Engel & Völkers Sales Representative Interview Questions
& Process

I had a really great time working with Angela. She was super professional and honest from the start, and you could tell she really wanted to help me find the right job. She walked me through all the interview steps and gave me good info about the job and the company, making sure I felt ready and confident. Her communication was top-notch - always quick to respond, supportive, and encouraging. I'm so thankful for how dedicated she was and would definitely suggest her to anyone looking for a recruiter who does more than expected.

It all started with a recruiter who gave me a brief pre-screening interview over the phone. I mentioned that if the salary was around 30-35k a year, I wouldn't be interested in continuing. She just said 'no, it's more'. Okay. The second interview a few days later was with a recruiter from Hamburg (I don't remember if it was in Italian or English). She also asked what salary I was looking for to leave my job and join their group. After my answer, she asked if I would accept reaching this salary with bonuses, I said yes, provided that 2/3 remain fixed salary and only 1/3 bonus. She agreed. And so I proceeded to the third phase in Rome (definitely not close by), for which candidates had to bring a powerpoint presentation in English on solving a business problem. The circuit continued with a focus group, then a small Excel test, then meeting an HR. Finally, I met the boss (at least I did) who complimented me on my determination etc., and made it clear that if I joined the company, he expected me not to watch the clock... I understood everything and said 'no problem, under the right conditions, we do what needs to be done'. A month passed, and HR called me on my cell to invite me back to Rome. Just to be sure, I asked for confirmation of the purpose. She replied 'to discuss the terms of the role you applied for'. I returned to Rome, but they and the boss, after another brief interview, revealed 2 facts that I still consider shocking. First, they asked if I was willing to work as a freelance agent (partita IVA), promising me management of their best offers. Second, after telling them that I hadn't traveled to Rome for a fourth interview to receive said offer, but the one agreed upon in the first 2 interviews, including the salary: they told me that the salary for the position would still be 30,000 euros. When I said 'in Hamburg they assured me I could compete for this other sum', they replied 'in Hamburg they don't have a helicopter over Rome to know how much we have to offer our employees'. I said goodbye and left. Certainly, I gave good advice to the manager who clearly looks at the very short term, and wasted a lot of time (and money) for a German company that didn't feel German at all. On the contrary. I'm okay with everything, but deceiving people by presenting a salary that is not actually in the budget just to make them attend interviews at their own expense and after a certain commitment required, then trying to convince them to accept completely different roles or much lower salaries, seems really too much.

Had a personal interview with the area manager, lasted about an hour. They were looking for an autonomous commissioned salesperson, but one that also had office attendance hours and weekly obligations. In my opinion, there was little real information about the position.