1: APPLICATION: Applied online and received an invitation for a phone screen maybe about 2-3 weeks later. Helps to find contact information for interviewer and call them or e-mail them directly to let them know you applied. The department is Corporate Recruiting (TCAR). It does not seem they have a preference in general for who they are interested in. Some hires have an MBA, some have no sales experience or business degree.
2: PHONE SCREENING: It was very basic at about 30 minutes in length. No behavioral questions. Typical background questions on your qualifications and past experience relating to sales. Notable questions (these are routinely asked as confirmed with other applicants) are: "Why Michelin", "Why Sales". Make sure be proactive! Don't just settle for answering questions. Offer to the recruiter why they need you. Display a sales personality on the phone. Slightly aggressive, but optomistic, numbers oriented, and determined to get the job. Tell her why they need you. You do not have to know much about Michelin. After phone ended, it was till about a month and a half later I was invited for to go down to SC for a HQ interview. They will either fly you or pay you for your mileage (whichever is less expensive), put you in a hotel and pay for your meals.
**During the whole process they never really cared whether you knew anything about tires or Michelin, rather they wanted you to display a sales personality.** KEEP THIS IN MIND! Don't kill yourself doing research as it will not be brought up. Basically know a few tires, and what car or truck would use them. They never asked anything relating to Michelin as a company.
3: DAY OF HQ INTERVIEW: The Recruiter, and most of the TCAR interviewers were sort of nervous around all of the applicants. I would not describe them as unfriendly, but their enthusiasm was very contrived. Meaning, they seemed kind of unsettled when out of the interview and just talking plainly with the candidates. The PLNA group (another division of the Area Sales Manager) were more open, and genuinely friendly.
When you arrive at HQ you sit in a room with other applicants, where you are briefed on benefits and company car, (you are required to pay 100$ or so a month for the car which covers insurance, repair, gas etc.). Interview is with 3 employees in the dept. Mine was 1. Manager, 2. Personnel Manager, and 3. Another type of Manager. You interview with each of them for 1 hour a piece (1 on 1). They all interviewed without any script in front of them. They may ask behavioral questions, they may not. All three asked generally about experience, but they are not necessarily concerned with that, because remember: **If you have been offered an invite, where the company pays for you to travel there, they already think you can at least basically perform the job**. You can talk briefly about your experiences, but remember the most important thing you must do: SELL THEM on YOU! What this means is that you tell them why they should hire you and tell them you want the job and ask what it will take to get it. Display that you can sell by selling them on you. I was only asked 2 behavioral questions by the first interviewer, and none after that. It help a **little** to know about tires, but remember concentrate on you sell to them that you can do the job.
The last interviewer seemed only to care about dissecting your resume and finding any discrepancies. A prior review confirms this. He seemed to be looking for a lie.
Afterwards you will have lunch with the recruiter, the other applicants, and maybe some of your interviewers. This lunch is to test you! Make sure you carry on conversations with all the applicants, and the recruiter. Don't talk about the job, or Michelin really. Just have normal conversation and keep it going. Stand out from everybody else.
The recruiter told us they would let us know the decision within 3 days. I heard back in 3 days. However, I talked to a previous hire who said they called her back within 3 hours of leaving to make an offer. They make their decision after everyone leaves (probably takes them 15-20 minutes to come to a conclusion), and you do background checks AFTER you get an offer.
Summing this up, this is a pretty easy corporate interview process compared to most others. It has great benefits and the opportunity to relocate and travel. Not a hard interview to prepare for, and not a hard one to ace. The only constituent thing you need to remember is to act like a salesman and you will get the job.
