Very stressful but also very rewarding; 4 step process that gets increasingly detailed and difficult.
First step is an initial phone “conversation” with a talent sourcer where you essentially discuss your past experiences, why/how you became interested in Gartner, and what role you’re interested in. Very casual, about a half hour, in my opinion quite enjoyable. They’ll get back to you in a couple of days to let you know if you’ll be moving forward.
Second step is technically your first (phone) actual interview where you get to speak with your recruiter for about an hour about your previous work experience in more detail, and why you think you’d be a great fit for Gartner. They’re trying to get a sense of your background as well as your personality. I found this step also enjoyable; I had a fantastic recruiter who was very easy to speak to. By the end of that interview, the recruiter will let you know whether or not you’ll proceed to the next interview, and give you advice about what to discuss, experience to highlight, and what the managers are looking for. STAR format.
Third step is a formal phone interview with two hiring managers. I felt more pressure with this one, because you are speaking with your potential future bosses. About an hour long, lots of BHI questions. Tell them about your background and achievements, goals you met and/or exceeded, new processes you’ve implemented that were successful. STAR format - be concise! Don’t get trapped in long-winded answers or stray off topic. Once again, they’ll let you know at the end if you’re moving forward.
After that, you’ll hear from the recruiting coordinator to set a date and time for your final interview, and information about what the final interview will be like. They will set up an “interview prep” call where you’ll be able to speak with your recruiter again. This is VERY helpful because your recruiter will give you step by step instructions about how to format/what to include in your PowerPoint. They’ll also give you a step by step “walk-through” of sorts regarding the entire final interview process. Ask as many questions as possible to understand what you’ll need to do to wow the panel.
The fourth and final interview is held at the Gartner campus. You get to meet all of the people you’ve been communicating with, get a tour of the campus, meet someone working in the role you’re applying for (ask lots of questions!), give a PowerPoint presentation to a panel about Gartner, the role you’re applying for, your experience, top performances, etc. STUDY, PREPARE, BE CONFIDENT! During the PowerPoint the panel will ask you questions so be ready to handle some curveballs. At the end of the interview you’ll do a short role play in another room, then the recruiter take you back to the panel so that you can ask them questions and get their feedback on things you did/didn’t do well with during your interview. The entire interview lasted a little over 2 hours.
The final stage was extremely stressful for me because the entire process was so long; I felt a lot of pressure after almost 2 months of preparation. But everyone is SO incredibly nice and understanding. They know that you’re nervous, but just be yourself! They tell you that they want to know your personality in order to figure out which team you’d be best suited for (which is really amazing in my opinion).
- Highlight your strongest qualities/top performances (for the PowerPoint, use as many visual aids as possible if you can - things to show/prove times that you were a top performer and exceeded goals - that will impress them a lot)
- Frame your answers in STAR format (be very concise)
- DO YOUR RESEARCH on Gartner/the role you’re applying for (come prepared - study study study and study some more!)
- Make the most of your time with EVERYONE you interact with
- Use professional language - no “like, um” etc
- Engage with the panel - again, these are potentially your future bosses!
- Make eye contact, smile, give thoughtful, concise, confident answers to their questions
ASK FOR FEEDBACK AFTER EVERY STEP - they want to see that you can take their advice and incorporate it throughout the process to shows that you’re coachable and able to constantly improve.
And remember - if you’ve made it this far, you’re obviously doing something right and they’re interested in you. Show them why they should be!