How to Interview for a Sales Role at Philips

How to Interview for a Sales Role at Philips

Philips is one of the world’s leading companies in healthcare, consumer lifestyle, and personal health—making this behemoth a dream destination for someone who would like to sell in one of those categories. “We seek out individuals [who] want to be actively engaged in our mission,” explains David Madaffri, Vice President of Sales for North America Philips Healthcare Informatics. “Our sales teams are innovators. We constantly seek new ways to provide our products and solutions to customers in a manner that improves their [lives].”  

If that sounds like a team of which you’d like to be a part, here’s everything you need to know about how to best prepare yourself to interview for a sales role at Philips—and hopefully, snag a job there.

You Need to Show You’re an Innovator

“Innovation is at the core of everything we do,” says Madaffri. With that in mind, Philips looks for a “good balance of clinical, technical, and business expertise across our teams” in potential sales employees, he says, so they can “provide our customers a comprehensive introduction of our solutions.” Prepare examples to show off your innovation skills in the interview to shine.25 Interview Questions Everyone Should Be Prepared to Answer

Be Prepared to Show You’re a Team Player

“Culture and inclusiveness is an important part of working for Philips,” Madaffri says. So, Philips looks for people who will fit into that culture—who will “embrace teamwork, and are interested in being part of a larger team,” he says, adding, “as a hiring manager, I value those aspects of an applicant’s background equally with their work history and skills.”

To discover whether an applicant is a team player, Madaffri will often ask for past examples of working as a team—so come to an interview with some team-work stories you can tell.

Be Confident

“I need to see confidence in candidates,” says Madaffri. “They need to believe in themselves and their abilities.” But more than that, you can show confidence in an interview by doing your homework on Philips and our products, he says. “Have a thorough understanding of what you will be selling at Philips,” Madaffri recommends, then come ready to share how those products will provide solutions and give benefits to customers who purchase them.No Experience? No Problem. Philips Reveals How to Break Into Health Tech

Do Your Homework

As Madaffri mentioned above, you have to do your homework on Philips in order to impress him during an interview. “Understand Philips’ mission, understand the solutions you are seeking to sell, [and] understand our value proposition in the market,” he instructs. Most importantly, you should be able to answer the question of “Why Philips?” he says. “Why do you want to work here?” Without a clear answer to this question, you could be in trouble.

Share How Your Success Will Benefit Philips

“Everyone has success metrics on their resume,” says Madaffri. And simply ticking off your accomplishments isn’t enough. “As a hiring manager, I am more interested in how you will fit within our culture, your understanding of our solutions, and how your unique talents and skills can benefit our teams and our customers,” he says.

Have References—Even if You Don’t Provide Them

Madaffri says he uses LinkedIn to vet potential candidates. “This is a fairly small industry,” he says. “I usually know someone who knows you and will look for a positive reference. I use LinkedIn extensively. The contacts and online profile are extremely important.” So before you submit an application—and certainly before you go in for an interview—make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date, and connect with people who could act as informal and formal references. (It’s a good idea to ask networks members to leave reviews, too!)