Initial contact was via a recruiter who submitted my application. First step was with a call with internal Talent Acquisition, not a particularly stressful call, i'm assuming this is to make sure I'm human, can hold a conversation and understand sales. The second stage was a face to face with a Snr Area Manager. This is where things get more interesting, Gartner are looking for key traits, Drive, Intellect, Sales Acumen and Executive Presence. They ask a lot of behavioural, or STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) questions. What drives you is a point they will continue to ask you about, have a serious think about this if you get to this stage - being financially motivated won't cut it, they want you to go deeper. ( I with this for a while). Executive Presence, can you hold a conversation, no ums or errs. Be confident with your answers. Intellect…..enough said as with Sales Acumen. The next round for me was another interview with a different Area Manager. Again, a whole range of questions, always give an example, making statements here won't do, constantly back up what you say. My 3rd round was another call with the Snr Area Manager, they had an issue with a few things, some negative feedback from previous interview. This was to test my resolve, how did I handle that type of feedback. There was also a question around my drive (i said i struggled). At the end of the call I asked what I could do to try and turn things around in my favour. I was asked to submit a follow-up plan based on the feedback. The next round was the Panel Interview (apparently only 1 in 10 get through this). It was a mock call based on a scenario they designed, the panel being made up of a VP plus others. This is designed to test your sales acumen and executive presence I don't believe I represented myself well here. Be sure to question, question question. Unfortunately I wasn't offered a role, which is a shame, and my own doing. I will say that whilst a bit stressful at times, I did enjoy the process, I'm sure I can take that knowledge into other interviews. My advice, reach out to anyone in your network who is or has worked at Gartner, get as much info as possible, they want you to go above and beyond reading their website. They hire high calibre people, so display high calibre salesmanship. Always ask questions, be curious And finally, good luck.

The interview process was composed of five steps. 4 steps were interviews on the phone with recruiters, steps number 3 and 4 including a little sales role-play. The final step was in person in the Barcelona office with the recruiter that was there since the beginning of the process, a manager and the VP of sales. Overall, the process was very smooth and I was very well accompanied receiving constructive feedback (very helpful!) from the recruiter between each step. They really want you to do well and give you all the info you need to succeed. Special thanks to Roberta !