Block Recruiter Interview Questions
& Process

It started with a recruiter call, then moved to on-site interviews with the team (this was before covid). What was a bit strange was that there was no initial call with the hiring manager, which I don't think is the best use of anyone's time. It's usually better to do this first, as it shows the hiring manager is engaged and saves everyone time if it's not a good fit. The interviewers were mostly nice, but the interview loop itself lacked diversity – everyone was under 30 and there were no men, which felt odd. The hiring manager seemed bored and didn't really engage in conversation during the on-site, making me feel like prepping and coming was a waste of time. I got the feeling the decision was already made by the time they met me. I wouldn't suggest putting time into interviewing for an individual contributor role in this department here if you're over 40 or a man. Too bad, because it's a cool product.

Since I was a referral, the interview didn't kick off with a phone screen, but honestly, the whole process was awesome! Over the last month, I went through 5 different onsite interviews, and Square's was hands down the best (Google was a close second). The Recruiting Coordinator sent an email with all the deets on getting to the office and what to expect, especially with building security – definitely follow that, and don't forget your ID. The email also listed who I'd be meeting and when. Once I got there, the coordinator gave me a tour of their really nice office and then took me to the interview room. A big plus was that no one on the panel repeated questions; everyone focused on a different topic, which I really appreciated. Unlike other interviews where they just ask the same things over and over, this was refreshing. I also liked the mix of hypothetical, situational, and behavioral questions, which gave me a chance to show different sides of myself. As a recruiter, I also valued that the interviewers didn't waste time on intros – good candidates do their research beforehand. At the end, a quick wrap-up with the recruiter, and they told me when to expect news. They totally followed through on their commitment, so no disappointment there. Overall, an A+ experience!

I got contacted by a Recruiting Coordinator and she set up a 30 min phone screen. She answered every question but couldn’t tell me a salary which was weird, but I figured it would be addressed in the coming interviews. Next round was a writing sample, easy. Used to see how I would communicate with candidates and internals. Last was an on-site. This is where it all went completely wrong. The two internal recruiters were completely out of touch. The first, insulted where I was from the entire time. Didn’t even talk about the role, just kept saying how much he hated my home state! He was NOT into me or my answers after that. The second recruiter kept asking me how I dealt with conflict and even went as far as to tell me to “put my big girl panties on” when I said I don’t enjoy it in the workplace. Super inappropriate! She was late to come in, sped through the questions, and left before the time was up. She didn’t listen to anything I was saying and made me feel very unimportant. Finally, I met the recruiter over the role. She was SO uninterested in speaking with me, had no salary insight (again), and when it came down to the end I had emailed her AND the recruiting coordinator so many times looking for answers but NO ONE would return an email. The final nail in the coffin was the recruiter calling from a blocked number and leaving a 15 second voicemail saying someone else got the role. I have never been treated like this by any organization and hope everyone reading this knows what they’re in for before interviewing.