Coca-Cola Refreshments Market Development Manager Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – Initial phone call pretty standard- brief description of position and company and scheduled formal phone pre-qualifier interview. Formal phone interview standard background questions to qualify for position followed by third and final phone interview using ever popular S.T.A.R. questioning method. In person interview was panel with 2 interviewers. More S.T.A.R. questions and opportunity to ask your own questions. Before departing they ask you to give a sales presentation on a product and scenario they provide. I would recommend researching the company, future initiatives, recent brand launches and territory area.

Negotiation Details – They were pretty firm on original offer claiming they had taken into account all info and background experience.

Interview Details – Phone screen was short. My background was in sales, so the recruiter scheduled me for an interview with the hiring managers. My interview was with two people. Each had a list of questions and a sheet. The questions ranged about my background, how I handle a difficult client and what are my expectations for the job. After each question, the interviewers recorded information on the sheets in front of them.

Interview Details – I met their recruiters at a job fair and they reached out to me a few weeks later. I had one 45 minute interview, basic sales questions nothing crazy.

Negotiation Details – No negotiating whatsoever.

Interview Details – Phone Interview
Face to Face Interview

Interview Details – I received a call from one of their recruiters to set up a phone interview. After the initial phone interview, she said it went well and she offered me a face-to-face interview with the District Sales Manager and the Area Sales Manager for the following week. She also went over the position briefly and told me that they typically start out in the low to mid-40's for a base salary.

During the face-to-face, it was very relaxed and the gentlemen who were interviewing me were easy to talk to. They asked a lot of situational questions (they use the STAR method). At the end of the interview, they will perform a sales pitch to one of them. In my situation, I was going into a high school to sell them on why they should have Coke products in their vending machines over Pepsi, with a healthy aspect to consider. They give 10-15 minutes for prep and the come back in for questioning.

My recommendation for this is to know all you can about all Coke products. Make sure that you have an answer for everything that was outlined in the scenario description sheet. They seemed to really like when I mentioned how there is such a wide variety of products and that Coke is #1 in the industry for a reason---great products and even better customer service.

After the interview was over, they told me I should hear something in the next week or two as to what their decision was. After a week and a half, I got an email from the recruiter saying I was selected to go onto the next round and when she called me the next day, she unofficially offered me the position. I was told that they would officially offer me the position at the beginning of the next year (I interviewed in early November). After pressuring them for a written offer I got a call back two days later and was officially offered the job ahead of schedule.

Negotiation Details – Once they offered me the job, they sent me a list of benefits and told me they would like to start me out at 46k base salary with 12k in bonuses for meeting %100 of my sales goals an up to 18k in bonuses if I exceeded those goals.

I had asked about getting a higher base salary and she had told me that was the max that they could offer (which was fine with me because I was only expecting 42-44k in base salary anyway).

Interview Details – Got a call from San Leandro's HR, Jill, that she found my resume on Monster com and would schedule a phone interview. phone interview was mainly telling me about the position in more detail and briefly reviewed my resume. I then called back the next day to schedule an interview which took place 1 week later. Interview was with 2 District Sales Managers with the usual interview questions but with customer service focus in mind. Jill called me back 2 days later with an offer.

Interview Details – After submitting resume, I was contacted within a few days from a recruiter that worked for Coca-Cola out of Dallas. There were two phone interviews that consisted of questions about my organizational skills, ability to plan my day, and level of responsibility. The final interview was in person with the two district sales managers. This interview had more one on one questions about sales and the day-to-day life of a salesman. There was also a role playing portion where I was asked to be a sales rep for a generic soda company. Overall, as long as you are prepared the interview process was not that difficult.

Negotiation Details – I was able to get the maximum salary offered, as well as a company car.

Interview Details – Starts out with a phone interview, then moved on to a a two person panel interview. The interview consists of past experiences and how handled, along with given a sales flyer and needing to present to interview panel on how you would approach and sell in the product to store owner. Overall comfortable interview

Interview Details – The first interview is a phone interview. I believe it is a third party company that asks you questions, most about sales and customer service since that is what you will be doing in this position. For example, they might ask you name a time you were dealing with an unhappy customer and how did you deal with the customer and resolve the problem. Answer using the STAR method of interviewing.

Once you get past this screening interview you will have an in-person interview at the actual Coca-Cola office building. First I had a panel interview with 2 managers at the company. They asked basic questions about your resume and previous experiences. They also told you a little bit about the position and asked if you feel comfortable doing the duties in the position and how your previous experiences relate to the current job opening at the company. Finally, the most important part of the interview - you need to give the 2 managers a sales pitch. They will ask u to sell in a specific Coca-Cola product to see your sales skills. Don't panic! They leave the room and give you 5 minutes to prepare. Then they come back into the room and you role-play. You are the Coca-Cola representative and they are they customer that you are trying to sell to.

After this stage, they let me wait in the room I was interviewed in while they went to get another manager that was a higher level than they were. About 5 to 10 minutes later the new manager asked me to follow him to his office. He basically just asked if I completely understand this position and its responsibilities. He also asked if I was offered a position would I be willing to take it, and of course I told him yes. Then he asked if I had any questions and led me out of the building. I asked how long until I would hear back and he said about 2 weeks - maybe a little more. I got a call back less than a week later with a job offer.

I talked to other people on my team and other teams that have the same position as me. Everyone had the same experience that I had with the interview, although there was a slight difference to the 3rd part. I had my panel interview and then 10 minutes later interviewed with the higher manager. Most people had the panel interview and then got a call about a week later to come back to meet with the higher manager. However, once they met with the higher manager it was the same as when I did - he just asked if they understood the job, if they had and questions, and if they would take the job if they received an offer.

****VERY IMPORTANT**** Remember this is Coca-Cola. It is okay to bring a drink into the interview, but make sure it is not a product of a competitor. (i.e. Don't bring a Pepsi into the interview with you)

Negotiation Details – You are able to negotiate salary, They offered me $42,000 when HR called me with my job offer. I asked if they were willing to go up. They asked how much. I told them I was expecting $50,000 - $55,000. They told me they would call me back and see what they can do. They called me back about an hour or 2 later saying they went up $3,000 to a total of $45,000. On top of that they have a car allowance program which on average is an extra $6,000 in compensation. On top of this there is also 3 bonuses a year. If you hit each goal you get a $3,000 each time which equates to a $9,000 bonus per year. So $45,000 salary plus $6,000 car allowance plus $9,000 bonus = $60,000 total compensation. The $6,000 for the car allowance is not taxed which also makes a difference.

Other than compensation the benefits plan is outstanding. I get a full 401k as well as a pension plan. Only 15% of companies in the USA do this. I also get full Medical, Dental and Vision coverage.

Everything is fantastic! The only complaint I would have is the Medical Plan is fairly expensive. For an individual You have to reach a $2,500 deductible before your insurance pick up any of the bill. Once you have met this amount you insurance covers 80% of the bill. For a family plan the deductible you need to meet is a little over $5,000. Once you hit that mark your insurance once again will pay 80% of your medical bills the rest of the year.