Key Media Interview Questions
& Process

After applying, I got an email two days later asking for my availability for a one-hour writing test. The test involved writing a 400-800 word news story based on a press release about the FCA's non-financial misconduct survey, which included several long quotes from executives. I had the freedom to choose the story angle. The instructions also allowed for supplementing the press release with my own research and creating quotes. As someone not deeply familiar with the industry, this was challenging within the hour. It required reading the press release, identifying an engaging angle (needing some research), crafting a headline, selecting quotes, and then writing a well-structured, grammatically correct article. Over two weeks after submitting the test, I received a generic rejection email. I find it unfair that candidates who invested time in a test receive a template rejection. I emailed for feedback, got no response, and followed up a week later. Eventually, I received feedback that my writing was clear and structured, but I stuck too closely to the press release. While I agreed with the feedback, I felt the task didn't allow for the best demonstration of my skills. I have over two years of experience in B2B media and more than a year as a journalist writing multiple daily news articles on complex topics, so I don't believe this reflects my journalistic or writing capabilities.

The whole application took about two months and included an initial phone interview, a technical interview, and two practical tests. They also did a reference check. The interviewer was nice, but they ghosted me after all the interviews and tests. Someone even called me to talk about the job offer coming in a week and discuss office arrangements. Obviously, I expected a job offer after that call, but then they just ghosted me with no updates, which is pretty bad considering how long the process was. I asked for updates a few times, and they replied the first two times (a week apart) saying they were waiting for approval. Then a month passed and they stopped responding altogether. I would have accepted the ghosting if someone hadn't called me directly with the clear intention of making an offer. It was a total waste of my time. At least have the decency to send a rejection email if you find another candidate, not give people false hope by calling them to talk about an offer that you're not going to send. Please improve your hiring process.

The hiring journey was quite extensive. It involved discussions with multiple people before a practical assessment. After the assessment, there was another interview, leading to an offer. My initial offer was declined, so I made a counter-offer. They reconsidered and presented a revised figure, which I accepted. The people I met were friendly and easy to talk to. The conversations were casual. I had the chance to ask questions to help me decide if the role and workplace were a good match. Since HR is in a different time zone, some interviews took place in the evenings.

We had our first round with HR where they asked general questions about me, my qualifications for the job, and we did a sales call role-play. Then, I had a second round with the Manager who wanted to talk about my past work experience and the specific requirements for this role. Lastly, I did a sales call presentation with some of the senior management.