SAGE Veterinary Centers Interview Questions
& Process

This was a really long interview process for the second most important role in the company, and honestly, it was filled with miscommunication and a lack of empathy for the time and situation candidates were in. It started out seeming like a great and really interesting opportunity. But, it ended up being a pretty bad experience. It took them 3 months to tell me they were expanding their search, even after I’d already spent tons of hours with them. I was initially contacted by a well-known recruiting firm and went through a lot: 2 recruiter interviews, 2 calls with the CEO, an in-person panel interview, 3 interviews with PE firm execs, 2 in-person meetings about accounting and ops, and a final in-person chat with the CEO. Throughout this whole thing, they kept saying I was the top candidate. I had to chase the CEO a lot for updates, and often didn't get a response. The communication was bad and misleading. It got to the point where in my last interview with the CEO, they were asking about my start date, told me to dress more casually, and discussed my orientation. I put in a lot of hours preparing materials and really went above and beyond to meet their needs for the role. Right up until the end, I was expecting an offer, especially with all the positive feedback. But the opposite happened. The CEO seemed to think she was the decision-maker, but it was clear the PE firm had the final say and blocked the offer. Also, nobody really made time to answer my questions.

I showed up on time for my interview but had to wait 45 minutes because they couldn't find the person who did the phone interview. The operations manager, who wasn't medically trained and didn't seem to expect to be my interviewer, was nice but very distracted by calls. He just went through a printed list of questions. After that, they had me wait again to shadow someone. I got a tour of the hospital and thought I'd start a working interview. I was asked to place an IV catheter and accidentally blew it, but I was nervous and thought it wasn't a big deal. I thought there would be more practical tasks, maybe shadowing a tech, but instead, they sent me to a room to take a 3-page medical math test, which was way harder than the VTNE, while they 'looked for something for me to do'. After returning the test, I had to wait again because there was 'nothing to do' at this busy 24/7 ER clinic. Eventually, the RVT who gave me the tour suggested I come back another day and they'd call me for a proper interview. I drove all the way from Oakland to Redwood City for this. They never called, and I got a weird, generic email saying they 'unfortunately went with someone else' with no name. The place looked great and the people were nice, but I was really disappointed and frustrated.

The hiring process was long and thorough, which is good because everyone knows what to expect by the end. The whole thing, from the first recruiter contact to the offer, took about 3 months. I wanted to go through this extensive process to develop my skills as a candidate, even though I liked my current job. It started with an initial questionnaire with about 20 questions about management styles, career goals, and work history, followed by another questionnaire. After that, an external recruiter called to gauge my interest, explain the lengthy process, and begin building a rapport. Then, I had a phone interview with the HR Director. If I passed that, I interviewed one-on-one with the Regional Hospital Manager. After that hurdle, I had another one-on-one with the same RHM, plus the COO, another RHM, and an in-person meeting with the HRD. Once all those interviews were cleared, they started checking my references, initiating background checks, and informing me about a presentation. Seven days before the presentation, I received business case studies and a PowerPoint template. The case studies were intentionally vague to test how I'd identify missing information, develop talking points, and formulate questions for staff. A successful presentation led to an invitation to a dinner with about 7-10 members of the Management Team, including Managing Partners, Staff Doctors, the COO, RHM, and HRD. Performing well at dinner meant receiving an offer the next day. It was a very drawn-out process, but the external recruiter and SAGE were very helpful in keeping me comfortable throughout. They encouraged me to ask questions, and I was pleased with how the process was handled.

For this role, you'll need to be familiar with what happens in the hospital's treatment areas and have some veterinary medical knowledge. You're the first person clients will talk to, so you need to know how to screen calls and handle them based on whether they're emergencies, urgent, or not, and so on.