Idean Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was quite something. Initially, I was drawn in by the company's reputation and their work with major clients, which seemed promising. However, the experience soured dramatically when it came to the offer letter and employment contract. It's full of outdated and frankly unworkable non-compete clauses. The company reserves the right to terminate employment at any time, for any reason, and then expects you not to work in their industry for a full year. To make matters worse, they explicitly state they can inform your next employer about this agreement, essentially threatening to sabotage future employment. This level of spite is unusual, and it's a primary reason I turned down their offer of $175,000 for their NYC office. My advice to them is to remove this problematic language. On top of that, they presented a complicated commission structure that was already below industry norms. The real kicker was that if I met my sales targets but the office as a whole didn't, my commission would be cut in half. Since I wasn't hired to manage the entire office, their overall performance shouldn't impact my earnings, but it could arbitrarily cost me thousands. They refused to negotiate or adjust this unfair arrangement, leading me to walk away. My suggestion to management is to be more reasonable and fair with commission structures. This kind of 'game playing' damages the company's image and, as it did in my case, can cost them a valuable hire.

The interview itself was well structured and guided. Scheduling was straightforward via the recruiter's app. I received a lot of great information from the recruiter and lead designer, and they answered all my questions confidently. However, the take-home exercise and the process after it were abusive and neglectful, completely disrespecting my time. The recruiter even joked that a previous applicant spent only one long evening on it and expected more. I spent about 16-20 hours on the exercise, including interviewing, researching, wireframing, illustrating icons, and mocking up screen flows, which is far more than usual. I later learned a friend who applied the previous year spent a lot of time on a similar exercise and never heard back. If I'm dedicating a week's evenings to an exercise, I expect at least a respectful response like 'thanks but you're not a fit.' I followed up a few times, and the recruiter even promised an update soon, which never came. I thought I'd get feedback on my work, but that would have taken their time. Better communication would show respect for the effort put in.

I applied online and heard back quickly from a recruiter who set up a call. Then, I had a video interview with the hiring manager. After that, they scheduled me to go onsite and meet with the studio manager. There was a bit of a wait, but eventually, I got invited to their Palo Alto office to meet her. Once I got there for what I thought was the final interview, she informed me the role was on hold. It was frustrating to drive 30 miles to be told something they probably knew before I even came in.

I had phone calls with several team members, and then we met up in person at the NY office. Everyone I talked to was really nice, approachable, and intelligent. The overall atmosphere was great. The only downside was that I didn't get to ask as many questions as I would have liked.