To put my interview into context I have been applying for jobs aggressively for the past few months, and have been interviewing a lot lately,
The process overall was a unique experience, different from what I have been doing, (which is nice).
The first thing was the job post I saw and applied for through Linkedin (funny enough I had a third party recruiter and employee request that I apply, while I was already in the process). I did some research on their company values (which is priority in my search). I was not disappointed.
The first step after my application and cover letter was a one-way interview using spark hire. I have interviewed with spark hire before, with companies that only allow single takes and only 3 minutes to prepare an answer (as if they are afraid of me actually thinking about the question I’ve been asked). there were only 5 questions with a minute response each, unlimited takes and no time restraints.
The next step was the take-home assignment which asked for very specific tax code info but was open book/open-intenet test with 3 days to complete so I had a blast looking up tax info in that time (I have seen complaints that it took a lot of time, and I have been working full time and interviewing on top of that, it wasn’t impossible to set aside an hour to do it). I also know I’m not a tax expert and they aren’t expecting me to know all the right answers right away, so for me it was about finding out what I could, and hopefully I get to figure out what I did wrong later.
The next step was at their HQ in the financial district. I showed up signed in and was asked if I needed anything coffee, juice, water. Knowing I had three hours ahead of me I asked for water. after being escorted to an interview room I saw on the whiteboard an awesome drawing with “welcome _______” (my name). I haven’t yet met my interviewers, but I have never EVER felt so welcomed as an outsider into a company. I got to meet with three different people for an hour each and I got a lot of questions that I have been getting while interviewing so nothing was a curveball question.
I felt really positive by the end.
I mentioned that company culture is a big deal for me, and the bullseye of my search target, so I did a lot of research on their culture, I would recommend doing that anyhow because they have such a positive culture and are amazing.
They asked the usual “do you have any questions for us” to which I asked
“Do you pronounce it Gif or Jif”?...
... I got mixed answers.