Care/of Interview Questions
& Process

The whole interview process took over two months and had seven rounds, one of which involved unpaid spec work. I spent a lot of time during work hours over those two months to set up meetings, meet with team members, prepare for interviews, and complete the unpaid spec work (which I probably shouldn't have done). I also noticed that the drive they shared for the unpaid spec work was recently shared with four other people, who were likely going through the same process. After all of that and such a long process, it was hard to even feel excited about the position anymore, and I felt like they were just waiting to see if better candidates came along.

The whole interview process had a few rounds. It included a take home exercise and then a presentation of that take home analysis. The process was really organized and they kept things moving pretty quickly. They were also really good at sending updates and giving you a sense of timing on next steps. I really appreciated that folks asked different questions in the 1:1 interviews. I’ve experienced cases where the 1:1s get pretty repetitive, but that wasn’t the case here so I could tell they put a lot of thought into it. Ultimately went with another offer because of comp but this org seems like it is a great culture and a really dedicated group of folks on board.

I applied on their website and about a month later I got an invitation for a design challenge. Normally design challenges are standard for designers, but after this, I always try to talk to someone from the company first before doing any free work. But at the time, I didn't know any better and I did the design task. When I sent in the challenge, the email to the HR recruiter bounced back. That might have been a bad sign, but I decided to CC the Head of Design and sent my challenge anyway. A few days later, I got a really positive email and an invitation for a video chat with the Head of Design. On Feb 12th, I discussed my process and learned more about the company and I was really excited about the opportunity. The Head of Design then asked if I would be willing to freelance for a week first to see how we work together. Since I wasn't in the NYC area, I was allowed to do it remotely and sent over my freelance rates. Nine days after our interview, I was sent a freelance email design challenge. It was less work than I expected, not a full week's worth as discussed, but still, no problem. I was given the freelance challenge Feb 21st. I finished it over the weekend and sent it in Feb 25th. Then I got feedback on the design Feb 26th and I redesigned it again and sent in the second round of edits Feb 27th. This time I was surprised because it was taking a while to hear back from the Head of Design, and it wasn't the back and forth communication and design feedback I was expecting. HoD wanted... 'I'm available to bounce ideas off of and for you to get instant feedback from,' was the email I got stating the expectations of Head of Design. So I felt like the freelance challenge missed the point because that consistent communication wasn't there. Anyway, after the second round of freelance design work for the email (which was a total redesign), 6 days had passed and no word. This was March 5th. March 18th I sent another email, this time not even acknowledging the feedback for the design, just trying to get paid. March 21st I heard back from HoD who asked for an invoice, who never once acknowledged the communication absence other than a 'sorry.' The next day March 22nd I sent over an invoice, and no word since. NEVER GOT PAID. This was completely disrespectful to my time and dishonest. I’ve heard of start-ups putting out fake design challenges through applications to get free work / new ideas. This could have been the case, but I also imagine that the team was swamped with work and my project was put on the backburner. Don’t ask an applicant to do something you can’t later support or follow through with. What is most frustrating to me was that the Visual Brand Designer role was for entry-level applicants, meaning that not only did they take advantage of my time and skills, but they really took advantage of my newness to the industry, and as a young designer it’s really disappointing to think an older designer (who has probably been through something similar), would do this to a fellow peer. This is how the company has treated me and it confirms that I wouldn’t want to work there.

I applied for the Quality Control Specialist job and first had a 30-minute Zoom interview that went well. The next day, I had a two-hour interview with four other team members, even though I was on vacation. That also went well. The following week, I was told I'd move to the next round, which was a take-home test I had 3 days to complete. I ended up working on it all weekend. After I submitted it, I was asked to schedule a presentation of my findings. We finally scheduled it, and I presented on a Thursday. They said I did a good job and was concise. I was told I'd hear back by the end of that week or the following week. The next Monday, the hiring manager called to ask my availability. On Thursday, he called to say the position was on hold due to changed company goals. He didn't apologize for the two-month process or give a clear timeline for when the position might open up. Then he offered me a different QC role, but it was a weekend position with a significant pay cut, which I had already stated my salary requirements for. It felt like they were looking for free advice, not to hire someone.