The initial interview process was generally smooth, but the company's handling of the final stage was highly unprofessional.
After an initial screening with the Talent Acquisition team who were communicative and excellent and a first interview with the Hiring Manager which was very standard, I was scheduled for a final interview with the Sales Director.
The company cancelled this final interview the evening before due to their internal decision to close the job opening. This was entirely a company decision, not related to my candidacy.
I had spent significant time preparing for this final stage. Cancelling the interview at such late notice for reasons entirely within the company's control demonstrates a serious lack of professionalism. Had they been in a rush to hire, they could have communicated this and tried to move the dates forward. Instead, they simply cancelled without any consideration for the candidate's time.
While this is just one example, I believe it's important to bear in mind that this is the type of company they are. I am, however, relieved that I won't be moving forward with an organisation that treats candidates this way.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Sales experiences
Why are you interested in this role/company?
How would you approach acquiring leads?
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Qt Group
Interview
A recruiter set the interviewed. I spoke the Regional Manager first over the phone. Great conversation with her and she put me through to the next level in meeting in person with her and 2 reps on the team
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about your current job, what do you know about Qt, how do you organize your territory, examples of strategic prospecting, what type of environment do you excel in, walk me through a deal you won and why did you win, tell me about a deal you lost and what did you learn, what do you know about open source?
The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Qt Group (Santa Clara, CA)
Interview
Interviewed for a Sr. Sales position
This is the first time I’ve ever been compelled to write a negative review.
Several recruiters tried to get me interested in this company over the last 6+ years. The technology is well regarded in the industry, though because they were owned by Nokia which had a really poor reputation for business tactics, I declined those invitations to interview.
Recently, a different recruiter told me that things had changed at Qt…new management…they had spun off from Nokia… starting a new chapter…wanted to move quickly adding sales, etc.
Several rounds of interviews later (5), including with an EVP from Norway who said I had exactly the experience they needed, confirmation from the other reps that I was culturally a fit, we had agreement to move forward. We discussed details of the proposed offer, including benefits. Typically, this is when discussions about a start date are appropriate. Of course thinking that I'll need to give my employer two weeks notice. They requested my references, which I provided. (None were ever contacted.)
Then they rescinded the verbal offer. I was told by the recruiter that it was because I had asked twice about a start date! The second time in a different way than the first, as I've learned in sales is how we discover what might be in the way of a prospect reaching a decision.
Every Sales VP I’ve ever worked for only wants reps capable of asking for business. The recruiter agreed with me that most will only advance those who attempt to close. Apparently that’s not the case here.
If you want to close business (and make money), it probably makes sense to look elsewhere. This experience cemented my belief that I only want to work for a Sales VP who has experience in sales and experience being in front of customers.
So, really nothing has changed at Qt. Still poor business tactics, still poor management. It appears that the Nokia mindset is still intact. It may be ingrained in the culture.
What I learned is to dig a lot deeper into the background of the person I would report to, and to make sure that person has experience in sales and in front of customers.
I strongly suggest looking at the employee reviews on Glassdoor. They seem to mirror what I experienced.
If this is the culture, it's probably not the best place for a serious sales rep.
6
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Sales applicants have rated the interview process at Qt Group with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 33% positive. To compare, the company-average is 38.7% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Sales roles take an average of 31 days to get hired, when considering 3 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Qt Group overall takes an average of 26 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Qt Group as a Sales according to 3 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 50%
One on one interview: 50%
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