In my 9 years of professional experience, Trackmaven's interview was probably the most unprofessional, laughable experience I've ever had. I applied via LinkedIn, and heard back from a recruiting coordinator within a few days and am set up with a phone interview. The recruiter called a few minutes late- this is fine- and proceeded to go down what was clearly a list of questions she was assigned to ask. As a good salesperson, I tried to offer context and ran through my background and motivations for wanting to apply to Trackmaven within the first few questions. It was very obvious that, during my answering, the recruiter was on mute and likely focused on other things in the background. However, after I finished my answer, she proceeded to ask a followup question that I had LITERALLY just answered in the context that I gave- LITERALLY. Its like, were you even listening at all? Its fine, I thought. Its fine and I'll just remain pleasant and try to find out more about whether the job is actually a fit.
Toward the end of the interview, I asked the recruiter a few thought-provoking questions about the company that clearly made her stutter and think. When I asked her what her candid thoughts were about me being a candidate because I didn't want to waste her time or mine if she thought it was a bad fit - she hemmed and hawwed and gave a non-answer. Said she'd have to share her findings with the hiring managers and I'd hear back within a week.
A week later, I get an email that I am wanted for an in-person. I was notified 2 days before the in-person that the first hiring manager would need to cut their time with me short, but should not affect the overall schedule. Okay. On the day of, I gathered all my questions and findings of the company so I can have an engaging and productive conversation with what little time I had with the hiring manager.
First, the hiring manager was about 10 minutes late - again, this is fine, as I know salespeople often have calls that run over. As the hiring manager and I spoke, two things became blatantly clear to me - a) Trackmaven was looking for a very specific type of salesperson to fit into a very specific background mold and b) I was far from what that mold required and shouldn't have gotten past the initial phone interview.
That said, I felt I still did have the skills to live up to the challenges of the mold and I tried to explain to the hiring manager how my past experiences in (a different kind of ) sales would be able to apply. However, it was very clear that once they realized I didn't fit into the mold, their ears were closed and they were over it. Again, this is fine- albeit annoying.
The kicker? After the hiring manager told me I did not have what they were looking for, they threw out a comment that perhaps I ought to go apply at a local well-known mass-hiring churn-and-burn sales firm to "brush up on my sales chops". This might have been okay if I didn't have 9 years of sales experience with evidence of being a top performer at every single one of the roles. However, to suggest to a seasoned sales candidate that they apply to an entry-level position at another company well-known for churning and burning entry-level sales people- just because they didn't fit the mold your company is looking for? That's just outright insulting and unprofessional.
So, thanks but no thanks, Trackmaven. You may be the newest coolest thing on the block right now with your corgis and social analytics software but don't let your hot startup hubris blind your path to success. What you have is cool - but it hasn't proven itself yet. Don't forget that the DC tech environment is a small one and your actions will be remembered.
