Congratulations! You’ve landed an interview at VMware for a Presales or Solution Engineer role. We’ve put together a list of five top tips to help you prepare and shine in your interview.
1. Don’t forget the “sales” in “presales”
As a Solution Engineer, you are an important member of the field sales team. Depending on the role, you may work with multiple account managers, or in a 1:1 alignment, but quota responsibility doesn’t lie solely with the salesperson! In your interview, we want to see that you are business-oriented and take a consultative approach to selling. Use examples of times that you have taken the lead on opportunities. Be clear when explaining your role in the sales cycle.
2. Research the company strategy
Do you know how VMware goes to market? We don’t expect you to be an expert on the entire VMware portfolio, especially at early interview stages. However, the interviewer will expect you to have done some preparation in advance of the interview. Take time to familiarise yourself with VMware’s overall strategy. The key updates and announcements from VMworld are a great place to start, as well as keeping track of recent acquisitions. If you are interviewing for a specialist role, it’s important to show that you understand where the solution you will be aligned to fits into the customer’s environment.
3. Show you are a technologist outside of work too!
Our Solution Engineers truly love and are excited by technology. This isn’t something you can just leave at the door of your (home) office! We want to see candidates who are truly passionate about technology as a force for good. Don’t be afraid to geek out in your interview! Maybe you have a home lab, run a blog, or just love trawling the r/sysadmin subreddit in your spare time. Whatever your IT passion is, we would love to hear about it.
4. Demonstrate how you partner with customers
At VMware our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We want to see that you share this perspective, and that you are focused on solving customers’ business problems rather than selling a catalogue of products. Be prepared to talk about your customer experience such as what verticals you are experienced with, what size customers you typically cover (e.g., Enterprise or SMB), who your stakeholders are (e.g., do you talk to engineers or C-Level?) How do you differentiate for different audiences?
5. Be Yourself
Finally, be yourself. Allow your personality to shine in the interview and show that you are capable of building relationships with colleagues, customers, and partners.
If you have an upcoming interview with VMware for a Presales or Solution Engineer role, these top five tips will guide you in how to prepare for these key areas. Good luck!
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