I had a terrible experience interviewing with HubSpot.
It's hard for me to gauge if this was just one person that probably shouldn’t be representing HubSpot or if their attitude is a reflection of the company's culture.
I was asked a question about how I identify customers at risk for not renewing. I spoke in detail about how I manage my current book of business, provided examples of what I look for (decline in engagement, product usage, etc.) and I spoke about the importance of developing customer relationships.
However, this wasn’t what the interviewer was looking for. They had a simple checklist of things they were hoping to hear from me which included usage, adoption & renewal date.
In response to not answering the question correctly, I was told, “Let me give you some advice, you need to simplify your answers. I asked you about identifying risks and you are talking about managing relationships. I did not ask you that. You should have answered my question like this…”.
And although when I think about it, I probably disagree (Because I do think managing customer relationships is key to identifying risks), but I can understand that I may have “failed” that question in their eyes. After-all, this was my first interview (really just a screening call) and I wasn't interviewing with a leader of Customer Success yet. My answer would have been better suited for a second or third round interview with someone who had experience working in the field.
What I can’t fathom though, is why I wasn’t met with kindness even if I failed a question?
Wouldn't it have been more constructive to simply respond with “That's great, but what we are looking for in this role is someone who can identify risks by XYZ. Is this something you think you could do in this role?”
The interview ended with her saying, “I have a few more people I’m interviewing today before I want to make my decision on the right person to put forward. If it’s a “yes” the next steps will be an interview with a manager, then a presentation and one final panel interview with the team. If it’s a “no” I will be emailing you on Monday and letting you know that you haven’t been successful”.
Overall this really felt like an unnecessary way to demonstrate her superiority over me. I mean, wouldn’t it have been easier (and kinder) to just say, “thank you for your time, I will let you know by Monday”.
Was this person just in a bad mood? Had everyone else they were interviewing failed that same question and they were annoyed by it? Was it just because I was standing in between them and their weekend (it was Friday afternoon). Or did they just find my personality annoying? Was I talking too much? What would warrant such an excessive display of dominance over someone they've just met?
After thinking about it for a few days, I am truly sad that this was my experience interviewing with HubSpot.
I do think it’s understandable to be nervous during an interview, after all you are sharing your entire professional career and asking someone to evaluate you. And not everyone will be a good fit. But I do think you should be kind even if you are interviewing someone who isn’t the best match.
As an interviewer, you are coming into the conversation with an authority and in a position of power.
So even though I wasn’t a right fit for this role, I can’t see myself ever wanting to apply to the company in the future. They’ve truly left a horrible impression on me and I sincerely hope they don’t treat anyone in the future like this. Please do better HubSpot.