I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Super Free Games (San Francisco, CA) in Oct 2018
Interview
The interview process worked as such:
Resume submission, Phone interview with QA Manager, Onsite interview.
Overall the interview process was fair until the last interview. My phone interview with the QA manager was well done, as my work experience and skills were highlighted. They decided to move forward and bring me on to the onsite.
The onsite interview began right where I left off with the QA manager. This interview was more in depth about test cases and the game development process. These tests focused on attention to detail and time management. There were also a few riddle questions, with outside the box thinking. From here I met the team I would be working with (about eight people). I was very impressed with this interview, because the questions ranged from personality checks to my technical skills, and you could see how well the team worked together. They had questions based around the previous interview I had, which showed me that they were serious and prepared to interview me. After this interview I felt that I would be a good fit with the company, but then I met the co-founder.
The co-founder came into the meeting room and greeted me with a fist bump. We sat down, where he said he had not read my resume and asked me what my dream job was. Very briefly, I highlighted my passion for the gaming industry and that I would one day like to create my own game. From here came a five minute “lesson” for how to make it in the industry. He said that what I was doing was wrong and that I was going to get nowhere. He said I needed to “cut in line” to get anywhere. When I asked him to elaborate, he said I should do what he did and take my savings and start my own company. When I told him I already had a job in the game industry and was trying to further my knowledge, he put his hand on his face and said “I feel bad for you, you are going to follow the process till you inevitably get to design My Little Pony at 45”. To humor him and understand where he was coming from I asked how he got to where he was today, where he “cut in line”. He said that he worked at a customer service job until he did not want to do that anymore, from there he traveled came back, and got a job just to make connections. From there he took his savings and created the company that I was applying for. I told this man I was passionate about games and wanted to create one in the future and in turn he decided to boast about his life’s greatest accomplishments, while looking down on the path that I have taken.
Overall the interview process was very well handled, until the last interview. I had a great interview with the team I would possibly be working with and it felt like a great fit, but meeting one of the unprofessional leaders of the company, ruined that. This is just to help people in the future realize what you are going into. Be prepared for this interview and if you are there only for the money you will do great.
I'm sorry that this was a bad experience (at least at the end). I'll figure out more around what happened in the final interview and we'll get better. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.