Sales interview questions and answers Page 1 of 14

Top 12 finance interview questions and

answers

Other useful materials for retail interview: 100 finance interview questions, 440

behavioral interview questions, 290 competency based interview questions, top

36 situational interview questions, 95 management interview questions and

answers, 45 internship interview questions, 13 types of interview questions and

how to face them.

Sales interview questions and answers Page 2 of 14

Tell me about yourself?

This is probably the most asked

question in retail interview. It breaks

the ice and gets you to talk about

something you should be fairly

comfortable with. Have something

prepared that doesn't sound rehearsed.

It's not about you telling your life story

and quite frankly, the interviewer just

isn't interested. Unless asked to do so,

stick to your education, career and

current situation. Work through it

chronologically from the furthest back

to the present.

Sales interview questions and answers Page 3 of 14

Walk me through a cash flow statement?

Start with net income, go line by line through major adjustments (depreciation, changes in working capital and deferred taxes) to arrive at cash flows from operating activities.

Mention capital expenditures, asset sales,

purchase of intangible assets, and

purchase/sale of investment securities to

arrive at cash flow from investing activities.

Mention repurchase/issuance of debt and

equity and paying out dividends to arrive at

cash flow from financing activities.

Adding cash flows from operations, cash

flows from investments, and cash flows from

financing gets you to total change of cash.

Beginning-of-period cash balance plus

change in cash allows you to arrive at end-of-

period cash balance.

Sales interview questions and answers Page 4 of 14

What Can You Do for Us That Other Candidates Can't?

What makes you unique? This

will take an assessment of

your experiences, skills and

traits. Summarize concisely:

"I have a unique combination

of strong technical skills, and

the ability to build strong

customer relationships. This

allows me to use my

knowledge and break down

information to be more user-

friendly."

Sales interview questions and answers Page 5 of 14

Is it possible for a company to show positive cash flows but be in grave trouble?

Absolutely. Two examples involve

unsustainable improvements in working

capital (a company is selling off

inventory and delaying payables), and

another example involves lack of

revenues going forward.in the pipeline

Sales interview questions and answers Page 6 of 14

buy a piece of equipment, walk me through the impact on the 3 financial statements

Initially, there is no impact (income

statement); cash goes down, while

PP&E goes up (balance sheet), and

the purchase of PP&E is a cash

outflow (cash flow statement)

Over the life of the asset:

depreciation reduces net income

(income statement); PP&E goes

down by depreciation, while retained

earnings go down (balance sheet);

and depreciation is added back

(because it is a non-cash expense

that reduced net income) in the cash

from operations section (cash flow

statement).

Sales interview questions and answers Page 7 of 14

What is a deferred tax liability and why might one be created?

Deferred tax liability is a tax expense

amount reported on a company’s

income statement that is not actually

paid to the IRS in that time period, but

is expected to be paid in the future. It

arises because when a company

actually pays less in taxes to the IRS

than they show as an expense on their

income statement in a reporting period.

Differences in depreciation expense

between book reporting (GAAP) and

IRS reporting can lead to differences in

income between the two, which

ultimately leads to differences in tax

expense reported in the financial

statements and taxes payable to the

IRS.

Sales interview questions and answers Page 8 of 14

How can your previous co-workers describe you?

This will be testing the way you relate

with the people you work with since

most retailing businesses employ

several members of staff. Mention a

number of your strong traits like

enthusiasm, wide knowledge,

keenness to show yourself a team

player.

Sales interview questions and answers Page 9 of 14

Why are you interested in working with us?

Mention the achievements or state how

successful the company has been and

express how you will be delighted to be

associated with such. Also mention how

you plan to help the company reach

greater heights.

Sales interview questions and answers Page 10 of 14

How well do you understand what we sell?

This is where you should have done

some intensive research about the

company. Mention the products or

services offered, states where they

have branches and common

consumers among other things.

Sales interview questions and answers Page 11 of 14

How do you plan to cover up in areas where you are not experienced?

State some skills you already have and

elaborate on how these will help you to

learn the new skills easily. This is a

valid question because you will need to

be knowledgeable on all products that

you will be selling.

Sales interview questions and answers Page 12 of 14

How flexible are you in terms of working hours?

Retailing may require you to be

working during very odd hours

including late night and even

overnight. Simply say that you do

not have schedule restrictions.

Sales interview questions and answers Page 13 of 14

Do you have any questions?

This will most likely be the last

question. Having some questions will

show that you are interested in the retail

job as well as the company itself. Make

these general and avoid issues with

money or pay raise.

Sales interview questions and answers Page 14 of 14

Useful job interview materials:

Ebook: Ultimate Guide To Job Interview Answers

http://azjobebooks.info/download/UltimateGuideToJobInterviewAnswers

100 finance interview questions:

http://interviewquestionsandanswers.biz/financial-interview-questions-and-

answers/

http://4career.net/top-12-secrets-to-win-every-job-interviews/

http://4career.net/free-ebook-75-interview-questions-and-answers/

http://4career.net/13-types-of-interview-questions-and-how-to-sovle-them/

The above interview questions and other materials can be used for customer service job

positions such as: financial analyst, financial controller, financial advisor, financial manager, chief

financial officer, financial planner, financial consultant, financial assistant, financial director, senior

financial analyst, financial officer, financial administrator, junior financial analyst, financial adviser,

financial specialist, financial representative, financial coordinator, financial executive, financial

auditor, financial counselor, financial clerk, financial engineer, financial broker