I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Toast Inc in Jan 2022
Interview
Interview 1 is a short basic interview with a recruiter. Recruiters throughout the process were incredibly communicative and available for any questions I had. Recruiter asked me to prepare info on the Toast Go to present for the next interview. Only remark I have here is that the recruiter told me to put together a general “overview” of the Toast Go that would last 2-3 min, and like an u interrupted voicemail. This was very confusing to me. What they actually want is an elevator pitch. I was given several articles to help prepare along with info on “the challenger” sales method.
Interview 2 is ~45 min with a hiring manager. More in depth questions, behavioral type. “Name a time when you…”, “if a prospect says this to you, what would you say?” Etc. We went over my Toast Go pitch and he gave me feedback. I used this feedback and my revised Toast Go pitch for my next interview. I was also asking to put together a restaurant analysis and go to market strategy.
Interview 3 ~1 hr with another manager. Went over Toast Go pitch and present go to market strategy/restaurant analysis PowerPoint presentation. More behavioral interview questions. I took the feedback for my Toast Go again and presentation, implemented it and revised for next interview.
Interview 4 ~1 hr regional VP of sales. Went over Toast Go pitch and briefly discussed my PowerPoint. Mainly more interview questions.
The whole interview process is incredibly in depth. I spent all weekend on my PP presentation and several hours studying the Toast Go. They want to make sure you understand how much homework the job will entail, that you are an independent person who can do the work, and that you are coachable and will implement feedback.
Overall, it was worth it since I did get the job but it was a lot of work to prepare for in each step of the interview process. I definitely benefitted from my research though too and learned a lot along the way.
The interview process consisted of four rounds: a recruiter screen, a hiring manager interview, a mock sales exercise, and a final interview. Overall, the process was well organized and professional.
I invested a significant amount of time preparing because this was a role I genuinely wanted. Unfortunately, I was not selected to move forward to the third round. Based on my experience, I believe my limited direct sales background was the primary factor, although the feedback process was respectful and transparent throughout.
Interview questions [3]
Question 1
Describe how the quota was set up from your last job, and at what percentage you hit your quota?
I did an initial phone screen for an AE role. The recruiter showed up a few minutes late but I didn't think much of it. We had a nice conversation and they mentioned they'd like to move me forward. I didn't hear anything for a week or so when they reached out saying they had been swamped and would schedule me shortly. They reached out a 2nd time saying the internal schedule was busy but they'd get something on the calendar soon. Then I received an auto rejection. Not a great experience, it just made the company look extremely unorganized.
First I do appreciate the fact that they got back to me and gave me a “no” instead of ghosting, but the compliments will end there.
The first round with the recruiter was fantastic. She said I sounded like a great fit and was excited to pass me to the next round. Fast forward to that next round and I could tell right away the sales manager had zero interest in talking to me. The most monotone voice, didn’t show interest in my prior experience, asked some questions that i didn’t think were relevant. She definitely was just there to check the box. Not long after I got the rejection email.
understand it’s part of the game but i followed all the interview prep provided to me and it seemed like no matter what I wasn’t moving past that second round.