Mach49 Interview Questions
& Process

So I applied for this new role, like a Tech Lead, at a startup. It's a new position they were creating. First, HR did a quick screening. The problem was, HR didn't seem to know much more than what was in the job description. It made the interview kinda hard because I wasn't sure what skills they were really looking for. It felt a bit like they were just guessing with tech terms.

The interview process was pretty structured. Started with a quick HR screening, and then moved on to several rounds with the US team. I talked to the VP of Ventures, VP New Markets & Chief of Staff, the Chief Talent Officer, and another Sr Venture Architect.

I was contacted by an external recruiter on LinkedIn about a Sales Operations Lead role. They mentioned the company is growing fast and needs help hiring. The role sounded like my current one, but as an individual contributor. The first interview went well. The next week, a senior recruiter from the same company reached out for a more in-depth chat about my experience. She said she liked my answers and was recommending me for an interview with the hiring manager. She warned that the company is like a startup, with lots of change and ambiguity, and they want someone used to that fast-paced environment. I confirmed my current company is similar and I'm comfortable with that. When I asked for advice before the hiring manager interview, the recruiter said I did great and gave me questions to prepare for. The hiring manager, who had only been there 3 weeks, gave me more details about the role, making it seem like a better fit. I prepared thoroughly, feeling confident I had excellent answers for all his questions, especially emphasizing my experience in high-growth, fast-paced, startup-like environments. He enjoyed our meeting and said my answers were excellent. I sent a thank-you email reinforcing my culture fit and alignment with the role. The recruiter then told me the hiring manager liked me and thought the interview went well, but felt my experience was more in Business Development/Sales than Sales Operations, despite my 3 years managing a Sales Operations department. She also relayed that he didn't think I'd be a good culture fit because I lack experience in a fast-paced startup environment, which I had explicitly discussed during our conversation. I'm sharing this because I feel the hiring manager didn't truly listen to anything I said, and it's surprising given my background and answers. It also seems odd to have someone who's been there less than a month evaluate culture fit.

So this was a super weird interview process. It started with an email thanking me for an application I don't remember submitting, which gave me a really shady vibe. I looked up the job, and it seemed relevant, so I decided to roll with it and scheduled an interview with a VP. The interview itself was about an hour and pretty normal, mostly domain-related questions. It was a good conversation, but I still don't fully grasp what the company actually does, even after they explained it – it sounded like market research, specifically qualitative, but it was super ambiguous. They then talked about the job, mentioning 'studio-based work,' which basically means they'd hire me as a freelance contractor first, given the COVID-19 visa restrictions for their Singapore office, and then maybe offer a full-time role later. I was okay with that. At the end, they said I'd need to talk to more senior management for another interview round, and their assistant would schedule it. It's been three months since then, and I haven't heard anything, so I'm assuming that's a no-go. The whole recruitment handling was pretty off-putting.