HawkSEM Interview Questions
& Process

So my experience was pretty much like what others have shared. It started with a quick chat with the recruiter. Then, I had to do this big assignment, it had three parts and took about 8 hours to finish, especially since they wanted really specific insights. After getting an email saying I didn't get the job, I asked for feedback. Turns out, they didn't like two sentences in my assignment because they said it wasn't their process. I never got to talk to anyone on the team or the hiring manager, so there was no way I could have known about their specific process. It was a really disappointing experience overall.

Save your time. After the first call, they give you an "assessment" that's basically free work for them. They wanted me to audit one of their accounts and list changes and recommendations. That was just one of 4 or 5 tasks for the exam. I spent about 3 hours of my own time on free labor, and the next day they said my responses were good, but they're going in a "different direction." One of the worst interview experiences ever, and I HIGHLY recommend just leaving before you waste hours doing free work for them. The assessment should be at the end, not the very beginning before you even interview the team.

The CEO went over the interview process during our first call and said what to expect. My first interview was with the CEO, it was short and went fine. My second interview was with a sales leader, it was also short and went fine, but it was delayed by two weeks. A month later, I had a three-way video interview with the sales leader and the CEO. Just before, the CEO told me to confirm with the sales leader, but I couldn't reach him. So I confirmed with the CEO and it turned out to be just him and me. It was weird, but I went ahead. The CEO roleplayed as a decision-maker and we did some tasks like giving an elevator pitch. I was told to expect a response in a few days. After the interview, I learned the sales leader had left the company. I didn't hear back for over a week. After many emails, I still haven't gotten an update. I waited a while between emails and even asked for feedback, but got no response. I know things are crazy with COVID, but they didn't stick to the timeline, taking almost two months. I also got no feedback or response. I don't know if they hired someone else or stopped hiring. I was excited to work there but it was all false promises and confusion.

After I sent in my resume, I got a reply with instructions on how to show my skills in PPC and SEO by answering some technical questions. I also had to set up a mock PPC account like I would for a client. I actually like when companies evaluate based on skill, so I was fine with showing HawkSEM what I could do. The first time I interviewed, they hired someone else, but they said it was really close and the other person just had more agency experience. They reached out again a year later, and this time the whole process took about a month from interview to job offer, mainly because I had to give my current employer the standard two weeks notice.