Enterprise Car Rental Interview Questions & Tips

Getting Started

As an internationally recognized car rental company with more than 6,500 locations worldwide, Enterprise Rent-A-Car must constantly interview and hire new employees to work in various administrative, customer service, and professional capacities. The overwhelming majority of associates, however, secure employment through the official Management Training Program. Enterprise prefers to fill entry-level job openings with college graduates committed to growing with the rental car provider and eventually advancing into management positions via internal promotion. The hiring process consequently takes job seekers through an extensive series of phone and face-to-face interviews enabling hiring managers to question potential employees at length and select the best candidates possible.

Phone Interviews First

Prospective workers usually begin the Enterprise interview process within five days of applying for employment online. The online hiring materials are submitted to local recruiters, who then contact applicants by phone and conduct brief, preliminary interviews. Conversations during phone interviews tend to revolve around the customer service and sales experience of candidates. Interviewees often have to share what they know about the rental industry leader, as well. Recruiters also use responses to interview questions like, "How would you persuade a customer to buy a more expensive product?" and "How would you handle an infuriated customer?" to determine if applicants qualify to meet with hiring managers in-person.

In-Person Interview Types

Candidates selected for advancement in the hiring process typically interview with branch managers, area managers, and regional managers or vice presidents, each on separately scheduled occasions. Branch managers and area managers sometimes work together as a panel to interview job seekers, resulting in either two or three face-to-face interviews applicants must go through after completing initial phone screenings.

Types of Questions to Expect

Enterprise interview questions heavily center on the abilities of candidates to serve customers and drive sales. Interviewees regularly respond to questions like, "How would you rate your customer service/sales skills on a scale of 1 to 10?" and "Could you talk some about a time when you had a difficult customer who didn't want to make a purchase; how did you overcome that?" Applicants often have to describe how they would sell certain company products and services to specific kinds of customers, as well.

Completing the Interview Process

The final round of job interviews in the Enterprise hiring process frequently serves as a review of the qualifications and experiences of prospective employees. Regional managers or vice presidents in charge of final interviews often ask candidates to elaborate on certain resume highlights relevant to working as managers. Interviewers may also request additional examples illustrating the customer service, leadership, and selling abilities of applicants. Interviewees commonly have to answer the question, "What is your five-year plan?", as hiring managers want to see if potential associates possess the desire to grow and advance with the company. Successful candidates typically complete all phases of the interview process within two to four weeks.

Enterprise Car Technician Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Enterprise Car Technician: My job title is a car service agent. Our primary duties is to pick up customers from the residence if they don’t have a transportation to the rental building. We can also take the customers back home once they return the rental car. We are also responsible for cleaning the interior and the exterior of the rental vehicles. We vacuum the entire interior. We clean the windows, shields, and we kind of like buff the outside of the car so that it’s presentable for the customers. We also take them to get serviced, so if they need an oil change, if they need a new tire. We’re responsible for taking those cars there to get serviced and also returning them back to the office.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Enterprise Car Technician: It’s an online application that you fill out. Then, if you are called into the interview for your first interview, it’s a really personable kind of interview with the manager. You know it’s a conversation to kind of get to know who you are and they kind of explain the company and give you a tour around the building and what you’d be doing. If they ask for you to come back you have to go to a training in Cleveland, in the Cleveland area, because the area… I don’t know what you would call it, but the main branch is located in Cleveland, so you are to go there. They provide you with a rental car to go there and get your training done. It’s pretty simple.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Enterprise Car Technician: The interviewer asked questions about my past work experience, my skills with customer service, my idea of what clean would be, I guess because they are really, really, really strong on customer service and making sure that each customer is getting a good experience. That begins with the vehicle, so if you’re coming into a not-so-clean car already, they’re already making judgments about the company. They really ask questions about your idea of what it is to be clean. What it is to be nice, your work ethic./p>

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Enterprise Car Technician: I was notified I received the job by a phone call. It took maybe a week after the interview process, so I was really happy about that. From the time that I applied to the time I got the position was maybe two and a half, three weeks, so it was much faster than I was thinking.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Enterprise Car Technician: If you want a stable position, if you want something that you could potentially grow and once you get your degree, and you can advance, and you can actually be earning a salary. I think it would be a great place to gain that professional experience and be with a really big established company. It would look good.

Enterprise Service Agent Interview Video

Video Transcript

Interviewer: Please describe your job title and primary duties.
Enterprise Service Agent: The job title … It’s service agent. Pretty much what we do is just … All the cars that the customers return, we vacuum out, wash the outside, take them back up to the front, park them, make them look nice. We go pick up different customers from the airport or their home if they don’t have a ride. We might deliver cars from town to town, different places, so things like that.

Interviewer: What was the work environment like?
Enterprise Service Agent: Some days it’d be hectic, like fast-paced, a lot of cars to get done, people coming in and out. And days would be slow, just sitting at the desk, pretty much doing nothing. Very laid back, pretty chill environment.

Interviewer: How would you describe the application and interview process?
Enterprise Service Agent: It’s online application. Then once you do that you get called in for an interview. You come into the office, have your interview and they’ll tell you they are going to do a background check so it takes about maybe up to a week. Then they’ll call you back if you have the job or not.

Interviewer: What questions did the interviewer ask during the job interview?
Enterprise Service Agent: “How comfortable are you working in a fast paced environment? Are you good with being outside during different weather conditions? Do you feel like you are responsible?” Different things like that.

Interviewer: How were you notified that you received the job?
Enterprise Service Agent: I got a call from the branch manager and it took about the whole time maybe a week and a half.

Interviewer: What other advice would you give to a job seeker looking to gain employment?
Enterprise Service Agent: You wouldn’t expect it to be a busy car rental place, there’s only so many cars, but it can get crazy. It’s not a tough job at all. It’s a good entry level job and it’s very good paying.

Related Links:
Enterprise Car Rental Application