Tableau Software Consultant Interview Questions
& Process

This was a super unprofessional interview experience. The first interviews were great, everyone seemed really passionate. But then later on, they told me the pay and it was way less than expected for someone with my experience, especially in Seattle. I told the recruiter I couldn't take such a pay cut and didn't want to waste more time. She convinced me to keep going, saying I was so good they were considering me for a senior position with better pay. The interview process included a Tableau product demo, which is good practice but takes over 10 hours to prepare, plus presentation prep time. In total, I spent over 20 hours on this final interview, including taking time off work to go onsite. The onsite interview itself was fun, with tough product questions mixed with discussions about their experiences and the role. A few days later, I got an offer, but for the original, lower-paying role, with no room for negotiation. I decided to accept the lower pay for the short term because of the training and the company's long-term potential. The next day, after I'd already started drafting goodbye emails and getting ready to tell my current boss, I got an email to wait, then a call saying they were rescinding the offer because I seemed hesitant when I accepted, and they claimed it wasn't a real offer and I was confused. The offer email subject was 'Tableau - Offer' and it said 'Hiring Manager is interested in moving forward with an offer!' and '() would like to offer you the Product Consultant role at $x.' So yeah, I'd be confused too. It's a good thing I waited for the paperwork before telling my current boss. I guess this might be related to their recruiting statistics. Honestly, I do think the company itself is great, with a great product and a passionate team. But this interview process was like a bad comedy.

I had a phone call with HR, which was short. They emailed me some tasks. I had to download their software, test it out, and answer the questions. Then, they set up an in-person interview at a coffee shop by their office. There, I presented my answers. Later, HR called me for another interview and gave me feedback. I used that feedback for the next interview. This time, they put me in a room with a laptop and asked technical questions about HTML and TCP protocol. I did my best but didn't know everything. I waited about a week and then got a call saying I didn't get the job. It was a bummer, but I learned a lot.

I started with a Tableau workbook exercise that I turned in the next week, but I finished it the day after I got it because I'm good with Tableau and BI. Then, I had a phone interview with the hiring manager. I quickly realized the pay was lower than I expected, and to get a salary that's actually fair for my experience and this region, I'd need skills not even mentioned in the job ad. They brought up needing a specific programming language for a rare situation where we'd build an external tool for a client. I told them I know other languages and have built similar things, and could pick up the new one in a few weeks, but they weren't convinced. I met most of their long list of requirements, but they never got back to me. I think they were looking for a reason not to hire me because of my salary expectations. What was more annoying was that I found a better, more senior role within the company, but the recruiter wouldn't put me forward for it and gave no feedback. Turns out, that role wasn't her responsibility anyway. It became clear they're just looking for really cheap, fresh grads with strong tech skills who don't know their value and will let the sales team boss them around. I passed the initial technical, soft skills, and experience checks easily, but they wouldn't offer me the higher end of the salary range unless I had 100% of a bunch of niche skills, even though I could learn them fast given my experience. Their recruiting is as messed up as their sales process. As someone in the BI field, I know their product well and their sales team is disorganized. I like their product, but the company itself is a letdown.