Bustle Interview Questions
& Process

I applied on LinkedIn via the BDG page and was surprised to be contacted by a 3rd party temp agency for a call. It turns out the position is direct to hire for 6 months, which Bustle Group didn't mention in the job post. It only pays $25/hr for supporting several senior executives, requires being on-site, and has no pay flexibility. When I applied, they asked for my salary range, which is much higher with my 10+ years of C-Suite experience, so I'm not sure why they wasted my time. Please be more transparent in your job descriptions. Also, your pay range for the NYC area along with the 6+ month requirement and number of leaders to support is offensive.

I had an initial Zoom meeting with two managers. After that, I was given a take-home assignment. I applied in early to mid-December, during the busy holiday period. They asked for references, which I provided. The whole process took a few weeks, but ultimately I wasn't selected. I was told I was the runner-up and that while my work was good, someone else's was a better fit.

I had an initial phone chat, then they asked me to do a short writing sample (one paragraph). After that, I was asked to do a three-hour unpaid writing test. They mentioned they'd pay if they could, but I doubt it. I waited two weeks and then got a generic rejection email saying there were too many applicants. I felt that after all the time I put in, especially the three-hour unpaid trial, I deserved more than just a form rejection. I replied saying I was bummed not to get the job and thought a bit more consideration was warranted, but never heard back.

Applied for a position back in February and never heard back. Then in April, they emailed stating they still hadn't filled the position and why I waited to apply for other positions with Elite Daily since they just acquired that site. Applied for two writer positions, heard back from the lifestyle editor asking if I could commit to the days and take an edit test. The edit test was ridiculous and took more than 6 hours. Submitted it before the deadline and heard nothing. Followed up the following week to see if they received it and was ignored. Then, two weeks later after Memorial Day Weekend I get a generic email saying they're not moving forward but to apply for their other open positions. It's insulting, unprofessional, and disrespectful to not only ignore a follow-up email but to string someone along for weeks when they provided you with such an in-depth and lengthy edit test. Seems fishy that they might be using all the topics prospective writers provided them with.