Gensler Architect Interview Questions
& Process

after talking with a recruiter twice, the first interview was in the office. it was a 90min discussion that included an office tour. I met with two individuals who have been with the company for a long time. We discussed career pathway and the design process. I got feedback the following day and now a second interview is scheduled.

It was the worst interview. It started with talking to recruitment staff about my interests, experience, and strengths. Then I got an email listing who I'd interview with, like the workplace lead and managing director. On the interview day, the managing director said she looked at my portfolio for maybe 5 minutes and decided I don't do workplace projects, ignoring HR's opinion, which was a huge red flag. She then invited the hospitality team. I don't do hospitality and am not interested in it. My portfolio was full of workplace projects, though they were a bit unusual and boundary-pushing, unlike the corporate designs from Gensler. Maybe that was her mistake? The interview also went badly because they couldn't grasp that I'm interested in the whole process, not just a small part. The difficulty was only average because it was so frustrating, otherwise, it would have been easy.

WORST. EXPERIENCE. EVER. I first got scheduled for a phone interview where the interviewer showed up THREE hours late with zero remorse about it as if I was wasting his time. I was then scheduled for an in-person interview in their NYC office where the two HR hiring managers were an HOUR late. Mind you, they knew I had just flown from afar to come just for this interview. When I finally met with the two of them, they were EXTREMELY rude and condescending towards me. The two of them were giving off mean girl high school bully vibes and staring at each other with each response I gave. They subtly belittled me for the college I went to, noting that it was not an Ivy League. I felt so uncomfortable throughout this process that I couldn't believe professionals in such a well-known and prestigious company would act like this. They also looked at my portfolio and judged it without any architectural background themselves. I was also supposed to meet with the first person I had talked to originally on the phone for a technical follow-up the same day after the HR interview. I was told he was unavailable to meet with me. I usually never write reviews like this but I have never felt so disrespected in my entire life. Don't waste your time with this company.