Screening for Emotional Intelligence in Sales Hiring

Structured Interview Questions: Off-the-shelf questions are often built to apply to many different circumstances. This can make it more difficult for a candidate to answer the questions applying to very specific scenarios (e.g. sales). Custom questions are often made up on the spot or created by people who have no training or formal experience, which represents one of the common challenges in implementing sales assessment tests.

• Use both an off-the-shelf psychometric test and an off-the-shelf structured interview question database on emotional intelligence.
• Modify the off-the-shelf structured interview questions to better fit a sales role. See this example:

• Build a scorecard for these new, modified emotional intelligence interview questions to help interviewers assess the candidate’s emotional intelligence in a standardized fashion.
• Take both of the candidate’s self-rated emotional intelligence scores from the psychometric test and the emotional intelligence scorecard from the candidate’s interview into account when assessing candidates.

I would primarily focus on the candidate’s interview answers,  and I would compare those with the candidate’s self-ratings to see how well they compare. If they don’t, that suggests that a candidate might under-estimate or overestimate their ability. Both of these can tell the recruiting team and the sales manager something about that candidate (and whether or not they have been misrepresenting themselves in other ways during the hiring process).

What is Pre-Employment Emotional Intelligence Testing?

Pre-employment emotional intelligence testing involves using validated assessments to measure a candidate's ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions before hiring. These tests typically include situational judgment scenarios, self-assessment questionnaires, or behavioral simulations that evaluate emotional competencies relevant to the role. For sales positions, these assessments help predict performance in client relationships and team collaboration.

How to Test Emotional Intelligence in an Interview

Testing emotional intelligence in interviews requires structured behavioral questions that reveal how candidates handle real emotional situations. Use scenario-based questions like "Describe a time when you had to calm an upset customer" or "Tell me about a situation where you had to read between the lines with a client." Look for specific examples that demonstrate self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation rather than generic responses.

Conclusion

Emotional intelligence matters for job performance, especially for jobs in sales or customer support. Adding emotional intelligence to the list of competencies you hire for, can help you hire effectively. While hiring for emotional intelligence is challenging, using a multi-method approach will give you greater confidence that your new sales hires have the instincts and understanding needed to succeed.

Are you looking for some example interview questions you can use to add structure to your hiring process? Click here.

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