Humane Rescue Alliance Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was really easygoing, laid-back, and calm. Everyone I met was kind, from start to finish. It was a great experience, a ten out of ten in my book.

The interview process started with an initial call with a recruiter, followed by a writing exercise. Then, there was an interview with the Executive Leadership Team, and finally, an interview with the CEO that included a walkthrough of the office space. The company was not upfront about the timeline, focusing only on their schedule. They mentioned they'd respond by the end of Friday before a long holiday weekend, but they didn't follow up until after the weekend, without an apology. On Sunday, I received an ominous text from the CEO's office seeking follow-up questions, rather than expressing enthusiasm. The final round with an Executive Team member was unpleasant and felt abusive, as they seemed inexperienced with running interviews and asked about resume gaps, which felt outdated and blaming. They also pointed out a typo on my resume, which was surprising given my strong writing exercise and thank-you notes, suggesting a lack of a people-first culture. There was a general lack of empathy for the interview process, and I felt treated as if I'd done something wrong, without any consideration for candidate comfort or sustained interest. They didn't show much interest in my experience. Responding honestly about resume gaps at that stage was met with distrust. It was also insulting that they questioned if I even had references before asking for them, making me feel I dodged a bullet considering negative feedback about the leadership team.

I applied online and after about 5 days, got an email to set up a first zoom chat with the Head of HR. We set it up for the next week, an hour long. We talked about the company, what the job is about, and how my background fits. It seemed to go well. After that, they said there'd be a final interview with a group of people, and they'd be in touch. Sadly, no word from them, but I did get a generic rejection email about two weeks later. Nice company though and I like their mission.

The interview process was friendly, expedient, and welcoming. Since I had interned there before, they asked me some non-standard questions. I also had the advantage of knowing the panel beforehand. I met with three people, and they were very friendly. They asked about my personal life and interests and kept it relatively casual.