I applied online. I interviewed at S4Labour in Jul 2025
Interview
I entered the interview process in July 2025 and progressed through several stages, including multiple interviews and a final panel presentation. By the later stages, I was asked to share detailed thinking around sales approach, pipeline strategy and how I would approach the role in the first few months.
I invested a significant amount of time preparing thoughtful, practical ideas and examples - the kind of work you’d normally expect to develop once in role. The interviews themselves were engaging and I was encouraged throughout, which created the impression that my contribution was genuinely valued.
However, in August 2025, I was informed that I had not been successful. The feedback provided was vague and didn’t meaningfully reflect the depth of discussion or work I had shared. What left me particularly uncomfortable was that the role was later relisted around September 2025, with no follow up or clarity on what ultimately happened.
From my perspective as a candidate, this left me feeling that my ideas and presentation style were taken on board but that there was no real intention to move forward. I cannot say this definitively but the experience gave me the impression that candidates’ ideas may have been used without a clear hiring outcome.
I fully accept that companies reassess roles and priorities. That said, when candidates are taken through extensive stages and asked to present detailed strategies, there should be transparency and closure. Without that, it risks feeling one sided.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What would your first 90 days look like in this role?
How would you approach building pipeline in hospitality?
How would you structure outbound vs inbound sales?
Can you walk us through how you’d run a demo and handle objections?
Why S4labour, and why now?
How would you differentiate us from competitors?
How do you prioritise deals when everything feels urgent?
I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at S4Labour (Banbury, England) in Sept 2024
Interview
I recently had a face-to-face interview with S4Labour at their office, where I met with two members of the company. The role seemed like a perfect match for my skillset, and I even felt that my abilities exceeded their requirements. I was particularly interested in the job as it offered potential for ownership and growth.
The interview started with general competency questions, along with some inquiries to understand my work style. As expected, there were also personal questions to get to know me better. I understand that companies often ask such questions to assess whether a candidate would be a good cultural fit. However, one question stood out to me, and it’s one I’ve never encountered in previous interviews, even though I’ve worked for both corporate and smaller companies: "Where are you from?"
After answering, they followed up by asking about my visa status, to which I replied that I am a British citizen.
Ultimately, I was declined for the second round of interviews, which was unfortunate because I really liked the position and felt I could contribute significantly to the company.
Spent 20 mins telling me about the job
Asked questions about why I was interested in marketing
Asked me about relevant experience in marketing
Asked about my experience listed on my CV
Asked whether I had any questions