Zendesk · Primly Community

Went through the Zendesk AE loop last month. Here's my breakdown.

remote_swe_42 · 4 replies

Applied for a mid-market AE role, SF-based. Here's how it went start to finish.

Round 1: Recruiter screen, 30 min. Standard stuff: territory experience, current quota attainment, why Zendesk. She was sharp and direct, no fluff. Asked me to come with a deal I'd closed recently.

Round 2: Hiring manager call. 45 minutes, half of which was a discovery role-play. They gave me a fictional prospect (a retail company that had outgrown Zendesk's competitor) and let me run a demo. The bar wasn't polish, it was whether I listen before pitching.

Round 3: Virtual panel with 4 people. One was a product specialist, one was a CSM, one was a peer AE, one was an SDR manager. Each 30-minute block. The CSM one is where most candidates apparently struggle, because you have to show you understand post-sale dynamics and won't overpromise.

Offer came 8 days after the panel. The base was solid, OTE was $240k for the territory. RSUs were lighter than I expected given they're public.

One thing that surprised me: they really care about Zendesk product knowledge. Not memorizing features, but understanding the support workflow from a CX director's perspective. Know your buyer.

4 replies

sdr_sky

This is exactly what I needed. Do you know if they run a similar role-play for SDR interviews, or is that more AE-specific?

ae_andre

SDR interviews definitely have a cold call simulation, at least from what I heard from the SDR manager in my loop. He mentioned they test it early. Shorter and lower stakes than the AE discovery scenario, but same idea. They want to hear how you handle a no.

tired_recruiter

$240k OTE at a public company mid-market is actually solid. Don't sleep on the stability angle. Startups paying more in OTE also have a higher chance of your territory getting restructured 6 months in.

marketer_mei

The CSM round tripping people up tracks. I interviewed at a similar CX software company and the CSM who joined my panel was clearly testing whether I'd cannibalize their relationships. Frame yourself as their ally before, during, and after the sale.