Rejected by recruiter for SDR position before any interview, despite having referral and track record. My inner-salesman is telling me to ignore the rejection and start reaching out to Sales Managers directly.


So, I got a referral for a SDR job that I have no doubt that I’m qualified for. My friend referred me, who is on the team currently and always exceeds quota. The process went like this

-submit resume / cover letter through an online portal (supposedly linked to the referring person)

-get message from recruiter to fill out “personality test”

-100+ question test of all kinds of nonsense, look at my results and it seems like I got all the “salesperson” traits according to the test

-my friend said “Don’t worry, I’ve never heard of anybody getting rejected from one of those! They’re just for weeding out people who could never do sales”

-get email from recruiter today “Despite your great experience…….blah blah….we’ve decided to move forward with other candidates”

Not only am I embarrassed that I got rejected even with a referral, but also that I didn’t even get an interview? Because of a “personality test” that supposedly everyone passes.

Anyways, as a sales person, I’m not ready to accept defeat just yet. In my experience, recruiters don’t know an SDR from an STD… So, do you think it’s worth it to reach out to some sales managers for the company on LinkedIn? Should I just bite the bullet and tell my friend I got rejected, but thanks anyways?

Thanks guys🙏
🧠 Advice
👥 Hiring
🤝 Interviewing/Offer
14
SaaSam
Politicker
10
Account Executive
I'd move on. No way in hell I'd want to spend 5 minutes at a company that would reject me over something as stupid as a personality test.

CuriousFox
WR Officer
4
🦊
Move on to the next company. Do you want to work for someone like that?
tazman2
Opinionated
1
Investment Sales Associate
It’s a really good company with great benefits, and I know that all the reps hit their quota because the product sells itself. But maybe you’re right

CRAG112
Valued Contributor
0
Account Executive
I applied for a job and got rejected.

at the exact same time I was reaching out direct to the head of recruiting and she interviews me.

fyi. The interview and it’s scheduling occurred after the auto reject email.
Pachacuti
Politicker
3
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Yes, reach out to the HM directly. It’s probably what you should have done to begin with.
Updmamt
Opinionated
1
Business Development
Personality test sucks because the world we are living changes every day, and we do change too. While those test always present the outdated s**t. I feel you bro!

Regarding what to do next, can your friend talk to the hiring manager and help you out?
If you got rejected by recruiters, it may be hard to get another shot quickly as this may create tensions between recruiters and hiring managers.

And probably it was the hiring manager idea to have this personality test as part of the process. And if this is the case, it’s not worth the effort and start looking somewhere else.
TheIncarceration
Politicker
1
SDR Manager
I wouldn't want to work for a company that judges candidates over a shitty personality test
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
1
Officer of ♥️
Lol yeah of course
SalesMama
Executive
1
Senior Account Executive
I’ve found, as you mention, that HR for organizations is completely separate and unrelated to experience once you’re in the door.. as @Pachacuti says, I’d connect with the hiring manager if you can.
SADNESSLieutenant
Politicker
0
Officer of ♥️
Follow my posts
Justatitle
Big Shot
0
Account Executive
Probably move on. Aptitude tests are a joke
SirCloseAlot23
Politicker
0
Business Development
Let it go
NotCreativeEnough
Big Shot
0
Professional Day Ruiner
requiring you to take a 100 question personality test at all was the first red flag. Makes it pretty obvious the recruiter is clueless and has no idea what they're doing. 

Reach out to the hiring manager directly. have your friend let the manager know he put you in as a referral. That's what I always do with referrals and in those cases he just has the recruiter basically tell them about the job high level, then schedule an interview with him instead of the recruiter actually doing any vetting beforehand like they normally would. 
CRAG112
Valued Contributor
0
Account Executive
Personality tests tend to be a major red flag.

psychology in a box. It’s false. All those tests are just copied of one another anyways. They just produce different written results to differentiate.
CRAG112
Valued Contributor
0
Account Executive
Forgot to add one thing.

Finding a champion is a key thing in sales. Just because you got told to F off by one doesn’t mean anything

so yeah. Call the hiring manager direct.