Center for Policing Equity Interview Questions
& Process

This was a one-sided and ridiculously slow process. I applied in December 2021, and wasn't contacted until May 2022. The actual interviews didn't start until July 2022, and I finally received an offer in September 2022. I mostly dealt with an external recruiter who was great, but clearly frustrated by how slowly the CPE team moved. The interviews themselves were a mixed bag. The individual contributors I met were great and got me excited to continue, but my experience with the executive leadership was iffy at best. They seemed to only care about 'equity' and had some inconsistencies that made me question if they were genuine about it. For instance, they didn't follow basic best practices for equitable hiring, like frequently scheduling video interviews with 7-person panels, or even legal requirements like salary transparency on job postings. I also got zero one-on-one time with the hiring manager and only exchanged a couple of sentences with them. My offer was ultimately much worse than I expected and came with bizarre stipulations, like not being able to take a pre-planned 4-day family vacation two months into the role because 'my presence would be needed.' I still laugh about that and the fact that they expected my answer on their offer 'ASAP' after a 9-month interview process.

The interview process started with a one-way video interview with pre-recorded questions, giving 2 minutes to think and 1 minute to answer each of the 8 questions. Next was a panel interview with 3 people from CPE, which felt like an interrogation due to the rapid-fire questions. I didn't make it to the next stages, which would have been a take-home assignment, another interview, and reference checks, before a potential offer. They mentioned reference checks after so many steps, which seemed like too many people involved. The one-way video interviews felt insulting and reflected poorly on the candidate experience and likely the company culture. After the second interview, I was told about an off-site gathering and a follow-up upon their return, which caused significant delays. Some questions in the panel interview seemed unrelated to the HR Generalist role. They never disclosed the salary range at any point, which is frustrating. The whole process needs a major overhaul to improve the culture and candidate experience.

The whole interview process took over 2 months. I felt like I was doing most of the follow-up with the recruiter, which seemed odd because they appeared to be understaffed. Despite the long wait times between interviews, my overall experience was positive. The process started with an online, one-way interview, which I would have preferred to skip in favor of a live phone screen. Next, I had a virtual interview with some team members. Then, I was given a written assignment, followed by a final in-person interview. It was a lengthy and demanding process, and I was quite disappointed by the rejection. I'm still very interested in working for this company, but I believe they need to improve their recruitment and HR capacity to make a better impression during interviews.

Recruiter Interview then Interview with "the team" (which included the publicity director, project manager, and a contractor). Then a Homework Assignment/Project. Finally, an interview with the hiring manager, HR rep, and board rep. The interview process was a little intense. For a position at this level I would have expected the questions to be more strategic.