Sample Interview Questions

The following is a list of sample interview questions as referenced in Tom Ruff's book How to Break Into Pharmaceutical Sales - A Headhunter's Strategy.

Q: What are your biggest strengths?
District managers are looking to see what you consider your biggest strengths and if those are the same strengths the company is looking for in a sales representative. Some good attributes include: driven, self-motivated, good leadership skills, intelligence and the ability to learn new material quickly.

Q: What are your current rankings?
DM’s are looking for the best. Someone ranked #1, 2 or 3 out of 200-500 is great, but #1, 2 or 3 out of 4 is not nearly as attractive.

Q: Do you have performance evaluations?
Refer to your brag book here. Managers are, first, looking to see if you have them on hand, and second, to see what a previous boss has to say. Past performance evaluations speak volumes about a candidate.

Q: What is your quota, and where are you ranked against your quota?
Here, managers are looking for high achievers that have high goals and are consistently above quota.