I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Sonar (Austin, TX) in Mar 2018
Interview
Soon after I sent in my resume, SonarSource reached out to schedule an interview. Most companies start the hiring process with a phone call from someone in HR that typically knows little about the real aspects of the role. That first call is pretty much just designed to screen out applicants and make sure you have a pulse. However, as I was soon to discover, that's not the SonarSource way.
SonarSource is headquartered in Geneva and I'm in Austin, TX. So, flying candidates to Switzerland for in-person interviews would be pretty expensive, but they did the next best thing - video conferences. My first interview was a video call with two folks on the marketing team - not an HR screener. The interview was informal, but focused. We covered several relevant topics and I was given ample time to answer questions. The result was that we covered a lot of ground and I was able to get a better understanding of the team dynamic. My second interview was with the People & Culture Gardener and we talked about cultural fit - both for me and for SonarSource. SonarSource has a strong, product-first culture and they’re proud of it and seet it as a key recipe for continued growth. Ok, next on the interview path was a video call with the CEO. We talked about marketing open source products in conjunction with commercial versions. We talked about working in a company where you're expected to first listen then ask questions, take initiative and challenge the status quo as appropriate.
This is a company that strongly believes in cultural fit and a team-oriented approach. This is a company invested in and dedicated to long term success and so they invest significant time and resources in their hiring process. They prepared for the interviews and didn't waste time and effort asking overlapping questions. I've worked for enough companies and I've been through enough interviews to know this is the exception and not the rule. Most companies hire for a warm body that can fill a specific role with the objective that the company gets an immediate bang for its buck.
SonarSource hires for cultural fit not just a skillset. After my first interview with the marketing team, I provided them with several examples of past work effort. This allowed them to gauge my skillset and experience and allowed follow on interviews to focus on fit with the company.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Could I work in a flat org organized around functional teams. The team serves as your main day-day working environment and drives most decision making.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Sonar (Austin, TX) in Feb 2023
Interview
1) I had an initial screening call with an outside recruiter. 2) I was then passed to a company recruiter who shared insights on the company, role, and opportunity. 3) I spoke with the hiring manager to determine skill set and experience fit. 4) Next was a use case presentation to the CMO and others. Unfortunately, I had to drop out at this stage due to a change in family circumstances. 5) The following step would have been determination of culture fit – soft skills, approach to work, etc. 60 Lastly, there is a 20-minute interview with CEO.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How have you articulated ROI for a product or solution?
I applied online. I interviewed at Sonar (Austin, TX) in May 2021
Interview
The interview process entailed the following steps:
1. Interview with a PMM based in Switzerland
2. Interview with two team members in Austin, one from the PMM team and one from the DemandGen team
3. Interview with a senior GTM manager and DemandGen team member
**At this point, I ended the interview process, having committed to another job opportunity. If I were to have continued, I understood the next steps would include:
4. Written "challenge"
5. Interview with the People&Culture Team
6. Interview with the CEO
While I didn't complete the interview process, I was very impressed with the SonarSource team! Everyone was very enthusiastic about the company, its culture, and its beloved products. The entire process felt very mindful and engaged. It's clear SonarSource will attract top talent.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why SonarSource?
Career background?
Describe a product launch I helped lead and the steps it entailed.
I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Sonar in Jun 2018
Interview
Applied in June. A week later, I was sent a templated rejection email saying "thanks for the phone interview" but I never had one. Needless to say this was a poor experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Are you legally eligible to work in the United States?
Product Marketing Manager applicants have rated the interview process at Sonar with 2.5 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 75% positive. To compare, the company-average is 33.3% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Product Marketing Manager roles take an average of 16 days to get hired, when considering 4 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Sonar overall takes an average of 33 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Sonar as a Product Marketing Manager according to 4 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 30%
Presentation: 20%
Group panel interview: 10%
Other: 10%
Phone interview: 10%
Skills test: 10%
IQ intelligence test: 10%
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