Marcia Boardman: Hi Sarah! I’m Marcia Boardman – we spoke on the phone...
Sarah: Oh yes, I remember – I was having a bad day!
Marcia Boardman: ...and this is Philip Hart, our CEO.
Philip Hart: Hello!
Sarah: Hello, it’s very nice to meet you both.
Philip Hart: It says on your CV that you do voluntary work...
Sarah: Well, when I have time, yes! I do work at a centre for children with difficulties, yes...
Philip Hart: That must be very interesting...
Sarah: It’s rewarding and challenging.
Marcia Boardman: Sarah, can you tell us a little bit about your current position?
Sarah: I’m assistant sales director for a chain of language schools.
Philip Hart: So this post would be quite a change then...
Sarah: I don’t think so honestly because the skills are the same, despite the product.
Marcia Boardman: Why are you thinking of moving on?
Sarah: Well I’ve come as far as I can in my current position, I feel and I’m 28 now and would love to take on some more responsibility.
Marcia Boardman: Ok, let’s move on to managing people. Can you give us an example of when you had to deal with a particularly difficult managee?
Sarah: Well, yes, I had two people working for me who didn’t get along at all – they had no shared values, different temperaments – and they used to argue a lot, it looked like it was impossible for them to work together. So, I sat down with them, and we talked about their differences and their problems and after that, things went much more smoothly!
Philip Hart: How would you deal with a rapidly changing and uncertain global market?
Sarah: Ok, that’s actually something I wanted to talk about in my presentation...but I’d say to stay flexible and to diversify markets and sales strategies.
Marcia Boardman: It says on your CV you speak French and Spanish.
Sarah: Yes, I do. I lived in both France and Spain for a while.
Philip Hart: Any plans to learn other languages?
Sarah: I’d love to try!
Marcia Boardman: Ok, can you tell us about a time you closed a particularly challenging deal?
Sarah: Well, the biggest contract I won - and the thing I’m most proud of professionally - was with a large university in India, to provide language training. The contract was full of technicalities and the client was very picky! – But I still pulled it off.
Marcia Boardman: Ok – do you have any questions for us?
Sarah: Yes - about your ethical policy and your carbon footprint...I was wondering whether you are planning to reduce your carbon footprint and whether all your products are ethically sourced?
Philip Hart: That’s a very good question...and that’s something we’re moving towards at the moment...
Marcia Boardman: Ok, well, let’s move on to the presentation...
