Kimball Midwest Sales Representative Interview Questions
& Process

I was supposed to have a phone interview at 8am but it was rescheduled for the next afternoon. The next day, the person who rescheduled it couldn't make it, so I was interviewed by someone else. A few days later, a local employee contacted me for the next round. We scheduled an interview for 8am, but at the START TIME, one of the interviewers couldn't make it, so we rescheduled for the afternoon. The interview went well because I had prepared a lot. They told me the next steps were watching some videos about what to expect and how to prepare for a 'JOT' (job observation tour). I thought it would be short YouTube videos, but it was 14 videos totaling 87 minutes. These videos were about the role and product knowledge, like what employees do during onboarding. They wanted me to do this all for free on my day off (8:45am - 3:45pm), which would be at least 7.5 hours of free labor plus an hour lunch, before even getting a job offer. They do this for every candidate, and there were five candidates for the outside sales role. I texted the first local employee saying I was uncomfortable with this. They said the process can't be changed and I could withdraw. I told them asking for a free day of labor was unethical and then withdrew. There were too many red flags in less than two weeks. They advertised a BASE salary of $52-95k, but even with my experience, they tried to make the lower end sound good as a TOTAL salary (including commission).

The interview process was pretty straightforward, especially if you have the qualifications. It was a laid-back chat, not like an interrogation at all, which was a nice change. I spoke with both the regional manager and the area manager for the second part. The area manager did the initial fact-finding and information gathering on our first call. Both managers were very relaxed, but you could tell they were experienced and had been with Kimball Midwest for many years.

The interview process was thorough, focusing on the company's interest in privacy, American-made products, and employee retention. It involved an initial introductory meeting, a live sales day ride-along, and the application process. I'm currently awaiting the offer, as the financial details and guarantees haven't been put in writing yet. It's a lot of work just to get hired, which makes it challenging for me, but I'm determined to get this job! The whole process took about 2 months from the initial phone call to my targeted hire date.