Stage 1 - CV Screening A graduate CV tells us little about their ability to be successful in sales, and so we do then ask each candidate to complete an application form.   Stage 2 - An Application Form This is an opportunity to ask graduates for examples of times when they have demonstrated "sales ability". We will ask them to describe times when they may have had to persuade people, negotiate with people. We also ask for them to explain their understanding of business to business sales   Stage 3 - Telephone Interview Once we have received the application form, we then telephone interview each candidate to test basic communication skills. It is essential that candidates can build rapport effectively on the telephone, listen to the questions being asked and overcome basic objections. Ultimately, we want candidates to be articulate, confident and have a professional telephone manner   Stage 4 - Assessment Day We invite our top 40 candidates to attend one of our assessment centres each week where we will assess them for 5 key areas of competency. Confidence Communication Skills Ability to Influence and Persuade Drive and Dynamism Structure and Logic We assess for these competencies by taking them through a variety of exercises to encompass the following: Psychometric Testing Self Introductions Group Dynamic Exercises Feedback Session Business Case Study Feedback Sessions Group Presentations One to One Interviews Verbal and Numerical Reasoning Tests Individual Presentations The exercises are designed to enable us to assess graduates against a competency based framework. We are not concerned with whether theygot the answers right, we're more interested in how they deal with the challenges in front of them. We want to understand their drive, their motivation, how they respond to pressure and how they deal with people around them. We regularly invite our Client partners to the assessment day who are looking for ProGrad candidates to start in their teams.