Valimail Interview Questions
& Process

The whole thing took like 3 months from the first recruiter call. I talked to 8 people in total. They said I was a finalist, but after the last interview, I never heard back, even when I asked for feedback. It was super slow and they never told me anything between interviews. They say they want to be a fast startup, but the interview process was surprisingly slow. Felt like a waste of my time. Zero stars for how they treated candidates.

The interview process was really straightforward and, I have to say, super well-organized and flexible. After a referral from a friend, I had a phone screen. Then, a technical white-boarding session with my potential direct manager. The problems required a lot of thinking, and I had to rethink my solutions a few times, but the interviewer was great, and it was really focused on problem-solving. Next, I had a remote call with senior leadership, followed by an in-person meeting with two lead engineers from the team, and finally, an in-person chat with a co-founder. The call with the VP-level leader gave me more insight into the company's direction and the role's culture and goals. The in-person discussions with the team members and the co-founder were very open, allowing us to talk about our backgrounds, why we're interested in the technologies, and our approaches to technical challenges and abstract objectives. The co-founder seemed like a visionary who really understood the market.

I interviewed with Valimail for about two months, from Dec 2020 to Feb 2021. I talked to 7 different people, which the recruiter said was unusual. I had 4 initial interviews with AEs and the CRO that went really well, and the CRO even thought I'd be a great fit. After that, the recruiter said I had one more interview with the CFO. During that CFO interview, he didn't even know what job I was applying for, and the recruiter had to ask me! The recruiter mentioned the CFO said no to the salary I was looking for (350k). The recruiter also told me they were specifically trying to hire a black female to meet a quota, as the company was mostly 'old white guys'. After clarifying the CFO situation, the recruiter scheduled another interview with the Chief Advisor/Head of People, which was also unusual. This meeting was set for a week later, but she cancelled the day of, a few hours before, because the CRO had been fired that Monday and they were letting people go. The recruiter then mentioned someone starting the next week who was black (he told me this specifically), but that I'd have to wait and see. Turns out, that person wasn't black. It felt like the recruiter was trying to make a point. The recruiter and CFO are brothers, so they talked freely. I was told everyone liked me and an offer was expected, but it felt like I faced extra hurdles because of who I am, not my abilities. I had to wait because of that, and it made me really uncomfortable. The recruiter and CFO are brothers so they spoke freely to each other. Even though the experience was bad, the former CRO and the two reps I spoke with were respectful and knowledgeable, and the pay we discussed was good.

It started with a phone screen, then a 1:1 with the hiring manager, a technical take-home test, then another on-site with multiple people (30 mins each) and finally an interview with the CTO. I felt comfortable all the way through the process. The team manager was extremely knowledgeable about the company and the product, which provided another really good impression. By the time I had finished the third part of the process I knew I wanted to work here. It was a really good experience from start to finish.