For my interview assignment I chose to interview my current manager, Chris Saunders. I
work at Fastenal, which is a construction supply store that mainly deals with contractors
and higher end tools and fasteners. Chris has been working for the company since 2008.
He started as a part-time employee and eventually moved into a full-time position. After
about six months with Fastenal, Chris was then offered an outside sales position. He
continued as an outside sales rep for Fastenal for 2 years before being promoted to General
Manager of his own store. The following set of questions I interviewed Chris about tend to
focus on all the communication skills he has learned since starting with Fastenal and what
has helped him succeed at his job.
1. How would your boss describe your work ethic? “From my first day at Fastenal I could
tell this was not a job where you could slack off and last. I knew I had to work as hard if
not harder than my co-workers if I had a chance at being successful. Being that our
company’s main focus is sales, sales, and sales I made sure that I took all the extra time I
needed to sharpen my people skills and knowledge of all Fastenal’s product. I felt this
would give me that extra edge when I eventually become an outside sales representative.“
2. What would you say are the 3 most important skills a person needs if they would like to
work for Fastenal? “For a person to work at Fastenal,it is a MUST that a person is goal
oriented, an above average communicator, and an organized individual. The reason I state
these three important skills is simple – without possessing all or even some of these skills, a
person would not be successful in the business we are in. A person must be goal oriented
because that is what Fastenal is all about. Fastenal’s business model is all based on
productivity and reaching sales goals and milestones. So if a person is not goal-driven in
themselves, then it is more probable they would not be too concerned about Fastenal’s
goals. Communication is also a top three skill for a person who wishes to work at
Fastenal. Through my years here at Fastenal, I’ve had the opportunity to witness firsthand
people who were effective communicators as well as people who just simply were poor at
conveying messages or their point. It goes without saying the people who were poor
