Dover recommends tailoring your interview plan to each specific role. For CSM roles, you can tailor your Interview Plan in Dover using the suggested interview plan, interview questions, scheduling templates, and feedback forms.

📆 Interview Plan

First Interview ⏰ 30 mins

Dover Interviewer or Recruiter Screen

Second Interview - Hiring Manager Interview ⏰ 30 mins

Deep dive on requisite skills

Onsite ⏰ 2 hrs 30 mins

Intro/Prep - ⏰ 15mins
1. Overview of what the day will look like
2. Interviewer: Recruiter / Head of Talent
Behavioral 1 - ⏰ 30mins
1. Review cultural fit questions
2. Interviewer: Hiring Manager / Leadership in Business Area
Role Play - ⏰ 30mins
1. Role play with customer
2. Interviewer: Full time Employee from Business Area
Social Interview - ⏰ 30mins
1. Casual non-evaluative opportunity for candidate to meet people from other Business Areas
2. Interviewers: 2 Full time Employees from different Business Areas
Behavioral 2 - ⏰ 30mins
1. Review cultural fit questions
2. Interviewers: Other Hiring Manager / Leadership in Business Area
Wrap-Up - ⏰ 15mins
1. Close out the day with the candidate, sell company
2. Interviewers: Chief of Staff / C-Suite / Founder / Executive

👩‍💻 Case Study

Customer Success Case Study Preparation

Preparation Instructions for the Candidate:

Research the company's target customer base, industry, competitors, and the unique challenges customers face in this industry.
Review case studies and success stories from the company's existing customers. Analyze how the company's products or services have helped customers achieve their goals and overcome challenges.
Familiarize yourself with customer success metrics and KPIs commonly used in the industry.
Develop a strong understanding of the customer success lifecycle, from onboarding to ongoing support and renewal.
Prepare to discuss your past experiences in customer success, highlighting specific examples where you successfully managed and retained key accounts.

Remember to tailor these assessments to your startup's specific needs and objectives. Additionally, consider providing candidates with a reasonable timeframe (4-7 days typically) to complete the tasks and allow them to ask questions if needed.

Customer Success Interview Exercise

You will be presented with a customer success case study during the onsite interview. You will have a designated amount of time to review the case study and formulate your approach.

The exercise will involve:

Analyzing the customer's current situation, goals, and challenges based on the provided case study.
Developing a customer success strategy and action plan to address the identified needs and maximize the customer's success.
Identifying potential risks or obstacles that may impact the customer's success and devising contingency plans.
Presenting your strategy and action plan to the interviewers, explaining your thought process and rationale.
Answering questions from the interviewers about your approach and demonstrating your expertise in customer success.

Remember to showcase your analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to apply customer success principles in a real-world scenario.

✉️ Scheduling Email Templates

The following are examples of scheduling emails for each interview round.

First Interview

Scheduling Email A (Interview with person sending outreach)

Subject: Let's Chat! Interview Invitation for Customer Success Role

Hi {{first_name}},

I hope this message finds you well. We're excited about your interest in the Customer Success role at {{company_name}}, and we'd love to get to know you better!

We'd like to invite you for an initial screening interview with our team to discuss your qualifications and explore if this might be a great fit.

To make scheduling easier, could you please find a time here: {{scheduling_link}}

Thanks,

Scheduling Email B (Interview with person who did not send outreach)

Subject: Let's Chat! Interview Invitation for Customer Success Role

Hi {{first_name}},

Great to hear from you! We’d love to schedule a call with a member of our recruiting team to learn further about your experience and share further information on this opportunity.

To make scheduling easier, could you please find a time here: {{scheduling_link}}

Thanks,

Rejection

Subject: Update from {{company_name}}

Hi {{first_name}},

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us about the {{job_title}} position. Your background is impressive, and we really enjoyed speaking with you. Unfortunately, at this time we feel it's not the right fit.

We appreciate the time you took to learn more about {{client_name}} and hope you don't mind if we reach back out in the future.

Best,

Second Interview

Scheduling

Subject: Next Step: Second Interview Invitation for Customer Success Role

Hi {{first_name}},

Great news! You've made it to the next stage of our hiring process. We're impressed with your qualifications and would love to continue getting to know you.

You'll speak with the hiring manager for the second interview and dive deeper into your experience and qualifications. It's a chance for us to connect on a more personal level. No preparation is required for this call.

Here's {{interviewer_first_name}}'s calendar to find a time: {{scheduling_link}}.

Hope the two of you find a chance to connect soon!

Rejection

Subject: Update from {{company_name}}

Hi {{first_name}},

Thanks for taking the time to learn about the {{job_title}} role at {{client_name}}. Our team enjoyed speaking with you, but ultimately we felt that it wasn't a fit at this time.

I hope you don't mind if we keep your information on file and reach out to you in the future! Best of luck in your search.

Thanks,

Onsite

Scheduling

Subject: Onsite Interview Invitation for Customer Success Role

Hi {{first_name}},

We're thrilled to share that you've successfully moved on to the final stage of our hiring process.

As part of this stage, we'd like to invite you for an onsite interview, where you'll have a chance to engage in a role-play exercise to showcase your abilities and to meet with team members from across the company. It's an excellent opportunity for you to demonstrate your customer success expertise and assess the cultural fit.

Here’s what you can expect:

Prep Session with < Interviewer Name> (Recruiter/HoT) - 15mins
Behavioral Interview with < Interviewer Name> (Hiring Manager)- 30mins
Role Play with <Interviewer Name> - 30mins
Casual Chat with < Interviewer Name> and <Interviewer Name> -30mins - Casual non-evaluative opportunity to learn more about the company’s culture - 2 FTE from other BAs
Behavioral Interview with <Interviewer Name> (Other HM/Leadership in BA) - 30mins
Close out the day with < Interview Name> ( CoS/C-Suite)

Preparation Instructions:

Research our target customer base, industry, competitors, and the unique challenges customers face in this industry. [insert link]
Review case studies [insert link] and success stories from the company's existing customers. Analyze how the company's products or services have helped customers achieve their goals and overcome challenges.
Familiarize yourself with customer success metrics and KPIs commonly used in the industry.
Develop a strong understanding of the customer success lifecycle, from onboarding to ongoing support and renewal.
Prepare to discuss your past experiences in customer success, highlighting specific examples where you successfully managed and retained key accounts.

Onsite Interview Exercise: You will be presented with a customer success case study during the onsite interview. You will have a designated amount of time to review the case study and formulate your approach.

The exercise will involve:

Analyzing the customer's current situation, goals, and challenges based on the provided case study.
Developing a customer success strategy and action plan to address the identified needs and maximize the customer's success.
Identifying potential risks or obstacles that may impact the customer's success and devising contingency plans.
Presenting your strategy and action plan to the interviewers, explaining your thought process and rationale.
Answering questions from the interviewers about your approach and demonstrating your expertise in customer success. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further information.

Thanks,

Rejection

Hi {{first_name}},

Thank you for meeting the team for our {{job_title}} role. We really appreciate you taking the time to be part of our interview process over the last few weeks.

At this point, we will not be able to move forward with your candidacy. We'll keep your information on file and hope we can reconnect in the future.

Regards,

📓 Feedback Forms / Evaluation criteria

Interview rubrics / feedback form criteria can be an effective tool to assess candidates consistently and objectively during the interview process across various interviewers. Here's an example of a rubric for evaluating candidates for a customer success role.

Evaluation

Initial Call

Communication Skills: Clear and effective communication, active listening, and ability to articulate ideas.
Customer Orientation: Understanding of customer needs and ability to empathize with their challenges.
Experience and Knowledge: Relevant experience in customer success, familiarity with customer success best practices, and understanding of the industry.
Problem-Solving Skills: Ability to analyze situations, identify potential solutions, and think critically.

Interviewer picks one of the above and adds comments based on their conversation with the candidate,

Hiring Manager Interview

Leadership Skills: Ability to take ownership, demonstrate initiative, and drive customer success initiatives.
Relationship Building: Skills in building and maintaining strong relationships with customers.
Strategic Thinking: Ability to develop and execute long-term customer success strategies.
Accountability: Demonstrating responsibility for customer outcomes and meeting customer success metrics.
Adaptability: Agility in responding to changing customer needs and evolving business priorities.

Interviewer picks one of the above and adds comments based on their conversation with the candidate.

Onsite Interview with Role Play

Rapport Building: Establishing a positive connection with the "customer" through effective communication and relationship-building skills.
Needs Identification: Demonstrating understanding and identifying the customer's goals, challenges, and pain points.
Solution Presentation: Clearly articulating the value proposition of the company's products or services and addressing customer objections or concerns.
Active Listening: Actively listening to the "customer," asking relevant questions, and providing thoughtful responses.
Overall Performance: Assessing the candidate's performance across the exercise, including their ability to handle the scenario and deliver a customer-centric experience.

Interviewer picks one of the above and adds comments based on their conversation with the candidate

Culture Fit (part of Onsite)

Informal cross-functional discussions

Cultural Fit: Alignment with the company's values, mission, and customer-centric approach.
Relationship Building: Skills in building and maintaining strong relationships.

Please note that this is just a sample rubric, and you can modify it to align with your specific company's needs and requirements. The rubric should reflect the key skills, competencies, and qualities you are looking for in a customer success candidate at each interview stage.