K. Hovnanian Homes Sales Specialist Interview Questions
& Process

I applied for a Sales Consultant role in the Chicago area. The whole process took about two months, from late October to mid-December. It involved 5 interviews and was pretty thorough. First, HR from New Jersey called to check my interest, then a more formal phone interview with HR. After that, I completed a personality assessment and a sales questionnaire. About three weeks later, the hiring manager scheduled an in-person interview, which was pretty standard, covering salary and sales expectations, plus details about a training program. Since I hadn't sold new construction before, the offer came with the condition of starting as a Sales Assistant and completing their training before being promoted to Sales Consultant. After passing the initial stages, I had a phone interview with the VP of Sales in New Jersey. The final interview was in person with an Assistant VP in Chicago. The offer was extended the week after the last interview. Post-offer, I underwent a background check which included verifying past employment, criminal records, and credit history, along with a drug test. The process was a bit slow, but the people were nice.

I was contacted by a recruiter for K. Hovnanian's Cleveland Division sales positions. My first step was a brief phone chat with the recruiter to see if I qualified. After that, I took an online skills test in MS Word & Excel, and a personality test, both of which I think I aced. The Division Sales Manager then wanted to interview me one-on-one. This interview was quite thorough, focusing a lot on my motivation and asking several questions like 'tell me a time you turned a negative into a positive.' It lasted about an hour. The next thing was an 'industry night' event. It turned out to be a three-hour pitch about why we should want to work there, with some sales role-playing and 'sell me this ball' exercises. The upside was that the division President, VP, and Managers for Marketing, Sales, and Production were all there. The downside was that none of the 15 attendees knew it would be a three-hour event, and it was pretty clear the Sales Manager had already picked their preferred candidates. They didn't even hide who they liked or didn't like. I suspect maybe 3 or 4 out of the 4 people in that room I would have hired didn't get an offer. Even so, I would have accepted an offer if they had made one. Overall, it feels like they have a solid process.

The District sales manager called me first to see if I may be interested in switching builders/employers. Then a Recruiter contacted me, I completed a Phone interview first, then completed an online questionnaire and sent in my resume. I then had an in person interview with District sales manager off site, then in person with the Division President at the corporate office. Overall a very easy transition, I was made to feel very valued and appreciated.