The Journey: #20 The Interview Upgrade

When I interviewed for my first Customer Success role back in June 2012, after several conversations with various stakeholders, I made it to the final round.

The assignment?

Deliver a QBR to six members of the team.

Here’s the problem:

• I had no CS experience

• I’d never worked in SaaS

• I didn’t know what a QBR even was

I followed directions, asked a few clarifying questions, and gave it my best shot.

But let’s just say…

I didn’t get the job.

LOL.

Luckily, my second CS interview didn’t require a QBR and I landed my first CSM role.

Fast forward:

It's 2013 and I’m now the one doing the hiring in my first CS Leadership role.

And guess what I asked candidates to do early on?

Yup… a QBR.

Because that’s what had been done.

That’s what I thought “real CS interviews” looked like.

But then I paused.

Reflected.

And realized:

The QBR wasn’t telling me what I actually needed to know.

I didn’t want polish. I wanted perspective.

I didn’t want slides. I wanted situational thinking.

I didn’t want a performance. I wanted the person.

So I threw the QBR out the window and built something better.

The New Interview Framework

For ICs (Individual Contributors):

I provide:

• A list of 10 mock customers

• Contextual data on each account (ARR, tenure, usage, sentiment, etc.)

Then I ask the candidate to build a short deck (10 slides or fewer) that answers:

1. Which customers are at risk and why?

2. What would you prioritize in your first 30 days?

3. What data is missing that you’d want to gather?

4. How would you communicate plans, internally and with the customer?

What I’m really evaluating:

• Critical thinking

• Prioritization

• Customer-centric problem solving

• Communication style

For Leaders:

I provide:

• 3 OKRs for the upcoming quarter

• Business context, high-level goals, and limited resource assumptions

Then I ask them to:

• Build a plan (10 slides or fewer)

• Present their approach in a 30-minute session (including Q&A)

What I’m really looking for:

• Strategic thinking

• Operational approach

• Clarity in execution

• How they communicate complex ideas and trade-offs

My goal isn’t to get free consulting work.

It’s to understand how they think.

A resume might show your path.

But these exercises show your process.

And that’s what matters most.

If you're hiring ditch the QBR.

If you're interviewing focus less on the performance, more on your perspective.

This is how we evolve the CS interview.

If you're interested in my exercise, you can check it out here.