I interviewed for an SDR role and left with SERIOUS concerns about the hiring culture.
The SDR team appeared to be overwhelmingly white based on what I could see publicly and through networking. I coffee chatted with multiple current SDRs before the interview, and nearly everyone I found was white. As a non-white candidate, it was honestly difficult not to notice the lack of representation. After going through the process and being rejected without meaningful feedback, I could not help but wonder whether unconscious bias played a role.
The interview experience itself also did not feel respectful. The recruiter was late, seemed dismissive, and created a tone that felt unnecessarily cold and condescending. This was especially frustrating because people currently in the role had told me the interview was supposed to be simple and that candidates were not expected to know everything.
I am not saying every rejection is discrimination, but when a team appears extremely homogeneous and the interview process feels dismissive and opaque, it raises real questions. Oracle should take a much closer look at whether its SDR hiring process is truly inclusive, transparent, and fair to candidates from underrepresented backgrounds.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
In the final round, there was both a technical interview and a mock call. The technical round was surprisingly intense. They asked me at least 20 niche and highly detailed questions back-to-back with almost no pause, and it felt like they expected me to already perform like a perfect SDR.
What made the experience more frustrating was that it was completely different from what current SDRs had told me during coffee chats. They described the interview as straightforward and said candidates were not expected to know everything upfront. My actual interview felt much harsher and much less supportive. Given the lack of diversity I observed on the SDR team, the difference between what I was told and what I experienced raised serious concerns for me about fairness and consistency in the process.
I applied online. I interviewed at Oracle (Burlington, MA)
Interview
Very straight forward process, got reached out within a couple days of applying to schedule a screening interview and from there had the initial interview which is just a zoom call
One phone screen and two interviews with Sales Managers. Interview process was very laid back and straight forward. One of the two interviews with the sales managers is a role call that does not take more than 1-2 minuets.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time you faced rejection and how did you handel it?
pre-screening call with a recruiter, asked about previous experiences and some star questions, gave feedback at the end of the interview which was nice. Total interview took about 25 minutes and found out if I was moving on or not during the call.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time that you had to battle through adversity and what obstacles did you over come?
