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W.W. Grainger Account Manager Interview Questions & Reviews

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Web: www.grainger.com | HQ: Lake Forest, IL

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Updated Apr 4, 2012 – Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.

Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 7 ratings

3.6

“Difficult” Interview

Interview Experience [?] Based on 7 ratings

Positive	57%
Neutral	29%
Negative	14%

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1–7 of 7 W.W. Grainger Interviews

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4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Mar 2012 (took 5+ weeks)

The first step is a phone interview with someone from HR at their corporate location. The interview lasted almost an hour and I was told to prepare my sales #s and quota attainment for the last 3 years prior to the call. We went over my numbers and she asked a couple of behavioral questions. The interview was very conversational and low stress. At the end of the interview I was told that she was going to pass me on for a 1:1 with a District Sales Manager that I would meet in person.
A couple of days later the HR person called me back to set up my face to face with the District Manager. She told me how to prepare and explained that they use behavioral questions and the STAR method.
The following week I met with the District Manager for a little over an hour. I was asked a series of behavioral questions, but most of the interview flowed with conversation. At the end of the interview, I was told that HR would be contacting me for the next step.
HR called about two days later and gave me feedback from my 1:1 interview and set up another interview with four more District Managers for the following week. She explained to me that they would ask the same type of questions and gave me the names of who I would be meeting with.
When I arrived for this interview, I was sat in a conference room and then called into another room with two of the managers. This interview was mostly an open conversation with a couple of behavioral questions in the mix. The feel was very comfortable and low stress. After about an hour, I was taken into another room and met with two more managers for about an hour. This interview was more structured and a little bit more difficult, but followed the same approach that all the previous interviews had with the same type of questions. I was told again that HR would contact me with the next step.
HR called and again gave me feedback from all the managers. The last step in the interview process is a phone interview with the Regional VP of Sales. Due to scheduling, I will have this interview in a couple of weeks. I have been told by HR that it is a 20-30 minute phone interview.
In the meantime, HR is contacting me on a regular basis to keep up with what is going on and update me. Grainger's interview process is very long, but HR does a wonderful job of making it painless and not leaving you hanging out, not knowing what is going on. They are very straight forward and everyone I have met within the company has been very professional and easy to talk to. It has been a very pleasant experience and seems like a really great company. I have been impressed.

Interview Questions

Tell me a time where you did not get along with someone and how did you work through it to do a job.

View Answers (3)

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Group/Panel Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

2.0

Easy Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 (took 4+ weeks)

Applied online. I did several phone interviews. Most of my communication involved getting them to change the location of the job I interviewed for. Eventually they got it strait and I was scheduled for a 1:1 interview. I felt it went very and I thought I nailed it, however I never heard from them again. I called back but no response. At least have the decency to call back.

Interview Questions

None of the questions stood out as being difficult.

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Background Check.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Neutral Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jul 2011 (took 4+ weeks)

The interview process started with a phone interview with a recruiter. The recruiter sent me an email with information about Grainger which included a questionnaire that needed to be completed and sent back prior to the phone interview. I was also given a copy of the questions she would be asking and the salary range for the position (I don't think I was meant to be given that information). I passed the phone screen and then was scheduled for a 1:1 interview with the District Manager and Branch Manager. When I arrived at the branch they were running behind and I had to wait 45 minutes for my interview to begin. The interview lasted 2 hours with questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). Everything went fine and I felt like I clicked with the District Manager who would essentially be my boss if hired. A week later I had another phone interview with a District Manager from different territory. I think Grainger wants to make sure everyone feels good about the canididates. Do they fit the Grainger profile? Once I passed that test I as asked to interview with the Regional Sales Vice President. Typcially the final candidate gets a phone call from this person but I had to travel 2 hours to meet in person with this individual. I meet with District Manager and Regional VP for about an hour. Typical interview questions. It was explaned to me that this was the final process and another feel good about the candidiate type of thing. At no time during this whole process which took about a month did I ever receive any signals that I was not a good fit. One would assume that if you made it that far there was a good chance you would receive an offer. A week later I received an email from the recruiter indicating that they were going to pursure other candidates and thank you for my time. That same day on monster.com they re-posted the job. They hired no one for the position. I should have known it was next to impossible to please this District Manager since he fired the person that had this job for years. I'm not sure what type of person Grainger is looking for. The perfect person does not exist and it is their loss by not hring me.

Interview Questions

No difficult or unexpected questions.

Answer Question

Other Details

The interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed May 2008 (took 3 weeks)

Had a phone interview with HR. Then met with District Sales Manager and then Regional Sales Manager

Interview Questions

Utilized the Star Interview Style...Situational.
How do you effectively communicate the value of an intangible ?

View Answers (1)

Other Details

The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Drug Test and a Background Check.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Sep 2009 (took 3 months)

I had submitted resume online and contacted corporate to ensure that I could be in position for interview.There was a phone interview with corporate yet needed some influence to be interviewed regionally. I networked to get in position for the interview regionally and was alerted that I would be contacted during that interview cycle.I had a 1-1, an interview with another manager, and also a panel interview separately over the course of three interviews with about 2-3weeks between each interview.

Interview Questions

What will be your biggest challenge selling for this company?

Answer Question

You'll be selling productivity here. Tell me how you would position productivity around a commodity like SOAP.

Answer Question

Negotiation Details

There did not seem to be a negotiation process. There was a set range for the position.

Other Details

The interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Drug Test and a Background Check.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

5.0

Very Difficult Interview

Overall Negative Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Jun 2009 in Dallas, TX (took 4 weeks)

I started with a phone interview with a recruiter and everything went well. My next interview was with a District Sales Manager & Account Manager and everything went well. The next phase was a one on one interview with the same District Sales Manager and he spoke about how there was not a particular position available but he thought I would be a great fit for the position and he wanted to put me on their "Benchmark" program and basically thats when you wait for a position to open up which could be in 4-6 weeks or 4-6 months. In the meantime I was asked to meet with another District Sales Manager and it seems that the interview was going well until he asked if I knew anything about the company and I informed him that a friend used to work there and he didnt know the guy personally, but later I found out there was some association between my friend & a previous VP of Sales and so he assumed I was affiliated with the VP as well. After that meeting I was removed from the "Benchmark" program and was told that I am no longer in consideration for a position. Please make sure you play the game exactly the way they want you to because this is a company that do not base things off your qualifications but more so on who you know and how they can keep their good ole boy network sealed.

Interview Questions

What is your relationship building style?

Answer Question

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Group/Panel Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Feb 2009 (took 3 weeks)

Grainger does a great job from HR to Managers throughout the interview process. Was declined the position after a lengthy process, 4 rounds of interviews and 3 candidates. Just a sign of the times I guess. After previously working for Grainger and then denied another opportunity I would still reccommend this company for anybody.

Interview Questions

Explain in detail obstacles and how they were overcome in your previous 2 positions.

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through an Employee Referral and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview and a Background Check.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

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