Candidate Selection Instruments Essay

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Updated: Apr 16th, 2024

Table of Contents

Qualifications
Assessment Criteria
Skill and Competence Evaluation/Testing

Qualifications

Eligible candidates for the above-mentioned position are required to possess the following qualities and educational background;

Have the ability to read, write, and solve basic arithmetic problems
Have a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing or any other related fields, and a Masters Degree in Marketing will be an added advantage
Be computer literate and have the ability to prepare and deliver presentations; compose, edit, and create written marketing materials
Have strong communication and interpersonal skills including the ability to convince and influence others
Have strong knowledge and techniques in advertising and sales promotion
Have at least five years experience in sales and marketing
Ability to maintain professionalism and a positive image of the company to the public
Willingness to travel and work anywhere in and out of the country
Have a clean driving license in less than 60 days after employment
Willingness to work on a flexible schedule, which includes working late and occasionally overnight and weekends

Assessment Criteria

During interviews, the eligible candidates will be assessed on the basis of their ability to answer the questions listed below relative to the scoring key.

Question	Scoring Key
Tell me about yourself?	This question aims at assessing the ability of the candidate to create the first impression through providing an influential answer that captures the academic qualifications, the professional qualifications, relevant job experience, and other relevant qualifications. Additionally, this question tests the candidate on the basis of the ability to open-up and start a conversation with minimal hesitation.
What are your biggest selling strengths?	Here, the candidate is required to mention the most important strengths for salespersons such as consistence, commitment, the ability to achieve perfection, the ability to work under pressure to achieve sales results, meeting deadlines, honesty, and self-motivation.
According to your opinion, what are the most preferable skills that all sales representatives must possess?	This question assesses the interviewee’s ability to identify the tough working conditions besides coming up with relevant skills to fit each situation. Therefore, the interviewee is required to identify skills such as persuasion, strong interpersonal skills, excellent communication skills, influential personality, general sales knowledge, and presentation skills.
How do you prepare a presentation?	Besides being computer literate, the eligible candidate is required to demonstrate expertise in terms of using various computer applications in marketing, advertising, and product promotion.
What is your experience in presentation?	This question seeks to assess the interviewee’s experience in organizing and delivering presentations to large groups and achieving the desirable results.
What are your favorite books regarding sales?	Books written by Philip Kotler are the best in sales and marketing. As a result, atleast one book mentioned by the interviewee should be written by this author.
How do you deal with a chain of negative results or responses?	Here, the interviewee should provide an optimistic approach. As a result, the candidate should provide workable solutions such as noting the point of weaknesses, maintaining a positive attitude, and learning from mistakes or past experience.
What are your hobbies?	Here, travelling should at least be part of the candidate’s hobbies because the sales and marketing entails a lot of travelling to meet clients.

Skill and Competence Evaluation/Testing

Furthermore, to test the abilities and competencies of the successful candidates, there is the need to evaluate their performance. Performance in sales and marketing entails various components including competence, motivation, and opportunity. Additionally, there is the need to test the successful candidates on the basis of their ability to deliver the sales results. Thus, evaluation of the candidate’s competence should include assessing the background knowledge and sales skills.

Here, assessment tools such as the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) are useful in assessing product knowledge. BARS is divided into four levels, which include novice (knowing the names of all products), competent (knowing the names of all products and describing their features to customers), proficient (knowing the names of all products and reviewing their features without seeking assistance from the catalog or other salespersons), and expert (knowing the names of all products, reviewing product features with customers, and explaining product benefits to customers).

Conversely, sales results are evaluated by considering individual performance against the sales goals, measuring the results as opposed to evaluating the sales activities, and evaluating teamwork in complex, challenging, and high-value situations. Finally, after employing the above-mentioned evaluation criteria, the candidates can then be categorized into top performers, high performers, underachievers, and unacceptable performers. This process allows one to come up with a final list of candidates who can create a strong link between the company and the clients.

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