Network Interview Questions Transcript

Jason Wells
3940 Olympic Blvd. #220
Erlanger, KY 41018
Office: 859-371-1833
Mobile: 859-391-6674
Email: jason@stewco.com
1.

What is your daily schedule like, if you have one?

- Wake at 6am and get ready. Wake my oldest son at 6:30 and drop him off at school
around 7:15. Arrive at the office around 7:45AM. Work to 5~5:30. Home, then coach
soccer
If not, why dont you?
2.

What characteristics of your personality help in your profession the most?

- Modesty, Conscientiousness, Achievement Oriented, Curiosity, Attention to Detail

3.
Do you depend on people to assist you daily, or is your profession more
independent?
- Yes, it takes an entire team to complete our daily requirements.
4.
Based on your experience would you rather work in a large or small company?
And why?
- I have worked in both very large and small companies Toyota (Global Fortune Top
10) and The Stewart Company ~25 total team members. I prefer working in a small
company where I get to weary many hats (multi function responsibility) and have a
greater impact on our overall company performance and direction.
5.

What is your main motivator?

My desire to win!

6.

What was your major?

BS in Mathematics with an Emphasis on Actuarial Science

7.

What was your most enjoyable class in college?

Differential Equations
8.

How did you obtain your job, and the experience it requires?

Networking and observing when I was in procurement at Toyota.

9.
In what was would you encourage students to obtain experience while in
college?
Intern, job shadow, interview many folks in your desired profession. There is not a good
correlation between class work and real world jobs. Invest the time to explore your
intended profession and if possible intern with multiple companies for real world
experience.
10. What are the various careers in your company?
We are a small sales organization Sales is pretty much the only career path.
11. How does your company differ from its competitors?
We differentiate ourselves by hiring technical, experienced people. Over half of our staff
are degreed Engineers. Additionally, our offices are located where our customers do
business. We live in the same neighborhoods, our kids attend the same schools, we
form a personal bond with our customers.
12. Why did you ultimately decide to work for your company?
I wanted the opportunity to work for a small company where I would have a greater
impact on our direction and success.

13. In what way does your company contribute to their employees professional
development?
Annual performance reviews, training classes, continuous feedback.
14. How does a person usually progress in your profession? Or what is a typical career
path?
In a small company I cant say there is a typical career path. We are a flat organization
President, Sales Team, Administrative support. Our reward is in sharing in our mutual
success.
15. How would you describe the working atmosphere in which you work, and the
people with whom you work?
(except for working with your dad its great ;) JK) Its great to work for a company that
has very strong mission, vision and values. We truly believe in doing things the right and
ethical way. We have a strong commitment to hard work while balancing our home
lives. Our team is fun and supportive and overall the people are great.

Thank you! I appreciate your time.

Aric Bateman - Sales Executive / The Stewart Company

Oct. 27, 2015
1. What is your daily schedule like, if you have one?
Normal work hours are 8-5pm, Monday - Friday. However, I almost always work more
than the normal 40 hours per week. Working for a small private company affords me
flexibility in my schedule. For example, If I need to leave work early I can always take
care of unfinished business at home later in the evening.
2. What characteristics of your personality help in your profession the most?
I treat everyone I meet with kindness and respect. Whether its the company receptionist
or President they get equal respect.
3. Do you depend on people to assist you daily, or is your profession more independent?

I have an assistant that helps with smaller tasks that frees me up to sell and focus on
larger issues. I also correspond daily with others in my company to get their input on
particular issues. I then use all advise to formulate what I feel is the best answer or
solution.
4.

Based on your experience would you rather work in a large or small company? And why?
I have worked for large and small companies. Larger companies usually mean more
stability but more politics and red tape. I currently work for a small company (< 50 full
time employees). In a smaller company you have much more flexibility and decision
making is usually very quick. I have found that the earning potential is much higher in a
successful small company. So, I would much prefer to work for a smaller company.

5. What is your main motivator?

I get paid a base salary and bonus. The more we sell the more we make in salary. I am
motivated to do the best I can to support my family and my colleagues.
6. What was your major?
Biology, now I sell car parts, go figure.
7. What was your most enjoyable class in college?
From a pure enjoyment / fun stand point I have to say sailing. The final exam was sailing
around Biscayne Bay in Miami. Chemistry would be close second, I loved the labs.
8. How did you obtain your job, and the experience it requires?
I was working for an automotive parts company (Aeroquip) and the company I work for
now (The Stewart Company) was our sales group. Throughout my 11 year career at
Aeroquip I worked in the quality lab doing physical and environmental testing on parts, I
did cost estimating, tooling, program management and some engineering design work. I
was the direct/main contact for Aeroquip to TSC. When it was decided that Aeroquip
was going to close the plant I worked at, TSC offered me a position. They knew me well
and like what I did to support them. They also liked all the experience I had while at
Aeroquip. FYI - Aeroquip also offered me a position at another plant. But, I chose the
smaller company and have never rerated that decision.
9.

In what would you encourage students to obtain experience while in college?

Co-op, get practical job experience in the area of your major. Today most
employees want a college grad with some experience.

10. What are the various careers in your company?

We are a very flat company when you look at our organization chart. We have a President
and VP and everyone else reports directly under them. We dont have titles on our
business cards and that is not important to me. So if a title is what you want this would
not be the place to work.
11. How does your company differ from its competitors?

We are a sales group that represents a number of automotive part manufactures

(principles) to the Japanese and Korean auto makers (customer). Most sales groups get
business and then throw it over to the part manufacturer and thats all they do. We
support our principles by actively being involved with a program from "cradle to grave".
We support program management, training at the customer plants to install our parts, part
design, quality issues, service parts issues and basically anything we need to do to keep
our customer and principles happy throughout the life of a program. We also have a very
stable work force with years of customer experience and contacts.
12. Why did you ultimately decide to work for your company?
I was fortunate in that I had first had experience working with TSC before working for
TSC. I liked the people, and the positive manner is which they respected their
employees. After interviewing with TSC, I knew long term earning potential was very
good and the benefits they offer are the best I have ever seen.
13. In what way does your company contribute to their employees professional development?
100% reimbursement for any class that relates to our profession. Constant mentoring by
senior employees.
14. How does a person usually progress in your profession? Or what is a typical career path?
As mentioned before we are a flat organization. So promotions really dont exist at our
company. So, in our company progressing is making more profits and increasing income.
That drives me to do everything I can to earn new business, put more income on the
bottom line and help everyone within the company to grow financially.
15. How would you describe the working atmosphere in which you work, and the people with
whom you work?
The work atmosphere is fast paced, high stress and sometimes very frustrating. The
people I work with are very professional, fair and trustworthy. I could not ask for better
people to work with. This helps with the high stress and frustration that sometimes
exists.

Logan Bateman

University of Kentucky
Network Interview Analysis Paper

In my interviews of my father and a close family friend; Jason Wells, I found

that their main motivators and reasons for continuing to strive for higher
professional performance are much the same as my own. In my tentative
plan for my own future I would like to graduate from the Gatton College of
Business and Economics with either a bachelors degree in finance or
accounting. From that point I would like to continue my schooling to obtain
either my MBA or CPA. With a masters level degree, I would then need to
gain some work experience in my field by either co-opting with a company or
with an internship, before I would be able to work as a major player in a
successful business. Both my father and Jason received bachelors degrees in
their own perspective fields. My father graduated from the University of

Miami with a degree in biology; and Jason graduated from Transylvania

College with a bachelors degree in mathematics and actuarial science, but
now they both work in the automotive sales industry for a small company
called The Stewart Company.
One of the most important factors that they said influenced their getting a
position in their field was on the job experience and networking. My father
had worked with another company called Aeroquip for eight years before he
was contacted by headhunters for the Stewart company about a potential job
offer. Because my father had held a management position and had solid
evidence to show that he had improved the companys productivity through
his management style, he was hired almost instantly because they could see
that he had a natural drive to win. The same goes for Mr. Wells; he was
working at a co-op with Toyota, and through his networking and hard work
ethic he was also offered a position close to where he currently lives.
Now that I have heard the career stories of two men I know and respect, I am
much more confident in my own future. I worry about not being able to do
enough for my future as a student, but I have already taken my first steps
toward success. I am studying a field of business that I find interesting, and
challenging. The degree that I will receive upon graduation will help my gain
work experience in the type of business field that I would like to work in; and
from that point, hopefully I will be able to eventually use my experience of
starting businesses and investing that I will be able to own my own company.