First call was with talent acquisition based out of California. He told me that the hiring manager is an Indian based out of Germany, and he has been living there for 15 years and speaks fluent German. When I was put through to the hiring manager stage, I figured my CV has been passed on to someone based out of India, who has never lived in Germany before and doesn’t speak a word of German. The call was scheduled for half an hour but went on for 1h (!!). During the call he said he is based out of India and looks after the DACH region (!). He asked me a lot of process specific questions. It was very clear that he was fishing after German sales intelligence, and clearly was not interested in hiring someone on the ground. This impression was further strengthened when he said that he has two people in India that look after the DACH region and don’t speak a word of German. Unfortunately, he still hasn’t understood the market :) I also brought up the -15% sales headcount reduction which was showing on LinkedIn insights. He said that was only in North America. He was nervous so one could clearly see that this wasn’t the true picture.

Round 1 – Hiring Manager (Skills & Experience): This round checks whether you can actually do the job. The manager reviews your sales background, past deals, quota performance, deal complexity, and how you qualify, forecast, and handle objections. They’re mainly assessing your selling approach, communication, and ownership mindset. Round 2 – Discovery & Demo: This tests how you sell in real situations. You’re expected to ask smart discovery questions, understand the customer’s pain, and run a tailored demo that focuses on value and outcomes rather than features. They evaluate your consultative selling skills and ability to connect product value to business impact. Round 3 – VP / Cultural Fit: This round is about attitude and long-term fit. The VP looks for ownership, maturity, learning mindset, and how you handle pressure or failure. They also want to see how motivated you are about joining Whatfix and whether your values align with the company culture. Round 4 – HR / Compensation: This is the closure stage. HR discusses salary, variable pay, joining date, notice period, and benefits. This is where final alignment happens and your compensation is negotiated.