Sales Analyst

A major red flag on this job interview question is a candidate who is only in it for the money. Don’t be surprised to hear "for the commissions" or "because the money is good."

These might be honest answers, but they also show a potential problem. The candidate only cares about the cash. You want a sales rep who is motivated by the process of selling and interested in filling a need for the customer, not just in making bank.

Salespeople need to be able to deal with failure by critically analyzing failed attempts and learning from them. Knowing how you handle failure is as important as understanding how you succeed, and in fact, the two are interdependent. Be honest here, and clearly spell out one of your failures. Start with the goal you were pursuing, and then elaborate on why it was important to you, what did you do to achieve it, why you failed, who was involved, what you learned, and what you would have done differently. Far from damaging your reputation, the hiring manager will appreciate your candor.

An activity diagram is a simple and intuitive type of a flow chart which enables analysts to present a robust and easy visual of the workflow of a business use case. The objective of activity diagram is to show various activities taking place in an organization in different departments. Different departments in any organization like HR, Accounts, Sales, etc. have access to the screens that relate to their fields but activity diagrams highlight the differences in the departments which help the developers when they code and design. The important elements in Activity diagram are initial nodes, control flows, activities, decisions, guard conditions, a fork and join and end nodes.

My biggest challenge was making prediction sales during the recession period and estimating financial losses for the upcoming quarter. Interpreting the information was a seamless process. However, it was slightly difficult to forecast future trends when the market fluctuates frequently. Usually I analyze and report on data that has already occurred. In this case, I had to research how receding economic conditions impacted varying income groups and then make an inference on the purchasing capacity of each group.

The very first thing I would do is clearly define the problem or objective so I have a solid direction. Second, I would explore the data and become more familiar with it. This is extremely critical especially if I am working with a new set of data. Next, I would prepare the data for modeling. This entails data validation, detecting outliers, treating missing values, etc. With those steps completed, I would begin modeling the data until I discover the most significant or valuable results. Lastly, I would implement the model and track my results. As I'm sure you are aware, this process could vary slightly based upon the type of problem and the data and tools available.

Your answers should focus on how well you can review relevant facts, consider various options and select the most appropriate option. Discuss how you factor in variables such as constraints and resources.

As much as you want to sell your self in a good light, do not make the mistake of exaggerating your current position. Add some of your routine tasks to make it realistic and don’t neglect tings like paperwork. Try to be in the interviewers shoes as you answer this question. A job you have been doing for years should be part of you already and as such; you must know all the tasks you undertake. Try to show them that you plan well before you begin work and after you attain your goals, you review the process to see how you could be more efficient.

Customer objections are really requests for more information about a product or service and how it can benefit them. Good salespeople know this and use objections to create a better sale. When a hiring manager asks this question, you are giving the applicant an opportunity to tell you about the techniques they use and how they keep the customer’s interest, empathize with them, and make sales without badgering the customer or giving up too soon.

Job candidates who set goals are perceived to be clear thinkers and motivated workers. Before your interview, talk to a few people who are where you would like to be and ask if your stated goals strike a healthy balance between realistic and achievable. Then, when you talk to the hiring manager, briefly describe your goals and hone in on why you want to achieve them -- your driving motivations and where you think achieving these goals could take you in the next few years.

A business analysis presentation of the steps involved in defining the interactions between a user (actor) and a system (computer system) is termed as use case model. It gives details on the interactions and sets the expectations of how the user will work within the system. The use case model consist of 2 main elements:

☛ • Use case diagram – It is a graphical representation that details which actors can operate which use cases

☛ • Use case description – It is a detailed textual step by step presentation of interactions and dialogue between the actor and the system.

This question is one of the most frequently asked questions. Where do you start? What do they really want to know? Are you to begin from elementary school or college? You have to be very careful on how you answer this question because your answer here sets the tone for the rest of the interview. This question is mostly asked as an icebreaker but if you did not prepare for it, it becomes a real problem.

The right approach to this is to discuss your key strengths and how they relate to the job. Talk about a few of your accomplishments. Talk about your current employer and then tell them how you see yourself fitting into a position at their company.

Turn this question into a strength question in disguise. For instance, say something like “I do not like not being challenged at work” or you could mention a weakness that has nothing to do with the job and that you can overcome with training. This way, you end up turning this potentially tricky question into a positive.

Sometimes, you may be asked about certain challenges you faced in your previous position. If you are asked this question, lean towards the problem that happened early in your carrier and that you were able to solve. Do not try to blame others, just identify the problem and the role you played in solving it.

A career retrospective highlights your ability to communicate in addition to bearing testament to the logic and rationale of your career choices. Start with your first professional job (note: not your very first job ever) and talk briefly about what you learned from each successive role. Don’t forget to touch on what attracted you to each new opportunity, culminating in the one you are currently interviewing for. Frame each job change in terms of striving for something greater, not in terms of running away from a crummy manager or company.

Discuss your method of assigning responsibility to the best candidates. How you communicate with employees to make them understand what is expected of them and how you make sure that the employees have the resources needed to carry out specific tasks. You should also chip in your follow-up procedures.

UML is Unified Modeling Language. UML is the standard that the industry uses for visualizing, documenting and constructing various components of a system. It is a modeling standard used primarily for software development, but can also be used for other conceptual models such as describing job roles, business processes and organizational functions. For Business Analysts UML is being able to represent requirements with use cases, class diagram and state diagrams. For Business Analysts, the important part of understanding UML is in understanding the diagram tools and when and how to use them best.