This interview process was so uncomfortable I ended up cutting it short before the final round. They're incredibly pushy and expect you to jump through hoops, and it only gets worse as the process goes on.
1. HR Phone Interview - Typical questions, but they pushed hard for salary requirements despite trying to sidestep. When I said my number, they backtracked like crazy and informed me that a pay band hadn't been determined yet. They then asked me my ideal employment outcome, which confused me... Turns out it was because they were considering making it a contract/temp position. The recruiter then took time to explain the role was incredibly fluid, and that the job description was a starting point. So to recap, they wanted me to show all my cards while having no sense of what the role would be, what it would pay, and whether or not it would be full-time or contract. I was also told to download some games to better understand the platform. Okay, no problem.
2. Zoom Call with Hiring Manager - Very casual. Their take on the role was pretty different from what the recruiter told me. The only similarity is they also mentioned fluidity, and that the role would cover a ton of other things not mentioned in the job description. In fact, many of the bullet points in the description weren’t mentioned at all.
3. Skills Assessment - They give you 2 assignments that you have up to 4 hours to complete, and can be done outside of regular work hours. Unfortunately that means they expect you to drop everything and do it ASAP. I got a call from the recruiter (under 24 hours later) where she pressed me to schedule it, reminding me that it can be done on weekends. I scheduled it for early the next week because I had other things going on, but received attitude. When I sat down to do the assessments, it was like I was taking the SATs again. Read long passages about random topics and answer multiple choice. Not hard, but a time sink.
4. Second Round Interview - Two zoom calls with someone you’d work with regularly, and someone high up. Multiple issues scheduling. The call with the regular person was casual The call with the higher up was a little weird. He asked oddly-specific behavioral questions, but otherwise pretty average. Yet again, neither of them seemed to have a handle on the role, and described responsibilities way lower than my expectation (things I did at the very start of my career when I had little to know work experience). So that’s 4 mismatched role descriptions, none of which align with the posting…
5. Final Round - I passed through to the next part, but got so uncomfortable with what happened I cut it short. I got a call from the recruiter congratulating me, and explaining that next steps would be a call with the CEO. I thought that was odd, because this role was not high-level, high-salary, etc. She explained that the founder loves to talk to new people, and that to make a good impression I should play more of their games and be ready to talk about what I liked/disliked. She told me he loves hearing feedback but often doesn't, and that this is a great way to get it! From fresh-faced candidates!
THEN SHE ASKED FOR MY USERNAME ON THE PLATFORM. I sidestepped. They pressed again. I sidestepped. She texted me for it again that evening. She wouldn’t let it go. She then sent me an email at 6 AM (less than 24 hours of being told they want to proceed) asking me to provide my availability, and oh, what’s your username?
I cut it short at the end because it was so invasive, and ultimately felt shady. Why did they need my username? To see if I spent money on the platform? To see how many hours I played? Heck, do they just interview people as a grand scheme to get downloads and eventually provide feedback to the CEO? I was so disgusted with how pushy they were, how much of my time they’d wasted, and how I still didn’t have a clear idea of what this role was that I chose not to continue the process. Will never apply here again, and would not recommend to others.