I applied in-person. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Stratoscale (Toronto, ON) in Mar 2019
Interview
I applied through agency cleared first round of interview with VP of support and then they asked me to come at their office for second round which was taken by manager and Director, both asked me general questions. In fact, I was able to give correct answer of all technical questions, which were very basic. Though next day Recruiter called me back with negative feedback, that was strange.
Both rounds were cancelled at first go, they cancelled before 5 hours of my interview. Compnay environment and people were nice but hiring process seems very awkward!!!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is command to see process in Linux?
Which editor is used to edit file?
Which port is for tcp?
What is command to see IP address?
What is VPC peering? Security group? Nacls?
What is trunk port?
What is access port?
How to see server health, storage etc?
Describe situation where you had tough time with client?
Where do you see your self in next 5 years?
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Stratoscale (Herzliya) in Jul 2018
Interview
After a short phone chat where i described my work exprience i was called for an interview on company site in hertzelia. It was an hour and a half interview where i was asked about my exprience and was also asked two technical questions. later i had a small chat with the Group manager.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
implement a stack that also soppurt finding the min in o(1) time.
given a list of integers lists (like [[1,2,3], [4,5,6], [7,8,9]]) return all of the possible lists that holds an element from each list? what is the time complexcity?
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Stratoscale
Interview
I applied through a recruiter. It took about a day to set up the phone interview. The recruiter told me Stratoscale is super-successful; I was skeptical because I have played in this space for years & I have never heard of this company from end-users or reseller partners.
First, about what I bring to the table. I have a multi-decade career of successfully selling pre-IPO storage technologies & I have shoebox full of W-2 to verify it.
The recruiter scheduled a phone interview with a high-ranking person at the company. Stratoscale picked the time & the recruiter informed me I needed to modify my schedule for him (remember I’m not standing on the unemployment line - but the recruiter told me I will not regret it).
The person called me 20 minutes late (second red flag - good salespeople are never late). He starts off by saying he does not want to discuss what I’m doing now, rather he wants to start in the beginning; specifically around the jobs I had in college. That’s an excellent question - if I’m a recent graduate. However, I just don’t remember too much about where I bagged groceries 30 years ago. BTW - My college jobs are not on my resume.
We spoke for 11 minutes about college jobs and my first “real job” decades ago. Then he abruptly ended the phone call.
I am grateful I did not travel to meet this person otherwise I would be upset for wasting my time. The most valuable asset any salesperson has is time (we only have <40hr in a week). I write this because this so funny/stupid/bizarre, as a consolation prize it makes an amazing cocktail hour story.
Think about it. You’re a small software company. Everyday is a battle. You must find qualified prospects, push them through the funnel & keep the VCs content. Finding qualified, experienced, economically successful field sales people is not easy and THEN you need to convince them to join your team.
The person who is accountable for revenue finds a qualified prospect, calls in 20 minutes late to his own appointment & wants to discuss college jobs not relevant to finding qualified prospects. The Stratoscale person has no interest in discussing my success in the storage market with pre-IPO companies over the last few decades. Maybe I would have been a good fit OR maybe not - we'll never know. All the Stratoscale person wanted to discuss is bagging groceries 30 years ago. I do not understand this individual’s decision making process & fortunately I don’t need to.
In sales, nothing else matters other than the numbers. I have no idea if Stratoscale will become a diamond or a lump of coal. Based on the 31 minutes I wasted with the person accountable for revenue - I’m confident I’m in a significantly better place.