Newsela Interview Questions
& Process

I interviewed for an SDR role. The first round was a recruiter call, it was normal and professional. The second round was with the hiring manager, it felt like a typical sales interview. They mentioned a sales roll-call part and said they'd send info, but I never got it. I still did my best without the prep. What seemed like the last step turned into another round I didn't expect. I got a call with no warning it was evaluative. I picked up thinking it was an offer or rejection, but it turned into a surprise interview with new questions. There was no heads-up this was part of the formal process. The lack of clear communication and changing expectations made me withdraw. For a sales job where clarity, process, and communication are key, this experience made me question their internal organization and how they treat candidates.

I applied on Sept 3rd and got an email on Sept 24th asking for availability for a screener call. I replied right away but heard nothing. After two days, I emailed to confirm they got my availability, and still nothing. I waited another 4 days and sent another email on Sept 30th, still no response. Then on Monday, Oct 6th, they finally sent an email scheduling a 15-min phone screener for the very next day. Even though I had shared my availability weeks ago and it might have changed, I accepted the calendar invite. The next day, a few minutes into what should have been the call, I realized the email had asked me to reply to confirm my phone number, which I hadn't done. I quickly sent an email apologizing for not confirming my number and confirming it. As expected, I never got a call. About 20 minutes later, I emailed again saying I hoped everything was okay and I still wanted to reschedule. I never heard back. This was the worst recruiting experience ever.

The process was standard - after a handful of interviews with the team and people I'd report to, all signs pointed to me being a great fit with only positive feedback through 5 interviews - until the CEO had a very brief conversation with me. After claiming to be very transparent and providing negative remarks about the existing design team, I got the sense he didn't create a positive culture for creative innovation or work-life balance. He went on to leave negative remarks with the HR woman that we didn't even discuss regarding my lack of time working at Startups. After looking into his approval ratings here, it looks like I dodged a bullet.

It began with a phone screen, followed by a conversation with the hiring manager. Then, I had to complete a performance task. The final discussion was with the VP. Most of the questions were about culture fit, and the performance task assessed presentation skills. They're more interested in whether you'll be a good fit for the team than anything else. For the presentation, they're looking for personality, how you organize your thoughts, your ability to answer the question, and how you handle feedback from the committee.