Not much was said or done, it stayed very brief, and there was no response afterwards, leaving things quiet, unresolved, and without any further communication or follow-up from either side.
Negative experience
Difficult interview
Application
I applied online. I interviewed at BMS Performance (London, England) in Nov 2024
Interview
Telephone interview which was disguised as an informal chat.
Group online interview of about 24 people, interviewers were late. Only get to display your knowledge and experience in 30 second pitches. 2 Individual tasks which were the 30 sales pitches of yourself and one which was random and they asked you to share something that interested you in 30 seconds with a minute to prepare. Group tasks were short and allowed the louder and more vocal candidates to push their way through the task. Overall a underwhelming and disappointing experience. It may coma across that I am bitter but some of the candidates were dressed in hoodies and looked like they had just woken up and they had progressed past the first point of the interview. No room to display the skills you may have as a candidate and in all honesty it just seemed rather unfair to put all of us (who were mainly women may i add) in a breakout room to then turn our cameras on and tell us essentially that were not competent and that the interview was competitive. Even though prior to starting the interview you are informed that no experience was needed and that there were no wrong answers. It just seemed some what impersonal and the fact that i have a degree in a creative subject was going to put me at a disadvantage as I was met with multiple candidates who had extensive experience in the industry.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at BMS Performance (London, England) in Aug 2019
Interview
After applying I received a phone call quite soon afterwards to discuss my CV and experience. At the end of the phone call we discussed my availability to attend an assessment centre.
After this was scheduled I received multiple phone calls with information regarding the day, confirming the place, instructions and advice on what would happen and what I needed to prepare. Others I spoke to had similar positive experiences with advice and openness to questions (but some of us received different information).
On the day, we met and mingled before two women directed us to get name tags. 40 people attended. The day was explained by sita who led the day. representatives form 9 companies came and sat facing us.
We did introductions in front of everyone, some formal, some funny, many nervous:
- Name
- education
- most recent employment
- greatest non academic achievement
We were split into 4 groups and did an activity led by a supervisor who guided. The first activity involved establishing the values of a company and then a 30 day sales plan based on information given to you on the product (an elevating desk). This was informal, timed, and feedback was given. The company reps are observing.
Next we did our elevator pitches on '3 reasons why we should be chosen as a sales person'. We were given instructions on what to include and 2 minutes to prepare.
Another group task involved deciding from a list of questions which 6 would be most important in a meeting to sell the desk. All information is given. Read everything. Listen and speak out respectfully.
After a break, about a third of people were led away and told they were unsuccessful.
You then have 20 minutes to prepare a sales roleplay to sell the product. You will be told exactly what to do, listen and follow instructions. Role play is one by one and lasts less than 5 minutes.
People then meet clients who like them/spoken to individually about offers or rejections.
LISTEN/ TAKE NOTES
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
30 second elevator pitch: 3 reasons why you should be chosen for a sales role
