Ford Smart Mobility Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process involved a few steps. First, there was an initial interview where they asked about me, my location, and my family. Then, an online IQ and Excel test, which took about 10 to 15 minutes. Finally, a last round focusing on location.

The interview had two phone screens, and if I passed those, an onsite interview. The first phone screen was with a recruiter who was super nice and we had a warm, interesting chat about the company. They felt my background was unique and a good fit for the role. But looking back, there were warning signs I should've noticed. When I asked about working with other teams, they said 'oh we have happy hours and social events all the time,' which made me think it might be a bro-y workplace or maybe lacking direction, as I expected a work-related answer to a pretty basic question. Then I moved to the second phone screen with a senior employee. They had a computer science background and clearly didn't like that I listed personal projects using Javascript and other technologies. They pushed me for details beyond what a technical support analyst would need and generally seemed antagonistic. They also didn't like that I had a contract tech support role and didn't stay, nor that I had a teaching background, even though the role's main focus is teaching less tech-savvy drivers about technology. I got the impression this senior employee wanted someone with office IT experience (like fixing computers in person rather than over the phone), who can teach tech beginners and handle stressful situations with empathy. I had experience in all these areas, but they were very put off by my background and experience.

I first had a 30-minute phone call with the lead engineer. He asked some really good questions about my background and seemed really into it. A few days later, I went in for an in-person interview with him that went for about 2-3 hours. I thought his questions were good again this time, focusing on technical problems specific to the business. I worked through these problems on a whiteboard while he watched and occasionally gave me hints. The CEO even stopped by at the end to say hello, and we had a short chat about the company's history and how it makes money.

Super long interview process! First, I had 2 phone interviews that were about 30-60 minutes each. Then, it took me calling them back like 3-4 weeks later to follow up, and they finally got back to me a week after that and set up an in-person interview. On the day of the interview, I met with 4 different people. A week after that, they called me and said I got the job and would hear back by Wednesday or Thursday about when training starts. It's wild they tell you you're hired but don't know the start date! On Friday, since I hadn't heard anything, I called again to check on the training start date. The person I spoke with then told me that because of internal issues, they were no longer hiring.