IXL Learning Sales Representative Interview Questions
& Process

I had a HR call, then a Zoom call with someone from the hiring team, followed by a multi-hour panel interview. After that, I had a call with someone in corporate sales leadership. The panel interviewers told me that if I made it to the final call, I'd basically already been selected and it would just be a formality with corporate leadership. The people I interacted with seemed great and I was excited for the final call. The management interviewers were really into me, with one even saying they had other roles in mind if this one didn't work out. I was expecting a verbal offer on the call, but the person was late, said they were in a parking garage about to fly, hadn't looked at my resume, and didn't know what position I was applying for. I did my best to update them in the 10 minutes I had. No verbal offer was made, but it didn't feel like a rejection. It was an okay conversation, no red flags that would've gone against the managers' recommendations. This was early December. I briefly talked to HR again about benefits. They kept giving me email updates every few days (supposedly I'd hear back in two days). I wanted to give two weeks notice and visit family for the holidays before starting in January. They said it was fine, but then dragged out the decision all month until December 22nd, apologizing for delays because the corporate person was out of the country. The hiring manager even texted me, saying I'd have an answer the next morning and that offers were ready for signature. It really seemed like they wanted me and were about to make an offer. The next morning, I got a rejection email. I texted the hiring manager asking if it was a mistake, since they'd basically guaranteed me the job the night before and reached out first. I got no explanation other than 'a decision was made by someone above me.' Luckily, I didn't quit my old job. I was so confused, then I saw my LinkedIn was viewed right before the rejection. I couldn't figure out what on my resume would have changed their mind, but I remembered having GSA sponsor roles and similar volunteer/work experience. I didn't put those on my resume initially because I didn't want to seem too political. Friends later found out IXL was sued for discriminating against a trans employee and saw reviews about people being targeted for layoffs due to having marriage equality signs up, and IXL removing same-gender couples from questions. I hate to bring up discrimination, but I honestly can't think of any other reason for the sudden shift after management was so enthusiastic. The corporate person also apparently engaged in unethical business practices poaching salesmen from their old company, which made the news. In the end, I'm glad I didn't end up there and found a much better job a month later.

It was a 3 step interview process. First I spoke with the VP of Customer Success, then with an HR person, and lastly with my direct manager. The interviews were in the fall of 2020 and everyone was really chill and nice.

I had a good initial phone call with the recruiter. They were really digging into things like salary expectations, other companies I'm interviewing with, and my motivation for applying to IXL Learning. Then I met with management in person. They followed up well, giving me lots of details about the company and benefits. They explained the role and why the position was open, saying they value passionate employees. After the in-person interview, which seemed to go well, it became clear why they weren't interested. I think it was because of my age; I was older than everyone I met, even though I was highly qualified. The only feedback after all that was a brief, cold email saying no thanks.