ESG Interview Questions
& Process

The recruitment team was responsive and replied to candidates with feedback, which is uncommon. However, the interview felt misleading and unprofessional. I was expecting a standard interview about my experience, but the hiring manager surprised me with a 15-minute assessment at the start, which had to be finished by the end of the interview. They gave me a pen and diary to do it, and when I asked for more time, I was told there was a hard stop, so I had to take it home. The feedback was also confusing: they said there were knowledge gaps but also that I spoke too fast and the manager couldn't catch everything. The manager never brought this up during the interview or checked if she misunderstood. As an international candidate, while my English is fluent, being penalized for speech speed without direct feedback feels unfair. My 5-year plan was questioned, even though I mentioned aiming for Head of Marketing/Director of Marketing in tech and then starting my own venture. The manager failed to share this ambition with the careers team. Ambition seems to be viewed negatively here. Overall, the hiring process was disorganized, misleading, and blindsided candidates despite the polite careers team. Consider carefully if you value transparency, respect for candidate time, and fairness.

I had an initial video call with a recruiter, then a video call with the CMO. After that, I had another video call with the UX lead where they surprised me with a design challenge on the spot while I shared my screen. I was not expecting this. Later, I got two emails about another call with the head of programming, but even after replying twice, I never heard back from them.

The interview journey had three main parts: a first chat to see if I was a good fit, a skills test to check if I knew my stuff, and then a final in-person meeting. Since I was the only one in the last stage, I figured it was just a formality. I traveled for two hours to get there and was really impressed with the company and the people. I felt like I fit right in and was super excited. But then, surprise! They told me that even though I was perfect for the job, they were giving it to someone already working there. I get that they value their own people, but I'd been jobless for eight months and really needed this. It would have been way better if they'd told me this earlier, especially since they knew I was coming all the way out there. A video call would have saved me the trip and the cost. So yeah, it left a bad taste in my mouth, especially knowing there was an internal candidate all along.

It was a good interview, the people seemed nice. The company is growing and moving from a small to a mid-size organization. The security team is small and they are looking to hire new people, including for management roles. Overall, it was a good experience.