Bottle Rocket Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process involved an initial HR phone screen, followed by a Group PM interview. The final stage was a case study presentation to different Group PMs. The case study instructions were really vague and open to interpretation. I developed my case study based on feedback from the Group PM, focusing on the Build and Design phases as instructed. However, I later received feedback that contradicted this, emphasizing Vision and Strategy instead. It felt like the process was designed for me to fail because a candidate can't possibly guess 'what we were hoping for....'.

I was reached out to on Handshake by a recruiter from Bottle Rocket a few months back. We had a good chat on the phone, and she really made me excited about the company. Next, I talked to the hiring manager, who was really professional and gave me a good rundown of the role, the department, and how it fits into the team. Even though I didn't get past this stage, they got back to me in less than a day with some helpful feedback on my interviews and advice for improvement. Given the current job market, I really valued their input and plan to reapply in the future.

I was referred for the position. I had one interview in December where I had to present my design work and answer questions from three people on the team. The next day, the recruiter said the feedback was extremely positive and that they wanted to make me an offer. Fast forward to mid-February and I have still not received an official offer. I would hear from the recruiter every week or so but she was very difficult to get in touch with. We had discussed salary and she said she had submitted an offer to be approved by the team. After a month or so of this, I began looking elsewhere and ended up getting hired by another company. To be honest, the process was horrible and there was no transparency whatsoever. I waited around for months and would have accepted their offer but the lack of communication were red flags.

First, a recruiter called to go over my background. Then I got a coding test for the platform (iOS/Android) that I had to finish by a deadline. If the team liked my project, I was invited for an in-person interview. The interview started with general questions about personality (like culture fit). Next, we did a coding exercise where I had to build a specific data structure they chose. After that, there were coding topic questions where the panel asked me about specific subjects related to the platform I applied for.