Textio Interview Questions
& Process

This was a super weird and messy interview process. It started with an automated email that had 'Hello name' in it, which was strange. Then, I met with someone I wasn't supposed to because the original hiring manager was traveling. Two weeks later, I had my interview with the original hiring manager. After that, they said they didn't ask enough about my background, so they interviewed me a third time with both hiring managers. Then, they told me I should be the one to follow up if I wanted the job. I did follow up right away and expressed my excitement. The fourth interview was with the founder, who told me about the company's problems and I was supposed to talk about how I'd solve them. At the end, she said she'd schedule a fifth meeting with me to go over more scenarios because the hour wasn't enough, and then potentially four more interviews, followed by a panel interview. I told her I was going on vacation the week after next. Unsurprisingly, she didn't contact me. Then, the recruiter called me while I was on vacation. I replied by email, and they asked if I was still interested. I said yes and that I was hoping to hear from them. Two days later, I got a rejection saying they weren't moving forward because I didn't follow up with the founder. It was a really odd process with strange reasoning and communication. Glad it didn't work out.

The interview process took place over about 3 weeks and had two main rounds. First, a hiring manager interview, and then a final interview loop which included a presentation and several one-on-one meetings, one of which was with the CEO. While the interviews themselves went well and I enjoyed meeting the hiring team, the communication surrounding the process was problematic. There was some confusion internally about the take-home assignment, which was a presentation to a few employees. The instructions for it were unclear and it wasn't delivered when promised. I wasn't offered the job, and I understood why, but the way the company communicated their decision was disappointing. Specifically, they asked for my availability to talk and then didn't call when I made myself available on short notice, which felt disrespectful and like a waste of my time. It was one of the messiest interview processes I've been through, and it probably reflects how the company functions daily.

The whole thing took around a month. There were 3 interview rounds. First, a phone screen with the recruiter, who was nice. Second was a hiring manager screen. They were late and seemed disorganized and desperate for leads, which made me question the company's stability. It also felt like they didn't grasp what a strategist does, wanting more of a social media/email marketer. Despite this disconnect, I moved on. The final interviews involved meeting three team members separately for an hour each, making it a 3-hour block that could have been a panel. The first person was great. The second was nice but also disorganized. Their biggest challenge was 'scope,' suggesting a lack of direction and overwork. The hiring manager finished up, and we got into a debate about future DE&I trends. I answered from a content strategy viewpoint, but she didn't like it and pressed me, asking what Textio does in a condescending way, seemingly fishing for business growth ideas, which isn't my role. This made me lose interest. My impression is they might have been good once but are now a mess and desperate.

It was a phone screen with a recruiter, then a phone screen with the hiring manager. After that, there was a 4-hour loop with 4 people. I had to give a presentation on prospecting strategies, objection handling, processes used, and how I would structure my day. I got the case study a few days before the loop. They asked some tough questions, but it was my favorite interview experience. The Textio sales team is super smart and collaborative. They asked me tons of great questions on the fly to see how I'd handle certain situations, strategy for the case study, and about my past experience.