Catalina Interview Questions
& Process

The recruitment process was really nice, especially the Consultant from the second interview who even gave me advice for the last interview. The interviews happen quickly and you get an answer fast. There was a first 30-minute call to understand my background, motivations, and why Catalina. Then, a morning with a Senior Consultant which included a general session with all candidates where I had to take lots of notes, ask questions, and participate. After that, I had 30 minutes to prepare for a case study, and then a 1-hour presentation with the Senior Consultant. They were very nice but challenged my answers to understand my thought process. Finally, there was a last interview with 2 Manager Consultants who asked about my motivations and the case study.

I got a call asking if I had time for a couple resume questions, which turned out to be a phone technical interview. The questions were a bit confusing and the connection was bad. The interviewer wasn't technical and didn't seem to understand his own questions or my answers. He was also 30 minutes late. He said I'd hear from the hiring manager, but I never did. There were awkward silences where I thought the call dropped. It was about 5 questions, took 20 mins due to how he asked them. Basically, a non-technical person reading from a script. I didn't get an offer, but also didn't respond to further interview requests. Honestly, if their hiring process is this disorganized, I'm not interested.

Applied online, got a call from recruiter about a month later. She asked about my salary expectation but not about my experience or skills. She said she'd get back to me. A week later, another recruiter called for an in-person interview in St. Pete. I waited about 15 minutes for the hiring manager, who initially ignored me. He eventually introduced himself and took me to a room with three other people. The interview began with questions about my current job responsibilities and handling difficult clients. It seemed they were more interested in my current company and role than what I could do for them. They didn't ask specific questions about my experience or technical skills, despite me having over 20 years of experience. I asked about the open position, but their response was unclear. The interviewers seemed unsure what to ask or how to answer my questions. They mentioned having five other candidates to meet. No one shook my hand or said a proper goodbye. The manager escorted me out and said they'd be in touch. I felt unwelcome due to discourtesy and a lack of professionalism.

It was a really unprofessional interview process. After two phone interviews, I went for an on-site. There were about 4 or 5 rounds with senior managers, and then a 45-minute case study presentation. The first few rounds went okay, mostly situational questions and talking about my previous work. But right before the case study, they just told me I wasn't a good fit and kicked me out in like 2 minutes. It was shocking because I've never had that happen before. They later said my technical knowledge was weak, which was weird because they didn't ask much technical stuff. One interviewer didn't even know what a Gini coefficient was when I mentioned it in relation to logistic regression. It felt like a total waste of my day, especially with the long drive and all the prep for the case study. The interviewers were vague and didn't ask specific questions, and they were really rude about ending the interview so abruptly. It was a terrible experience with some very unprofessional people.