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      Publications Assistant Interview

      25 Oct 2016
      Anonymous interview candidate
      No offer
      Negative experience

      Other Publications Assistant interview reviews for PLOS

      Publications Assistant Interview

      16 Feb 2023
      Anonymous interview candidate
      San Francisco, CA
      No offer
      Difficult interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at PLOS

      Interview

      It was about two weeks between the time I turned in my application and had my first interview. I was applying from out of state, so I had a video interview. At first, I was hesitant to say that I had an overall negative experience, but this first interview was one of the most frustrating interviews I have had during my job search. I was interviewed by an Editorial Manager and a Publications Manager. The problem was that their questions were very repetitive. They would ask, "How do you manage your time?" But then they would ask right after that, "What's your process for making sure you complete your tasks throughout the day?" Another example was when they asked me about how I handled myself in a team. After I explained, they asked, "How do you communicate in a team?" And then they asked, "Can you describe a time when you had to reach a decision while working on a team and how you communicated to reach that decision?" To me, these are very similar questions. I had a difficult time coming up with different answers. My second interview, which happened a week and a half later, went much more smoothly. I got the sense that things are very stressful there and that everyone is working on a tight schedule because they kept on asking me how I manage my time. It was a little disconcerting to me that they asked me repeatedly what I would do if I couldn't get something finished, especially since they mentioned that this will happen a lot. I felt like I did rather well in the interviews, but was told they went with another candidate.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      What is the biggest misconception about you? What words have you been looking up during your job search? Why do you want to work at PLOS? What is your method for dealing with stress?
      Answer question
      1
      avatar
      PLOS response
      9y
      Thank you for your detailed feedback. We apologize that you had a negative experience at PLOS. I will share your comments with the hiring managers so hopefully we can do a better job going forward. --Mariah HR
      Positive experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at PLOS (San Francisco, CA) in Mar 2021

      Interview

      Phone screening for stage 1 with HR staff. Then virtual interview with 2 people from publications team for stage 2. Then required to submit a writing sample related to the role.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      What is your preferred managerial style?
      Answer question

      Publications Assistant Interview

      23 Aug 2020
      Anonymous interview candidate
      San Francisco, CA
      No offer
      Negative experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at PLOS (San Francisco, CA) in Aug 2020

      Interview

      I was contacted a month after I applied for an initial Zoom video call with someone from their hiring team. During this video call, I was given an overview of the company, role, and interview process, and was told that they don't let more than a week go by during each stage of the interview process. They were also upfront about what the salary would be, and that I would be hearing back from them within a week for next steps. Almost two weeks later I was contacted for the next stage, which was another Zoom video call with two people from the team. The questions they asked were very much personality-based, and not based on any of my experience. At the end of this conversation, I was told they would be getting back to me in two weeks because they had so many other people to interview. Two weeks came and went, and then I got an automated email notifying me of rejection. As another person here noted, if they were just going to reject me via automatic email I'm not sure why it had to take almost three weeks. Overall, communication was lacking and they did not live up to the expectations that they had initially set.

      Interview questions [3]

      Question 1

      Q: What is one misconception people have about you?
      Answer question

      Question 2

      Q: How do you manage stress?
      Answer question

      Question 3

      Q: What qualities do you think make a great leader?
      Answer question
      1

      Publications Assistant Interview

      23 May 2018
      Anonymous interview candidate
      No offer
      Positive experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at PLOS in May 2018

      Interview

      I applied for the role online and received an email inviting me to interview two days later. I had the video interview a week after I applied. I was informed I didn't get the position about a week later.

      Interview questions [6]

      Question 1

      Talk about a time where you had to deal with a difficult customer.
      Answer question

      Question 2

      Talk about a time you made a mistake. How did you deal with it?
      Answer question

      Question 3

      Have you ever had to offer a colleague constructive criticism? Describe the experience.
      Answer question

      Question 4

      What kind of environment do you work well in?
      Answer question

      Question 5

      What do you dislike about your current job?
      Answer question

      Question 6

      Why do you want to work at PLOS? Why this position?
      Answer question