Food52 Journalist Interview Questions
& Process

The HR rep I talked to was awesome. They asked me some standard stuff and told me about the job and the team. The company seems pretty neat, and it's grown a lot recently.

I applied online and got a quick call from the EIC who described the job and asked about my background. She seemed worried I didn't have enough digital experience, which was weird since it's a print-focused role. She asked for salary expectations, and when I didn't give them over the phone, we discussed it via email. She basically said I wouldn't move forward without sharing my salary expectations so they could see if I fit their budget. Then, I had to do an edit test within 48 hours. It was pretty involved: brainstorm new cookbook ideas for the brand, figure out how to apply a theme across the brand, and edit a short text that needed significant work. I actually enjoyed the test and thought it was a reasonable task. The EIC confirmed she got it the same day I submitted it. Eight days later, she emailed to say they decided to go in a different direction but would keep my resume on file.

This was the second job I applied for at Food52. The first one was for recipe developer, where the managing editor talked to me on the phone and then emailed me an editorial project/test that took a lot of time. After following up a few times, she finally replied saying they chose someone else. For this second job, she again asked me to do another project that required a lot of work, but she still hasn't responded. I think it's rude to ask for a big project early in the process instead of near the end. I feel like they wasted my time by getting ideas from me through these projects. After doing two projects for them and seeing how they don't seem to care about professional courtesy, I think I'm better off not working there.