CB Insights Account Executive Interview Questions
& Process

The interview with sales leadership was great, they seemed to care about the team and setting AEs up for success. I felt they answered all my questions well and CB seems like a good place to interview. The recruiting experience, however, was not good and was why I didn't accept the offer. I first worked with a 3rd party recruiter who was responsive and thorough. Then I connected with the internal recruiter. It got complicated working with two people who had different info. I asked upfront about things I wanted to know, and was told they'd be covered at the offer stage. When the offer came, it was different. The recruiter wanted me to start without giving notice, and I had to push to get my questions answered. I was told my start date was already negotiated and I was lucky they accepted it, and that CB doesn't counter offers. She also mentioned CB sometimes withdraws offers if candidates make it difficult, which seemed unlikely given how sales leadership treated me. Sales leadership did step in to clarify things and give me a fair chance, but we still ended up back at the same point with the offer details. My main concern was benefits and lack of detail in the offer, like not sharing the comp plan due to confidentiality even with an NDA. The salary was okay, but benefits were below average for the industry. I might have accepted despite the risks of a growth company, but the ongoing recruiter dialogue made me feel like they were hiding something or just trying to meet metrics. I suggested a small signing bonus and for them to cover my phone costs, which I was told would likely happen. It's a shame a bad recruiting experience ruined a role I was excited about. I wanted to feel like the company was excited to have me and willing to consider my requests. A big change like this is risky, and I couldn't get past it if it reflects company culture.

I had a 45 minute call with the recruiter and then two 30 minute calls with hiring managers. The last call would've been a discovery call which would have led to an offer. The recruiter reached out to me on Linkedin and we talked about how I would be a great fit for the role. Then I spoke with the managers and answered every question perfectly, only to be rejected. The recruiter said these roles are 'very competitive' but yet they had to recruit ME on Linkedin. Total waste of time. It seems like their recruiters have metrics to meet and just set you up for failure. My advice is, if you reject someone after making them waste hours of preparation and interviewing, at least give them SPECIFICS on what they did wrong and how they can improve next time. Very unprofessional process.

The interview process was really professional. First, I had a phone screen with the People Ops team, and then I went for an onsite interview where I met with a bunch of managers and directors from the sales team.