Clio Interview Questions
& Process

I went through a hiring process that spanned over 50 days, involving different teams and individuals in separate interviews. It started with a recruiter call, then two individual interviews, and concluded with a 5-person panel interview, which they referred to as a case study. This was an hour-long interview. After waiting over two weeks without a response from the recruiter, I followed up for a third time and received an email stating they wouldn't proceed with my application. Given the nearly two months I invested, receiving this news via email felt very inconsiderate, especially with the recruiter's unprofessional and excuse-filled final message. I would have expected a phone call to inform me of this decision. The email felt lazy. Throughout the process, I noticed red flags regarding work-life balance and company culture, and the offered pay was significantly lower than comparable roles elsewhere. Ultimately, I'm glad I didn't move forward with them as it appears they have unrealistic expectations and don't offer competitive pay for experienced professionals in the US. They definitely need to improve their hiring process!

The interview process at Clio was pretty standard for a popular tech company and everyone I spoke with was very kind and friendly. They provided guidance around what to expect and how to prepare and overall, the process went very smoothly. However, the problem I'm experiencing is that tech companies have different expectations for what they require of someone at the Staff level. One company will want a Staff Product Designer to lean into leadership, while another will put more focus on IC work, and neither company really knows which they really want. This creates a conflicting environment for job seekers to navigate: if you lean too far towards being an IC in your interview, you'll get rejected for not demonstrating enough leadership. And if you lean too far into your leadership experience, you'll get rejected for not demonstrating enough IC level knowledge. The knife edge is very sharp and extremely hard to balance on, making the Staff Product Designer interview one of the hardest to succeed at. After being rejected by Clio, I was disappointed to find out that I was rejected for not showcasing enough leadership drive, even though I was asked to present a case study outlining IC work. It was a perfect example of how difficult it is to obtain a Staff-level position. The lesson? Ask more questions up front about expectations for the role and what they’re looking for.

Interviewing with Clio showed me how much they value hiring "human and high performing" (their words) people. It had a number of steps (both usual and more-than-usual): recruiter screen, then a hiring manager interview with the director of this organization (60 minutes on my technical background and what I was looking for), programming (60 minutes of solving a straightforward problem using my own development environment), system design (60 minutes of designing a system to solve a particular problem on Zoom whiteboarding), a people leadership interview (90 minutes with an HRBP), a culture screen (45 minutes with a senior director about what drives me and why I do what I do), and then finally 60 minutes with the hiring manager again to follow up on questions they had. Though the process was in-depth and I didn't end up accepting their offer, I was incredibly impressed with Clio: their values came out through the whole process, and everyone I spoke to radiated humanity above all else. They were also incredibly accommodating of my timelines due to having another offer in hand.

The interview process involved an initial screening call, followed by a hiring manager interview. After that, there was a project or presentation stage, and finally an offer. My experience was pretty poor, especially after getting to the hiring manager interview stage and then receiving no updates on my candidacy. I followed up with the recruiter almost a month ago and got no response. The hiring manager also consistently cut me off mid-answer, seeming rushed and disinterested. I also appreciated that the hiring manager said they would provide feedback no matter what after each stage, so it was pretty disappointing to not receive anything from the company at all. Based on this, I would not recommend Clio as a place to work.