Contently Interview Questions
& Process

Interviewing at Contently was a cool and chill experience. It went like this: first, two phone chats, then two in-person meetups. The first phone call was super quick, like 20 mins with the Director of People Ops, where we just went over my basic background, resume stuff, and why I wanted the job. Later that same day, I had another call with the VP of Engineering. This one was more about my tech skills and web dev experience, like asking for examples of my work and how I tackle coding problems. After those calls, they invited me to their office to hang out 1-on-1 with the team I'd be joining. These chats were more about my background, some coding questions about TDD and refactoring, and what I see myself doing career-wise down the line. The team was really welcoming, and they let me ask tons of questions about their own experiences, how they keep code quality high, how they work together, and so on. My last visit to the office was for a quick 15-minute pair programming session and a chat with two of the co-founders. The pair programming was honestly the best coding interview I've had – I got to see their code and show how I'd solve a problem. Chatting with the co-founders gave me the big picture of the company, its past, and where it's headed. Honestly, interviewing with Contently was awesome – they really took the time to answer everything and you could tell they genuinely wanted to find someone who was a good fit, and vice-versa. It seems like the kind of place where you'd actually look forward to going to work.

I had a decent HR screening, hiring manager chat, and case study presentation. But the final round with the CEO, Pearl, was a disaster. For about 40 minutes of the hour, she asked me all sorts of inappropriate things. Like 'Why do you suck?' (three times), 'How are you weird?', and 'What does ugly you look like? Describe it to me.' If I didn't give her the 'weird' details she wanted about my hobbies, she'd push for more. It was super awkward having to share intimate stuff that has nothing to do with the job. She also insulted my name, gave me a new nickname, and asked if I have 'temper tantrums in front of my clients.' The rest of the questions, even though I was prepared, were never right unless I said them exactly how she wanted. She never asked about my experience, skills, or how I could help the company. It felt like a waste of all the effort to get that far, and I don't want anyone else to go through it. The CEO is unprofessional and thinks she can get away with anything. Major red flags everywhere.

A third-party recruiter first reached out. Then I had an HR screening with a junior Contently employee who wasn't very convincing about the role and didn't seem professional. I almost didn't continue, but the recruiter pushed me to talk to the hiring manager. That conversation with the HM was rough, lasting only 10 minutes before she started tearing apart my resume. She jumped to conclusions and was really judgmental, not letting me explain my background. She was just unnecessarily rude. I get that for a 30-person startup, not everyone is a fit, but it seemed wrong for a senior leader to treat a qualified candidate like that. I felt embarrassed and stupid afterward, which seems to be the general attitude of the sales leadership team.

First, I had a 20-30 minute phone chat with the Director of People Operations. We went over my background and my interest in Contently and this job. She was super nice! Then, I went to the Contently office for two more interviews. One was with the Director of Accounts, and the other was with an Account Manager and a Client Support Representative. We talked more about the job and my experience. The last round was the same as the second, but I met with more people from the Accounts Team and one of the Contently Co-Founders. I really liked the interviews; they seemed to genuinely want to answer my questions, and I got more and more excited about the job. My advice is to do your homework on Contently – they have lots of info out there. Check out their Content Strategist articles, especially case studies, and know their clients. You don't have to dress up, but you can. Since you'll meet many people, have different questions ready for each.