IHL Group (NY) Interview Questions
& Process

So I had this interview, and it was like, one of the worst. I got there on time, and the person who set it up came out to greet me. The actual interview lasted like five minutes, and they were like, 'you don't have enough experience for this.' Then they said they had some lower-level jobs and brought in someone from another department to talk to me. I was already confused, like, why even call me if my experience wasn't a fit? That should've been obvious from my resume. After waiting like 10 minutes, someone else came and said they needed to get a technical designer to interview me. That's when it started feeling really weird. The worst part was when the designer finally showed up, and they were from my same ethnic background. Instead of asking about my skills, they started asking me personal stuff: Where do you live? Are you married? Do you have kids? Do you live with your partner? I was so uncomfortable, I was ready to leave. Then they started picking apart my experience and telling me to look at other jobs. This company's culture seems super messed up, and I ended up declining. If they treat candidates like this, I can't imagine working there.

I talked with Sami (the owner) and another designer about 5 times over a couple of months. Each time I talked with Sami, he asked me about my salary requirements, which I provided without pushback. Then, they requested a project, which I completed. It took 20 hours, and I presented it, and it was well-received. After that, they went silent. I contacted Sami a few times but eventually stopped. Finally, he reached out, wanting to reduce my salary offer by $30k and start me in a lower-tier position. He explained that all designers begin at a lower tier to prove themselves and work up to their standard base salary. So, after all that work, I was offered an unlivable wage and a demotion.

This was the worst interview experience ever. The interviewer spoke negatively about other people, and the interview wasn't even for the role I applied for. I applied for Sr. Production Manager, but she said she wasn't looking for a manager, just an assistant, which surprised me. She also had no space for the interview and seemed completely unprepared.

I had a call for an interview with the manager, where they asked me some questions about my past experience. They also described the production live circle, how to handle issues between the factory and the company, and what I expect from the company.