I applied through an employee referral. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Box (New York, NY) in Nov 2016
Interview
I had a really nice screening call with the recruiter but things went downhill from there. It took a while to get a call with the hiring manager, which wasn't a big deal, but they were very insistent that I do a video call via Google hangout. I'm not sure who works in a place where they can do this from the office, I certainly can't, so I did a work from home day to accommodate and do it during lunchtime. They also had my phone number, just in case something went wrong with the hangout.
The hiring manager never joined the hangout. I emailed the HR person who didn't respond until after the interview was set to be over. She apologized and said that the hiring manager was on the hangout (and for some reason didn't try to call me, but ok) and we rescheduled. Again, I worked from home to accommodate this.
The interviewer was a no-show AGAIN. This time I emailed the HR person and she got back to me faster. She said the interviewer was held up on a flight and was available later; when I told her I couldn't do that time because of another call she seemed annoyed with me. At that point, I should have probably just said forget it, but I scheduled another call because I'd heard great things about the company.
This time the manager was a no show on the Google hangout for the first almost 10 minutes, so I almost gave up, then he called me. He gave a very brief and not particularly apologetic apology for the previous problems. Our interview time was shortened, which was ok, but the whole time he seemed to think I was another candidate and kept talking about my experience in a sector I hadn't worked in, and seemed just generally distracted and disinterested.
Never felt like they valued my candidacy or time. I ended the interview feeling like this had all been a big waste of my time and opportunities to work from home. I wish I'd said no thanks before they sent me a form rejection letter nearly 3 weeks after the interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Describe how you used one of your greatest strengths in your job
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Box (Los Angeles, CA) in Mar 2024
Interview
Pretty smooth! Did a phone screen, then an in person screen, then a full interview with 2 senior managers. The full interviews ran through standard product management questions you might find in a guidebook.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
You've been given a pygmy hippo. You can't give it away or sell it. What would you do with the pygmy hippo?
The interview process consisted of 5-6 total meetings with the hiring manager, team leads, and engineers. The process itself was professional and held in a welcoming environment. Most of the focus was on previous experiences and giving examples of how I handled certain types of situations.
Unfortunately after spending hours on this process, I was told that they wouldn't be moving forward with my application because I do not specifically have previous experience as a product manager.
It is obvious from my CV that I haven't worked as a product manager, and I even underlined that fact to the hiring manager during our first talk. At no point was it raised as an issue. Apparently it suddenly became a requirement, at the very end of the process.
Frankly, it's hard to see this interview process as anything but an egregious waste of my time. It also indicates some rather questionable management practices.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Can you give an example of a situation in which you had to give feedback - negative and positive - to a team member?
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Box (Amsterdam) in Nov 2023
Interview
The interview process at Box started with a recruiter screen, where I shared my background, motivations, and overall fit for the role. From there, I moved on to the hiring manager interview, which was meant to go deeper into my experience and how I could contribute to the team’s goals. Unfortunately, the hiring manager came across as overly aggressive and confrontational, which made it feel less like an interview and more like I was being badgered. The next stage was the virtual onsite, which included a design interview on my problem-solving approach, an engineering interview to assess collaboration with technical teams, and a bar raiser interview that looked at leadership and culture fit. The process concluded with a case presentation to the hiring manager and a peer, but again the hiring manager dominated the session, constantly interrupting and leaving little space for the peer to engage. In the end, I did not receive an offer, but I was genuinely relieved as it confirmed that the culture was not a fit and I would not have enjoyed working there.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Q: What is your favourite product?
Q: What would you change about that product?
