The HR manager called me saying she had seen my resume and thought I would be a good fit for their new BDM. I researched the company, liked what I saw and agreed to visit the company the following week for a short assessment and testing. She told me I would enjoy the testing and also kept reassuring me that the position involved no cold calling and leads keep coming in the door. I was also asked to bring along copies of my resume, a photocopy of my college diploma, and copies of any awards and papers I had written.
One test was to craft an email response to a sales inquiry from a foreign country. I thought it strange that someone interviewing for such a senior position would have to prove they could write an email but was told the typical initial customer contact comes this way and they wanted to assess my writing skills. For another test I was provided a paper copy of a spreadsheet and told to recreate an exact duplicate in Excel. The third test was a 40-50 question multiple choice math exam testing basic algebra/geometry skills. None were difficult but I did not see the tests’ connections to the BDM job.
Afterward I interviewed with the HR Manager and CEO/founder/owner. The questions were typical for a sales interview: Tell me about your best sale, one that didn’t go as planned, what were your quotas, how did you fare in your past positions, how would you shorten a sales cycle, etc. I sensed rapport and felt good about the overall interview. They told me the next step would be an interview with 1-2 additional key members of the company.
Two weeks later the HR manager sent a rather tersely phrased email congratulating me for being selected for the next phase of the selection process - a formal panel interview. I was told to arrive promptly at a specific day and time the following week and to also bring three copies of my resume. I thought the email’s tone rather strange especially when required to reply to the email by 10am the next day to confirm my acceptance. I also wondered why I was told to bring three more resume copies since I had provided several before, plus emailed it to the HR manager.
When I arrived for my interview the receptionist told me they were running late. I sat in the lobby and watched other candidates pass by me. Normally companies segregate their candidates as a professional courtesy, especially for senior positions. After 45 minutes and no update as to why I was still waiting, the HR manager came out to get me. She quickly apologized for the delay. I found it peculiar that their invite email stressed I needed to be prompt but they had no similar requirement on their end.
In my experience panel interviews consist of several senior company decision makers and that is what I was expecting. This panel however was three people: the HR Manager and CEO/founder/owner, both of whom I had seen before. The additional person, I later learned, was someone not part of CAI. The HR Manager started, “So what did you do this weekend?” The new person apologized that she had not had time to review my resume beforehand so asked me to talk her through my prior companies, total sales volume and my percentage. It was an awkward beginning essentially repeating what I had said during interview #1. The remaining questions were rehashes from the first interview, each taking turns asking and then all jotting notes on paper.
After responding to my questions about the position, an invisible alarm clock seemed to go off. The HR Manager abruptly thanked me for coming in which signaled the end of the panel interview. I was a bit startled, shook their hands, thanking them also and said I would anxiously wait to hear their decision, that I was very interested in the position, etc. I waited a few more seconds in awkward silence and no one moved. Then I realized I had to show myself out the front door. No escort to the exit as a professional courtesy which I found quite rude.
After ten days I received a short email from a CAI employee I had never met. The email contained a canned response thanking me for interviewing, we enjoyed meeting you etc., and “please find the decision regarding the selection of the BDM in the attached letter.” The email did not even have a signature block, very weird. I opened the attachment and read another canned response on company letterhead thanking me for my interest in CAI, saying they enjoyed meeting me on interview date #1 (no mention of the panel interview #2) and despite my impressive qualifications they selected someone else who best fits CAI’s requirements. Finally the HR Manager’s signature was simply a tiny illegible script font, not even signed.
So in summary I wish this company well and hope their new BDM can turn their sales around. But based on my interview experience I think it will be a rough road…less traveled.
