Magnolia Innovation Interview Questions
& Process

They had me interview with SIX people. I've come to believe that this organization doesn't intend to hire when they post open positions on job boards. They want to learn how their competitors conduct business so they can follow suit. There's no reason to have a candidate go through 6 interviews, especially for junior level position. I felt like they were grilling me to find out how my previous company operated rather than trying to see if I could execute the requirements of the role.

I went through the standard HR phone screening, then interviewed with one founder and three directors. Everything was on Zoom. Three of the interviews were in a three-hour marathon session on the same day. It's a shame because this company is incredibly rude and disrespectful to applicants. They made me go through 5 hours of interviews and kept advertising the job to find a perfect candidate. They haven't contacted me since February, even though I've followed up. They didn't even have the courtesy to send a rejection email after all that. Truly an inconsiderate and rude culture.

I applied online. The process had a few phone rounds, then an onsite day where I presented a take-home exercise, did a case question, and had interviews with their leadership. Everyone I spoke with came from different backgrounds like strategy consulting, market research, and healthcare analytics, so each had a unique perspective on the daily work. It seems like the firm handles open-ended strategy projects for life sciences clients, using various research methods; my interviewers highlighted the diverse skills they acquired and the broad scope of projects, making the work feel eclectic and demanding. Despite being a small office, it appeared to be a fun place to work. People were already working when I arrived for my morning interview. There were different types of workspaces, ideas drawn on whiteboards and white-tables everywhere, a foosball table, and a nice kitchen. The presentation and interviews were good experiences; the questions were detailed, but the interviewers were very open about their experiences and views on the firm. It seems like a work-hard-play-hard culture, and they don't take themselves too seriously. Their offer was also good compared to many other research/strategy firms I interviewed with – they had a solid bonus structure and benefits, which can be rare for smaller firms in this industry. Many of the people I interviewed with had been there since the firm started, so it seems to have worked out well for them. Overall, the interview process was intense but smooth; I left with a very positive impression of the firm.

You'll start with some written answers, then hop on a couple of phone calls with HR and some team folks. After that, there's a case study where you'll have to put together a presentation, which can take around 20 hours of work. They might have more interviews after that too.