Meltwater Sales Development Representative interview questions

Oh boy. Where to begin. The process started very normally, with a phone screening that went well, pretty low key. Then I got into the in person interviews, which started out pretty normal. The interview was not held in their offices, but in a hotel a few blocks away. The first portion was a group interview which was actually kind of fun. You did some little introductions, answered questions in front of the entire group (at this point there were about 10 interviewees and 10 interviewers, NBD because it was pretty even on both sides.) They also explained the position and how much growth there was within the company, like they REALLY pushed the amount of growth. Overall you heard from each candidate a little bit and moved on. The position was a cold calling position, which is fine except when that's not completely what was advertised. But don't worry: after a year or so you'd still have to cold call, but you'd get to be in charge of people too! At least that's what I took away from it. They also seemed to recruit top edge candidates, but the job is definitely not what I'd call top edge- even if they'd want to you to be a manager. So things were a little tense there, but also a little fun. They set us loose after a few hours and told us they'd call us to let us know if we got a second interview that afternoon. That's all fine and dandy, but when you have people coming in from far out of town timing is really important. ESPECIALLY when you don't cover their travel expenses to get there. (There were people in from Alabama- that's really expensive to interview for a phone dialing job.) I moved on to the second interview. That interview was one of the most intense interviews of my life, which isn't so inherently bad if it were for a position with a bit more at stake. However, I did not feel like how cut throat it was fit what they were looking for. The worst is when they (all 10 of them on the other side of you- yes, it was 10 against 1) told you to tell them if you'd give someone from the group interview a second round interview. I'm sorry, what? I've said a total of MAYBE 10 words to these people. The first time they mentioned someones name I responded "maybe" because it caught me off guard. One of the pack snapped back at me that you couldn't "maybe" give someone a job. They wanted people with "Management Material", because being able to judge someone off of a couple sentences is what makes a good manager? I got the job and did not take it. When they offered me the job, the salary was less than what was told to me in the interview. I was four hours away and they told me to come down to check out the office real quick ASAP. During the break in between I had hours to kill- Why didn't they simply allow candidates to check out the office in that time? I had finals, it didn't work and so I trusted my gut. Based on the job reviews, I'd say that's a good thing. Oh, one more thing- my grandma died while I was driving back from this interview. Her funeral was on the day that they were going to call us with the results, which was ALSO during finals week. I asked if they could just email me first and then set up a phone call if it was necessary. Nope, they said they'd just call the day after. Not a huge deal, but there was kinda a lot going on and a little bit of compassion would have been nice. That instance gave me an insight into the REAL culture of Meltwater I think.

Interview process is swift but thorough. A phone screening, a happy hour where you get to meet the team, an in depth questionnaire about yourself that is referenced later in the process, and then an all day interview where you present on yourself in a group dynamic. If you succeed in the group interview you're called back for a panel interview that afternoon. Key to succeeding is to prepare.