LEVICK Interview Questions
& Process

Applied and got called in for an interview early morning. Received two books by Richard Levick as a welcome gift, which felt a bit presumptuous. The HR person was out sick, so I was interviewed by someone from the digital team who wasn't prepared and didn't know anything about me. She was nice, but it was odd for a crisis communications firm not to have a backup plan for interviews. We discussed my background and life at the company. It was made clear the job is demanding, requiring long nights and weekends. After about 20 minutes with the first person, I met with another individual on the digital team. This conversation was also informal and more of a chat than a formal interview. I noticed that more than half of the digital team had been there less than a year, and almost no one had been there for more than three years. By the end, it was clear that the company is primarily a crisis communications firm looking to add digital capabilities. I realized it wouldn't be a good fit for me.

I applied online for a position, but after a few weeks, they contacted me for a phone interview. It turned out the phone interview was for a paid internship, not the job I applied for. I decided to proceed because I was still interested in the company. During the phone interview, I spoke with three team members. They asked me about myself, my past experiences (both professional and academic), and then presented hypothetical scenarios for me to address. Later that same afternoon, I was given a timed, two-hour writing assignment. I had to respond to a given situation by creating and writing out a plan. Three days later, I got a job offer over the phone, followed by a formal offer via email.

I applied via email for a Director role and after a month and a half, the HR associate contacted me to schedule an interview. After trying to reach her back a few times, she finally scheduled it. I paid for my own travel to come in for an interview with four SVPs and VPs. This went well. Two weeks later, I was asked to do a two-hour timed writing test during business hours. After another two weeks, I emailed HR for an update and was told they wanted me to come in for a second round. I confirmed a date and time, and flew in again at my own expense. Upon arrival, the HR associate mistakenly had me scheduled for the next day. I couldn't come back the next day as I had taken time off work and flown in just for that day. She managed to round up the people I needed to meet, but they seemed unprepared and hadn't reviewed my resume. It was a terrible experience overall, largely due to the HR associate's lack of attention to detail.

It was a pretty standard in-person interview process with three separate people: a VP, the Director of the Fellowship, and an Associate. Each interview was about 30-40 minutes long and conducted separately. They also gave me a writing test to take home, with a 4-hour time limit. It was a really demanding test, and I suspect they wanted to see how I'd handle pressure since it seemed impossible to finish in the allotted time. I couldn't complete it all before submitting. Honestly, I'm glad I didn't get the offer; I don't think I'd fit in there.