I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Rippling (Austin, TX) in Mar 2026
Interview
The interview felt quite unstructured and rather awkward. The interviewer barely asked anything beyond requesting a brief explanation of my background. As a result, I ended up taking the lead; essentially steering the conversation and posing most of the questions myself. I was okay with that dynamic, though it was definitely unusual and not what I'd expect from a typical process.
I didn't advance past the first round, but that's perfectly fine. I only took the interview as practice for my upcoming FAANG interviews.
One aspect I was particularly curious about was whether the Glassdoor reviews accurately captured the company culture. From what I could gather by probing during the conversation, the complaints about work-life balance seem spot-on: expectations often include 10–12 hour days, limited time off, and some degree of CEO micromanagement.
Overall, based on my experience, this could be a solid entry-level role for a recent college grad looking to gain experience and use it as a stepping stone to a stronger SaaS company down the line.
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Rippling (Austin, TX) in Jun 2026
Interview
My interview experience was disappointing and felt disorganized.
I had an initial phone screen with a recruiter, and during that call we scheduled the next interview with the hiring manager for the following day. About an hour later, the hiring manager interview was canceled and I received a rejection email.
I understand companies may move forward with other candidates, but scheduling the next step and then canceling it almost immediately without additional context made the process feel messy and unprofessional. I followed up hoping to better understand what changed, but did not receive a response.
Overall, I would have appreciated clearer communication and a more consistent process.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Are you comfortable with the salary for this role?
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Rippling
Interview
Spoke to a recruiter, then hiring manager. Questions were pretty basic for a sales interview - "describe a time when" and performance. During the conversation with the hiring manager, I asked for feedback and the standard "any reservations about moving me forward?" question. HM responded that my answers were good. Got rejected after a couple of days. When I asked for feedback, the recruiter told me the HM didn't like my outfit and my answers were "too direct".
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell me about a time when an internal challenge outside of your control created an issue with a deal and how did you overcome it?
