Elevation Church Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was in 3 parts. 1st conversational. 2nd project. 3rd if you move on is personality test. Overall they were very communitive and quick with how they followed up.

The interview process starts with multiple personality tests (at least 5), along with competency tests in reading, writing, and math. You'll also do several online form-style and HireVue style video interviews. For Software Engineer roles, there's a take-home project that takes 1-2 days. If you pass this 'big tech' style screening, you'll have an all-day onsite or virtual onsite interview from 8 am to 4 pm. Be aware that working here involves a stressful and potentially toxic environment, with the suggested coping mechanism being to 'remember your why.' The salary offer for full-stack work was low at 70k-90k, with the church emphasizing that people take pay cuts to join. They also made it clear they are not a place for people to 'come and go' or for career advancement, implying you are there to serve the church long-term. They mentioned a 4-day work week (Mon-Thurs) but only revealed in the final onsite interview that Sunday volunteering is expected. The salary and volunteer expectations were presented in a somewhat deceptive way.

The interview process is quite extensive. After submitting an initial application, I had to complete an extra questionnaire with written questions and a recorded video. Then, there was a 30-minute interview with HR and team members. This was followed by a take-home project due in two days, with no feedback. If I moved forward, I would need to complete a competency test, a self-evaluation, and five personality tests. They also sent another questionnaire with a request to watch a documentary about Pastor Steven Furtick (about 1.5 hours long). They mentioned this is a good step to ask sincere questions and they are transparent, but communicate in "Christianese" so you have to read between the lines, especially if you know church culture. I asked about leadership structure, work/life balance, serving expectations, and tithing expectations. The next interview was 4.5 hours long, including another project due in two days. This interview included an hour for staffing, an hour for a technical interview where I presented the second project, an hour and a half break, and an hour to "meet the team". After learning about the second project and the long interview, I withdrew my candidacy. I felt like Elevation Church didn't actually want to hire me and the process was designed to weed people out who wouldn't sacrifice everything for the job. While they said they valued my time, the process didn't show it. The HR coordinators were accommodating, but the process was just asking too much, especially without a salary range provided. My suggestions if they're open to feedback: move the staffing and meet the team interviews to be the next steps after the initial interview, cut the projects and rely on a portfolio, and move personality tests to onboarding. I would have preferred focusing on getting to know the team instead of filling out forms.

The entire process took about three months, with some weeks going by without any updates on the next steps. There were several interviews and creative projects to complete before getting an invitation to travel to Elevation HQ in Matthews, NC, at my own expense. This trip involved two intense days of orientation and more interviews. I had to present in front of the entire pastoral staff, participate in "speed dating" style interviews with questions about concepts and spirituality that seemed unrelated to the job, and attend networking events with church leadership and potential colleagues. The idea is that if you align with Elevation's culture, you'll feel right at home. If not, you'll likely feel uncomfortable throughout. In the end, I felt like I was kept waiting for an unnecessarily long time after not getting the job, with no explanation.