CINC Interview Questions
& Process

I interviewed for a development position. It started with a panel interview including the Tech VP and two developers who asked about my interests. Then, a few days later, I had a one-hour coding test in HTML, JavaScript, and PHP. They didn't tell me the languages beforehand, and they admitted they don't use PHP. They said I could use Google, but it's impossible to learn a language and solve a problem in an hour. They said I wouldn't get an offer based on the test. It was a waste of time.

The process is pretty much like what others have said. First, a recruiter calls you. Then, you have a face-to-face interview with a group of random employees, and you might even be with other people interviewing for the same job, which is weird. They'll ask you to email them why you want the job. The last interview is with another random group of employees, and again, they probably haven't looked at your resume or prepared any questions. It went bad for me because I had to ask most of the questions, and they seemed totally uninterested. This time, you're not interviewing with others. It feels like it's less about who's the best fit and more about who the panels think they'll get along with. Hope your personality matches what they like.

Got a call the day after I applied. Did a phone interview and then set up the in-person. First in-person was with a Team Lead and the Director. They asked typical interview questions like 'tell me about your current role' and 'tell me about a time when...' and they were really nice. The next interview was the culture one. I met with all the other Team Leads and another Director. This one was more about culture, pretty straightforward. They're looking for a specific type of person - someone who can work hard but also have fun with coworkers. Not about going out for drinks, but more about celebrating when we hit KPIs, like company-sponsored events (bowling, skydiving, etc.).

It started with a phone screen with HR where we chatted about the company, my background and experience, and any specifics about the role. Then there was a culture fit interview with some of the designers on the team. They asked a bit about my background and experience too. It was a good chat and a chance to be myself. The final interview involved presenting my take-home assignment. I can see why companies still do these, but I do think they need clearer guidelines on time commitment to be fair to candidates with varying schedules. Presenting was pretty straightforward since I put a good amount of time into the user research and competitive analysis. After the presentation, I met with the UX and Development teams, which was nice because they were all really friendly. I also got asked a few more questions during this part. The beginning of the process was great, everyone was super friendly. But towards the end, the interview experience itself became a bit of a pain point. Like I said, the take-home assignment could have used more parameters; without them, it might give an unfair advantage to candidates who can dedicate more time to the entire design process. I spent a lot of time on it and would have spent more if I could have, as I really wanted the role. It also took a while to hear back, almost two weeks with no communication. When I did hear back, they said I was a top pick and asked for my resume and portfolio again. Then, another week went by without hearing anything. I found out through LinkedIn that they had already hired someone for the position. So, when they finally did reach out, I already knew. -