Easy, the recruiter was great, but the new hiring manager a nightmare micromanaging narcissist who thinks he's gods gift to pre IPO companies. This person, who has been at the company less than 6 months, talks down to you, makes you feel like you aren't capable of being trusted to work on your own. I had asked this hiring manager what do the top reps do that make them successful, his response "They bring me in early to help close the deal". I have over 12 years of experience in sales at early start ups, this hiring manager focused only on my last 12 months, where I was the top performing rep at a struggling company. I conveyed some challenges the company as a whole was having. Then I asked the hiring manager about top attributes he likes to see in salespeople, his response "my reps don't make excuses". The most shocking part of the interview was at the end. As a seller in an interview its common to test close and weed out any objections, this has been a well received tactic I've used in 12 years of sales experience and met 100% of the time with respect and appreciation. So I test close this hiring manager out of habit. Asked if he had any concerns about moving me forward, he shared an objection, I replied with 3 solution examples in my background and gave a test close if he had any other concerns, and if not would he recommend that I move forward. The Hiring managers response was shocking, first he chuckled and said "while I understand you are being direct, I do not appreciate it at all." To which I asked why, he replied "I've been transparent with you on this call and as some one who would be your manager I don't appreciate what you are doing here." Now, key point, I asked earlier in the call who the manager for this role would be. The manager responded in a very coy and evasive way claiming he had a full head count, 9 on his team and wasn't sure if they would be adding or if I would be reporting to some one else. But at the end he made it was clear he was the manager for this role - why do you need to lie or be coy in an interview? As a Navy veteran with leadership experience, I recommend this company deploy servant leadership styles to build trust, and confidence amongst your team. Be humble and partner with your employees, they will be intrinsically motivated to overachieve the targets you set. One of the top 5 attributes of being successful in sales, is having the right manager who supports you and can help develop your skillset, as well as your political weight in the org. this hiring manager was the worst person a seller could have in this regard.
