Team members were nice to chat to. Answered my questions and offered to meet in person. The more I found out about the role, via glassdoor and via calls, the less I realised it matched my interests.
Great interview process, sadly this just wasn't the perfect fit for myself. However, a great place to work it seems. I would definitely recommend if you're looking for a new place.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about your background in marketing
How do you stay updated with marketing trends?
Describe a successful marketing campaign you worked on
What metrics do you use to measure campaign success?
How do you handle a campaign that isn’t performing well?
What marketing tools/software are you familiar with?
How would you market our product/service?
I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Sage in Aug 2017
Interview
Contacted by recruiter, who had some initial difficulty in scheduling and confirming non -UK times. 3 telephone interviews, 3 in person interviews. Personality and IQ test.
Sage uses HR contacts out of the UK, so you will recieve an OOO notification from email due to time zones. Scheduling and responsiveness (despite time commitments to get back to you) were less than ideal for a talent search. One person at Sage even sent me the presentation deck for another candidate (it was a desperate PPT on why to give her the job, with the last page showing the picture of the candidate + the hiring manger....!) While very impressed by 4 of the 5 interviewers, the 5th was awful. He was sexist, rude, and was not interested at all in my skill set, but focused on his 'ownership' in the organization. It was not explained how he would interface with this position, but he made it clear how 'powerful' his role was (yes, he actually said that). The other team members were wonderful- bright, articulate, committed, and open to advancing marketing. After 3 months, and hours of time on my part, I followed up only to be told the position was 'relocated to London.' I was disappointed, but look at this as a positive. I will not have to work with the 'powerful' man! It was an interview full of #mansplaining. I've had enough bad bosses in my career to recognize them. Avoid.
Additionally, there is a lot of organizational change happening. They are transforming the company (which sounds great on paper), but there are 5 or 6 different "bosses" at SVP levels... this complexity of 'ownership' will lead to hoarding of power and internal strife. My advice, wait until they kick out the old guard clinging to the past and then join- on the upswing. There are still layoffs and they want passionate people. So, if you have skills, can work in a matrix, and have passion - Sage could be a great place for you.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a successful campaign you ran? What drove its success? How was your copany organized (who ran EMEA with how many direct reports)? What are the differences in SMB and large enterprise marketing? What is your experience in the channel? How would you prioritize at Sage? What kind of social media do you believe markets the best? How do you manage MDF? What are some channel best practices you have used?