I was being considered for three different positions by two different recruiters. I went through multiple rounds, including discussions with VPs and over six phone interviews, some of which were conducted via Skype. The final interview was in-person at the Chicago office. It involved a case study presentation followed by a team interview with three individuals.

I was required to prepare an in-depth solution addressing numerous requirements and to articulate which Salesforce (SFDC) solution would be most appropriate, including its benefits and rationale. Although I was present in person, the two key individuals conducting the interview (a VP and a director) joined via phone.

After spending two weeks preparing a cohesive deck with the help of friends within Salesforce, within the first minute, the interviewers, who were role-playing as the CIO and related client positions, began throwing out antagonistic questions to destabilize me. I immediately recognized this as their strategy to assess how I would handle pressure.

I addressed each of their questions as they arose. At one point, I recommended they hold a few questions until I reached that section of my presentation. This did not go over well, and they immediately dismissed me as being unable to handle interactions with C-level clients. (While I have extensive experience in such situations, their scenario felt unrealistic).

They rudely ended the call. The one person remaining in the room told me, "Don't worry about it. We all get put through that process."

The group interview, conducted with individuals in similar roles, went well and included thoughtful questions.

In my post-mortem with the recruiter, I explained what happened. He expressed surprise and concern that the interviewers had contradicted his earlier guidance to me.

Two days later, I received an email stating they were moving forward with other candidates. I informed my two close friends on the inside, and they were not surprised. They shared their own difficult hiring experiences, including instances of rudeness, multiple interview cycles spanning up to two years, and even shouting matches.

I had high hopes for a position at Salesforce. However, after this experience, I am hesitant to work for a company that appears so disjointed and employs individuals who are, frankly, arrogant and unprofessional. I will likely continue working with the integrators/consultants that Salesforce themselves were critical of during the interview process.

No single question, but rather rapid-fire, concurrent questions overlapping, which did not afford the opportunity to answer them as part of their role-playing case study presentation process.