Bazaarvoice Inside Sales Representative Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Jan 2012 in Austin, TX (took 3 weeks)

There were several steps to the BV interview process:

To begin with, I applied online through the Bazaarvoice website. I was contacted within a few days by a senior recruiter for a phone screening.

The phone screening took about 30 minutes and was basically a review of my resume. I spoke with the recruiter about my background, experience, and interest in Bazaarvoice. This interview was not too difficult, and similar to phone screening at any other company. It is helpful to stress enterprise B2B sales experience as well as a familiarity with Bazaarvoice's products and customers.

After the phone screening came an on-site interview. I met with three individuals, all Director or VP level employees from BV's sales organization. The interviewers each had different styles, but for the most part they were informal and unconventional -- not just going over your resume, but probing and unusual questions to see if you could think on your feet. Coming into these interviews, know your resume well, but it may not come up. You'll impress them if you can highlight tangible results from your background, and if you can illustrate your passion for BV.

A few days after the interview, I was contacted to schedule the final round. This is the most daunting part of the interview -- essentially it is a role-playing exercise done by a panel. Unfortunately, there is not much "hard" info on the Bazaarvoice website, so filling in information gaps takes some time. I highly recommend reading their White Papers and Case Studies.

I was asked to prepare an account brief analyzing Apple as a prospective customer. They send you a PowerPoint template to use, but I decided *not* to use PowerPoint because it is incredibly boring. Although this was a bold move, the panel appreciated it. I spent about 10 minutes discussing my brief -- focusing on a modified SWOT analysis. This is a great opportunity to vet your strategy and bone up on the product line.

Next, I was showed and an email I had written (prior to the interview) that I would send to prospects. By very mindful of spelling, grammar, and punctuation here -- they are sticklers for that stuff!

The "meat" of the interview was a conference call with the panel, where they pretended to be prospects at Apple. To add an element of realism, the interviewers leave the room and actually call you from a conference room. I appreciated this, because I usually find role playing tasks lacking because you are staring your colleague in the face. Having them out of the room makes it feel a little more like an actual call.

I won't like, the mock phone call was difficult. They panel will do everything they can to shake your confidence and generally come off as unfriendly and/or apathetic prospects. Be sure to be in a "selling" state of mind. A key to getting through this call is being familiar with BV's product line *beyond* ratings and reviews. There was a short de-briefing after the role play to get feedback.

Within a few days I had an offer letter in hand.