For the most part, the interview process was alright (enjoyable even), but there were a few significant snags that made me turn down the offer I finally received. I found the job posting for the analyst position on indeed.com (or some similar website) and then used LinkedIn to see if someone from Mattersight was in my network, which I did. He recommended I submit an application after speaking with him on the phone. After not hearing anything back for 3 weeks, I called my connection to follow up and promptly received a call from HR, who set up a phone interview. That went well, and I was scheduled for an in-person interview. That also went well and the end of the in-person interview, I asked about next steps and was told that I would be either accepted, declined, or waitlisted. Apparently it didn’t go quite well enough, because I didn’t hear anything back for almost 3 months. After two months I contacted both HR and my contact within the firm, and finally heard back from my contact in the firm that I had been waitlisted (as I had suspected at the time).
Well, kick in 3 months later, I suddenly get a call asking if I can come in for another, final, interview, which would be in front of a panel. That went very well. I got the offer. However, as my last question I asked the exec who was leading the panel interview ‘Why call now?’ The answer was ‘Well, at first we really shoot for the ideal candidate and then reality sets in and we settle for what we can find.’ That was a disappointment, and I went with another offer I had gotten a few days before. Maybe I’ll apply again there someday for some other position – I like the company and we parted ways on good terms (the HR rep said I should definitely let them know if I’m ever interested again), so we’ll see. But for now, I’m happy in my other job.