InsightSquared Interview Questions
& Process

The whole interview thing took like three weeks. It started with a phone screen, then a remote technical interview, and finally an onsite interview. Both the remote and onsite parts were pretty standard, not too crazy. They were cool with doing the whole thing remotely since I was a remote candidate, but since I was already in town, we set up an onsite. I chatted with three interviewers, all at different levels. The coding questions focused on data structures, search/sort algorithms, and understanding threads and processes.

I had a phone intro that went well; the hiring manager seemed impressed with a couple of my questions. I took a 30-question Wonderlic (logic/vocabulary/mental math) test and a personality test online. I'm not trying to be arrogant but I'm confident I scored highly on the Wonderlic test based on the practice test I took. I only mention this because they halted the interview process solely based on my personality test. I could understand and appreciate using a personality test to operate better in the workplace and empathize with coworkers, but it feels weird to use it as a gatekeeper. I find it unusual that there seems to be no gray area. I feel like personality is something you can easily determine from an in-person interview--salespeople *understand* people, after all. I wonder how many people they're missing out on by ensuring candidates fit a certain mold on this test. Even if this practice typical, that doesn't make it reasonable.

I applied online and then HR contacted me for a phone screen. It was scheduled for Friday afternoon. The HR person was not careful with my email, I told her I could do the afternoon but she asked if I was free in the morning at 10 am. I replied that I had plans in the morning, and she didn't reply after that. The whole process felt unprofessional. The phone interview was supposed to be 30 minutes but only lasted 15 minutes. The HR person didn't seem to pay attention to my background or show any interest. She started by asking how I knew about the company, which I answered well because I had done a lot of research. Then she asked why I would be a good fit and what interests me most, but didn't ask anything about my projects or internships. After about 10 minutes, she asked if I had any questions for her. It was unprofessional, and the HR was impatient, and she didn't introduce anything about the team, product, or project.

The interview process was pretty long and I ended up not getting the job, which was a bummer. This company is really focused on growth, so they're selective about who they bring on board, which makes sense. I had three interviews. The first was a phone call to get to know each other and see if I could communicate clearly. Then, I had an in-person interview where they gave me a tour and I met with a sales team leader, followed by the manager of lead generation teams. They felt I wasn't the right fit for lead generation and moved me over to the 'closing' side of the sales team. My next interview was with three people: a current 'closer', the manager of account executives, and the new VP of Sales. They asked good questions about the sales process, let me ask a lot of questions too, and wanted to know what I knew about selling. They're looking for people who understand that sales is a process. I was told the next step was a sort of round-table where everyone I'd met would give their recommendation, and it seemed like the VP of Sales had the final decision. This company has a great product, a user-friendly interface that pulls data from salesforce, and while salesforce has a similar new feature, it's not the same as what InsightSquared offers, and salesforce has even invested in them. It's a growing company with a bright future. Everyone I met there, including people I passed in the halls, was friendly, happy, and enthusiastic about their jobs. I'd highly recommend it.