Commercial awareness – the
interviewers perspective
KATE WIGGLESWORTH – REGIONAL TRAINING AND
RECRUITMENT MANAGER
ENTERPRISE RENT A CAR
Enterprise Rent A Car
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Largest car rental company
1,000,000 cars in fleet
5 countries
USPS
Family owned
1000 graduates a year
40 application per hire
Impact your interview process
Icebreaker
Turn to the person next to you and identify a company you
want to work for
Why?
What have you done so far to get there?
5 minutes- we will come back to this
What is it?
“An interest in business and an understanding of the wider
environment in which an organisation operates”
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Customers
Competitors
Suppliers
Market
Economy
What understanding does it include?
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Customer service
Culture
Efficiency
Environmental impact
CSR
Community
Development programme
Company and personal growth
What will understanding it demonstrate?
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Commitment
Knowledge
Depth of answers
Competency based examples
2 way interview
Engaging the interviewer
You are the right person
How can I get commercial awareness?
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Vacation work
Placements – unpaid?
Team work
Achievements
Extra curricular activities
Research
Media!
Work place visits
Points to consider
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What do you know about the company?
Why their sector?
What do they do?
What challenges?
What opportunities?
What career path?
Why them?
Why you?
Planning your responses
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Transferable skills
Leadership examples
Communication challenges
Sales scenarios
Customer service examples
Change management
Flexibility
Work ethic
Community
If you were in charge……..
Success Stories
Action points
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Research the website – not just the advert
Visit a location if you can
Shop the competition
Network with employees
Follow up with people met at careers fairs
Try the service
Identify what you want – and go for it
Sell yourself – no one else will
Follow up
Turn to the person next to you again
What have you learnt?
What is your action plan for that company now?
Take 5 minutes – ensure you leave with something of use!
At Enterprise
We see thousands of applications a year
We need people to stand out
Knowing some numbers off the first page of the website is
not enough
In summary
When asked recently about a hiring decision in a pool of
qualified, equally skilled people
“Quite simply – this candidate had spent a day shadowing
a senior manager- his knowledge of the company and
how it works was far better than the other candidates”
“A candidate turned up – they knew about me, my family,
my career – great candidate, almost stalker!”
Thank you – any questions?