of 1) confirming they were employees and 2) if they are re-hirable or not. Sales managers and co-workers will be more forthcoming.
If you follow these five steps, you will increase your likelihood of find the ideal sales professional for you to propel your company’s sales!came in Knoxville, Tennessee and I still thank them.