Better Place Forests Account Executive Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process started with a phone call from the recruiter, followed by a conversation with one hiring manager, and then a third hiring manager interaction that involved a role-play. The hiring managers seemed new to the company, suggesting it's an early-stage organization. I found many questions in the second stage superficial and felt they were a waste of my time because they lacked depth and didn't reveal much about my potential contributions. Although I was mostly indifferent during this part, I advanced to the third round. The third interview involved a role-play where I had to prepare by learning about their product beforehand and then sell it to another hiring manager acting as a potential client. I deliberately limited my effort on this task because I'm currently involved in several other interview processes, and I find it questionable to train myself on a product for free during an interview. I would have been fine with a standard sales pitch, as that's typical for the role, or even a presentation on a product I'm familiar with. However, it's unlikely someone would be prepared to sell an end-of-life product after just reading the company's website. A good interview process should identify individuals who can be trained effectively, and a good onboarding process should provide that training. My experience in end-of-life care before sales makes me feel that both the interview and onboarding processes are lacking, yet performance expectations are very high. This places the burden on the employee to compensate for the company's shortcomings. Overall, the company seems to ask for a lot relative to what they offer. When I inquired about work-life balance, I was told it's an 'opportunity' for growth, similar to what I'm hearing from FAANG companies, but those offer better perks as a trade-off. Key points to note include: the base salary is 55k with an OTE of 105k, and the quota increases monthly with new forest additions. When I asked if the base salary was negotiable, the recruiter ended the conversation, stating salary isn't negotiable, which was off-putting as I was seeking at least 60k. They advertise unlimited vacation, but for the sales team, there are only 10 days of paid quota relief annually, effectively making it two weeks of vacation. Given the monthly quota increases, taking extended time off is impractical. I had three weeks at a previous startup, and this Series B company offers less. While other departments might have flexible vacation, sales likely has to work harder. It's often the case at early-stage startups. I suggest seeking companies that offer meaningful benefits to balance the stress of poor work-life balance, as excessive stress can diminish passion, especially with inadequate compensation. I won't let myself burn out for a company again. They offer your own tree after one year, family assistance (details unclear), and all inbound leads. The ramp-up period is three months.

I was really excited about this opportunity at Better Place Forests because of their cool mission. I did a bunch of research on the company and read reviews. But honestly, the interview process really put me off. I felt like I was being interrogated and they were really condescending. I expected them to know more about my work and felt like they hadn't even read my resume or the info I sent. They said we'd go over job specifics, but we never did, and they didn't even bring up salary. For a company focused on its mission, it seemed like the interviewer only cared about sales tactics, which I get, but empathy is important too, and they didn't show any. I wouldn't recommend them based on this.

It started with a "non-bias" screening that felt a bit cold and impersonal, not really matching the company vibe. After that, I had two 1:1 chats that were really warm and engaging. The last part was a virtual role play, which felt like a realistic scenario run-through.