Lying on a resume, arriving late to an interview, and wearing inappropriate attire are obvious indicators that a candidate should no longer be considered for the position. But what about warning signs during the hiring process that are more subtle? There are three red flags to be aware of when hiring sales candidates. Make sure to pass on candidates who exhibit any of these three red flags to avoid making the wrong hire and having problems arise in the future.
1. Spotty Tenure
When reviewing and discerning candidate resumes, the first thing you should look for is spotty tenure. The best way to identify spotty tenure is to look for a candidate who has changed jobs multiple times in a short period, or has a job at new company every year without a new title or promotion. When a sales rep jumps from job to job like this, it’s usually the result of not meeting or exceeding quota. This is an automatic red flag because a candidate who is not able to achieve and attain goals isn’t going to be a very successful salesperson.
2. Job Transitions
After you weed out the job hoppers, it’s time to bring in the top performing applicants for an interview. During the interview, be sure to ask questions about their employment history and job transitions. Specifically, you should find out if they’ve ever been terminated, or if they left a position without having a new position secured.
If a sales rep has been terminated previously, there’s a good chance it was because they weren’t meeting or exceeding quota year after year. Even companies that have layoffs will normally try to keep their top performing sales reps. If a candidate left a position before having a secure position or any other source of income, you should question their judgment. Sound judgment is essential when trying to close a sale with a prospect, and should be assessed in candidates during the interview process.
3. Lack of Follow-Up
Once you have a candidate that you’re engaged with and going through the interview process, then it’s important to pay attention to how they follow up. Are they sending thank you notes or emails to the people who interviewed them? Are they proactive in finding out next steps and asking good questions? If they’re not doing these things, they are either not that interested in the position or they lack the attention to detail needed for top performing sales reps. In either case, they are not the sales rep that you need!
Before you make your next sales hire, make sure you’re familiar with these three red flags. Of course there can be exceptions to these red flags and every scenario is different, but if you’re pressed for time to fill a position, these three red flags are good indicators of an under-performing and uninterested salesperson.
