Exponent Interview Questions
& Process

The interview was mostly about basic professional things like communication skills, problem solving, and managing projects. They asked about how you'd deal with clients, meet deadlines, and organize survey research tasks. There were also questions on working fast, staying organized with many projects, and how you'd find experts and make sure survey answers are good.

I had three interview rounds, two video calls with a senior and a managing scientist, then an onsite interview. The onsite was poorly organized, with the schedule changing last minute and the meeting location set during a snowstorm, making travel difficult. Most meetings were still virtual. The location was also confusing, not the office I applied to or where the team usually works. Even my host and another scientist had to travel. The HR interview was weird; I was asked technical questions about my research and to repeat application details, even though they said they had all the info. It felt like an HR interview but was very technical.

Had a bunch of chats with the team, you know, to see if I was a fit. They asked why I wanted the job and threw in some technical stuff too. The last interview was in person. Then there were several technical interviews, and I had to do a tech presentation as part of it. It was pretty well structured, made me think fast and show what I actually know, not just what's on paper from group projects.

A recruiter reached out on LinkedIn for a Project Manager role. The first call was with the recruiter, who seemed to imply my experience compensated for my lack of an advanced degree. Then, I got a very short notice meeting invite for the next morning with the hiring manager. During this Teams call, the hiring manager, who didn't turn on their camera and seemed to be on the move, told me I'd be hired as a Manager and placed on a senior management track, expecting significant revenue generation. This struck me as odd for a PM role. Later that day, I had a 'lunch meeting' with the team, which was presented as a meet-and-greet. It was a pleasant 30-minute Teams call where we discussed my background and interest in the position, and everyone had their cameras on. Despite initial red flags, I decided to continue. A week later, I received an email with my name misspelled inviting me to an interview. It required a 4-hour commitment and a 45-minute presentation on my graduate research project. This felt mismatched for a PM role and seemed to disregard our earlier conversation about my experience versus education. This made me feel like just a number and raised concerns about work-life balance and the company culture. I decided to withdraw my candidacy due to the mismatch in expectations, the emphasis on sales for a PM role, the lengthy presentation requirement, and the perceived lack of individual consideration. Shortly after declining, I received a rejection stating my experience and education weren't a fit.