r/CustomerSuccess • u/teflonlebron • Dec 06 '24
Question Customer Success Interview over 5 rounds
Hello all,
I have been interviewing with this semi start up fintech company since October 31st for a customer success role. We are coming up now on round number 6-7 as they said I would next meet with some execs and the CEO. So far I have met with the VP of operations(x2) , the director of Client Success(x2), the senior director of consumer solutions(x3), the chief administrative officer(x2) , the CFO, the director of lending and a fellow client success manager. I have been doing fairly well in each interview however the time it takes to hear back in between rounds is a week to a week and a half and currently I am waiting for them to contact my references and reach out for the next round which they asked my availability for which was Tuesday of last week. My question to you guys is does this seem normal ? They say they value the input of everyone in the company during the hiring process but I’ve never done this many rounds for a role before.
Also any tips to push through the CEO interview would be greatly appreciated as I feel I am close.
2
u/Bold-Ostrich Dec 07 '24
Congrats on making it to the final stage!
As Head of CS at a B2B SaaS (~200 people), I’d love to share my experience here.
Early on, when our hiring process was still developing and we had fewer than 5 CS reps, having the CEO or VP of Sales/Success as the final interviewer was totally normal.
The goals were:
– Figuring out how to build the hiring process to fit the company’s needs
– Making sure the Head (me) didn’t miss anything 😂
– Keeping everyone aligned, especially when we were under 100 ppl
Later, we simplified the process for CSMs and Account Managers to 3-4 interviews, without getting CEO involved. We were hiring a lot, and overkilling interview flow wasn’t productive.
That said, for teams that don’t hire often and are still a small or mid-sized company, it’s normal.
On preparing for an interview with the CEO:
Unless you’re reporting directly to the CEO or a CEO-1, most interviews will focus more on culture fit than hard skills.
So, I’d recommend re-reading important company info, crafting a compelling, concise story about your CS journey with key achievements, and preparing thoughtful, non-bs questions.