I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Meraki (San Francisco, CA) in Sep 2014
Interview
The entire process took about 3 weeks and began with a happy hour event where I was able to meet around 30 people from the sales team. Next step was a phone conversation with the senior sales recruiter to schedule a phone interview. The phone interview was fairly straightforward and was asked about my background and my knowledge of Meraki and it's products, my sales process and why I want to work for Meraki. Final step was a 3 hour in person interview with 4 people on the sales team (director level and managers). Each person had a focus of what they were interviewing me on so in a few cases the questions didn't make sense but it was great to hear each perspective of the company.
Overall the process was challenging but the recruiter coached me through the process and I never felt forced to make a decision. They were upfront about the expectations and I was able to deliver.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The most difficult question was a scenario where I just purchased a Meraki branded toaster and what this told me about the toaster, the company, and the world.
Got a first call from an HR representative after my submission on Linkedin. Then my second call was with a manager that asked me about my previous experiences. Unfortunately there was no follow up on that.
efficient, effective, fair -- the recruiters prepped you accordingly and really want you to succeed. the managers are knowledgable and eager to answer your questions. I was impressed with Cisco Meraki compared to other large organizations.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Meraki in Jan 2019
Interview
Overall the process was pleasant and fair.
A recruiter from Meraki reached out via LinkedIn. We had a 30 minute initial phone screen. Pretty standard tell me about yourself questions.
A day later I was asked to do a 30 minute phone interview with a sales manager.
During the sales manager interview, a team lead ran the call instead. A green flag that there is room to grow here. They asked pretty standard questions as well. They are really big on culture or at least they say they are. I was told to be ready to talk about the products during this interview, but they never asked. Be ready to talk about your sales experience and current quota.
They move fast - a day later I was asked to come in for a 2-hour four part interview.
By now, the recruiter has sent you an email containing literally hours of videos and links about the company to research before the interview. Nice that they set you up for success, but it’s a lot of information to digest (especially how quickly they move through interviews). Know the 6 products, their competitors, and their value prop. Also, know you’re own sales numbers - very specific. You can bring notes to the interview.
They show you around the office - cool space. Not really a west loop location like they advertise. Kind of hard to get to actually.
The 4 interviews aren’t bad if you prep for it. Be ready to talk about everything in detail. You can’t fake the interview - especially the product knowledge.
I have a neutral outlook because I was told I would know right away, but it took them a week to reach out and tell me they’re going in another direction. I was told my underwhelming theme was lack of passion for, “why Meraki”. I was told I nailed everything else so that was interesting feedback.
They have a very solid product line. But, it seems like a shove it down your throat culture. It’s an 8-5. No work from home. Although, it does seem like they have solid training and upward mobility if you work for it.
