I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Gartner (London, England) in Oct 2023
Interview
They contacted me to enter the process: 1st call with a Talent Sourcer and 2nd stage interview with an international recruiter. I received an email to understand how the process would work and a small guideline let's say. I did a lot of prep for this 2nd call and felt it went well enough that the recruiter was confirming lots of my answers and giving more content to it. Which led me to think, she mostly liked my answers. I did use the STAR method. A few days later, I received an email saying she did enjoy discussing with me but felt a "slightly too large experience gap" which meant really nothing. I emailed the recruiter asking for some specific and constructive feedback to improve on my side but never got a reply. I can see a very similar experience in the interview section. Overall, I realised the truth is they are looking for a specific type of candidate, probably based on the look, style and other elements they don't disclose. The fact they didn't answer with any feedback shows a lack of consideration for candidates.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Gartner (Barcelona) in Aug 2023
Interview
First interview ran through exactly as described step by step in the email sent by the recruiter. 1h30 for the first interview is quite long. I was rejected after that one but I am really angry at the recruiter as I received an automatic email without any feedback and not even signed by the recruiter who interviewed me for 1h30... I have been chasing her by email for feedbacks and tried to call but the recruiter doesn't care and keeps ignoring me. It is a shame to be ghosted like that.
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
1 – Motivations: Why Gartner & Why Sales (try to summarize these answers in three simple bullet points – Focus on being concise and personal) and personal driver (why do you want to be successful? Where is this coming from?) talk through your personal ‘why’ for being in sales as well as why the opportunity at Gartner interests you in relation to your personal and career goals.
2 – Gartner traits (Use a STAR method): We will be asking you behavior-based interview questions (BBIQ) to assess you against your use of the STAR method and the 6 traits we look for in our sales associates (please find them attached – Gartner Traits – Observation Points). The reason why we do so, is to test your ability to consistently follow a process and your clear communication skills. Here’s an example of a BBIQ and answer: Give me an example of when you’ve had to persist through a professional setback? Situation - Role you had, company you were in and time of the year. Task - Explain what you aimed to achieve, and any goals related to this (keeping this short and concise, one sentence. Action - Step by step bullet points of everything you did, in chronological order. Try to sum up in 3 main bullet points. Result: Tangible data, celebrating your achievements starting with the biggest win first. Speak about numbers (“thanks to that, I was able to reach my target”) If not possible to talk about numbers, talk about your development (“I was able to improve my negotiation skills…”). Something useful to prepare for this part of the interview could be to think about the 6 Gartner Traits and some examples you could call on where you’ve demonstrated these strongly in the past.
3 – Roleplay: You will also have a 10-minute Sales Roleplay (DISCOVERY CALL) to test your listening/questioning skills, and how you uncover information. Please see the attached roleplay scenario and brief for guidance. The roleplay structure you will be expected to follow: 1. Introduction: Name, positions, how are you doing? (break the ice!) and explain the agenda 2. Discovery: Uncover: Goals, Needs, Challenges, Timelines, Budget, Decision Makers 3. Recap + Value proposition: Unique positioning of Gartner: We have a unique knowledge of both tech vendors and end users, we are unbiased and we have more than 2000 analyst providing then with competitive insights, keep this 3 in mind! 4. Closing - push for next call ASAP + invite other decision makers
I applied online. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Gartner (London, England) in Sep 2023
Interview
First contact on LinkedIn, agreed upon a time (suggested by the recruiter) for a phone call. She called 25min later than the suggested time. After that we booked a time for a video interview, one she was also late for. I was then asked the question to describe who I am, about my life since growing up. "To get an idea of who I am as a person". A bit of an odd line of questioning I thought but ok.
We proceeded and jumped into the previously presented case for a role play. I had done my research on the main philosophy of the company, read several articles on the value proposition and even used some of the suggested questions to prove deeper into problems, pain points and way forward. Yet the recruiter didn't give me a single piece of information to use and later on said I could have asked for specifics, for numbers. Which was exactly what I did. I literally asked upon being given the information the roleplayed CIO " Was pressed to achieve growth", What growth specifically? Have you been given a number? Of which she said as much as possible.
I found the recruiters demeanor unprofessional, being late to both scheduled interviews as well as in relation to her behavior in the roleplay and during the interview in its totality. I would be careful about spending your precious time in preparation for interviews of this sub standard quality.