Are you considering taking the next step in your career and joining Gartner’s world-class sales team? If you are, there are a few things you should know to better prepare for your interview with us.
Prepare for the interview
Gartner is the world’s leading research and advisory company, so preparation and research before the interview is crucial. It is always beneficial to have a good idea of what the role requires before you speak to the recruiter. My advice is to prepare and have a good understanding of the sometimes complex nature of the Gartner business and a specific region/team you’re applying for. I would advise you to research our website, reports and any other research we provide. Also, you should research the people who will be interviewing you. You can look up the LinkedIn profiles of the recruiters and sales managers involved in your interview process.
Be specific
You want to be structured and to the point when it comes to Gartner sales interview. Always use the most relevant examples that you have faced in your career to strengthen your argument rather than providing a theoretical answer of what you would do or how you would act in a specific situation. At Gartner we believe that past behaviors are a good representation of one’s actions in the future. Additionally, try to use one of the recommended interviewing techniques. I personally always suggest using something called the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result), which allows the candidate to stick to their example and be structured.
Don’t be afraid to show your curiosity
Due to the nature of Gartner’s business, where our key purpose is to help clients focus on their mission-critical priorities, it is the job of the salesperson to ask multiple levels of questions to identify those even when the client does not know how to reach them. Being a successful sales professional at Gartner requires you to have a lot of natural curiosity to be able to do that. This means that we always look for people who challenge us in the interview process and continuously ask questions to get a better understanding of the role and its expectations.
Be ready to be challenged
Don’t be surprised if the person interviewing you asks several additional questions around your answers, as they are trying to dig deeper and see what drives you and where it all stems from. By doing this we want to see your perseverance and ability to stay calm during a tough situation.
Always ask for feedback
Gartner associates strive for feedback! We believe that even if you don’t have all the necessary skills when you start, as long as you are eager to learn, listen and accept feedback given to you by your fellow associates and managers, you will do great. Our recruiters and sales managers are highly experienced interviewing partners who are able to provide guidance and advice on the areas of development you need to focus on at other interview stages or in your current career moving forward – so do utilize that!
Interested in joining our team? Explore our current sales opportunities here.