I just applied via a job board, and the recruiter contacted me pretty quickly. Learnt later that my education from top schools caught her eye. She was extremely honest about salary expectations, work culture, what they can and cannot do for me.
The next step was a call with the hiring manager. Had an hour long conversation with him, and found him to be very detailed, thoughtful and easy to talk to. We discussed my background and projects in some detail, and ended up making a great connection as he had also moved from a big company for the sames reasons I articulated.
Following that, the recruiter reached out and invited me for a half day of interviews at the office in Sausalito. I interviewed with the following people:
- CTO and SVP Engg
- Hiring manager (Head of B2B product)
- SVP of Product
- SVP of B2B (GM)
- Head of Client Services team
It was a pretty long day (11am - 4pm), as each interview went nearly an hour. Each interviewer focused on different skill sets. The CTO focused on some basic technical skills, and my experience working with engineering. With the hiring manager, we focused on some PM skills, experience with GTM and some business-related questions. SVP of Product discussed a few product ideas. SVP B2B interview was pretty casual, but I could tell he was trying to gauge how sales and client-focused I am and if I had the range of experiences required of this role. There were questions on how I solved certain problems. The Client Services team lead went through my resume and a few key projects, and a few situational questions.
Overall, I thought it was a comprehensive interview but not nerve-wracking. At the end of the day, the hiring manager took me to the cafeteria and we had a very open and honest conversation. He asked for feedback on the interview, what I really wanted to do, challenges at Glassdoor and difficulty filling in this position, etc. That really was the clincher for me, as other interview experiences felt a bit impersonal. I could really see myself working for/with him.
The day after the interview, I left for a month-long vacation outside the country. I'd mentioned that I was waiting to hear from a couple other companies. The offer came within a week, in a very nicely worded email from the hiring manager. He also called me on the phone, and explained my role and how happy they were to find me. I took some time to think over it. Once I had almost made my mind, I negotiated a bit on the salary, but they wouldn't budge on the stock option grant. I finally made up my mind and took the offer. They were very patient with me through the process as I was not always reachable due to travel.
Overall, it was a very smooth and quick process. I really liked everyone I met along the way, especially the hiring manager. Also loved the office (beautiful location by the bay, free gym, great cafeteria with catered lunch, etc.).