Modern Animal Interview Questions
& Process

I interviewed for a corporate role at Modern Animal. I spoke with several people who kept mentioning that the company is 'small' and 'results-driven', and that leadership has high expectations. But, this often translates to unrealistic goals without adequate support or a poor work-life balance. Many interviewers asked about situations where a stakeholder or SME refused to collaborate, which struck me as odd given my 7+ years in L&D. This recurring theme made me question the company culture regarding collaboration challenges. When I asked a VP about career growth, they mentioned that lateral moves are more common than promotions and that they prefer employees who are passionate about the work itself rather than solely focused on career advancement. This was a significant concern for me, as I seek an environment that invests in employee growth and promotion for mutual long-term benefit. The VP also noted that HR is heavily focused on recruitment, while other departments are quite lean, suggesting a priority on hiring over supporting existing staff. The candidate exercise was straightforward, but the scenario involved addressing poor team accountability, an issue the hiring manager acknowledged exists within the company. In my experience, such issues often stem from deeper problems like lack of trust, insufficient support, imbalanced workloads, or poor communication, typically originating from leadership. Modern Animal extended an offer that verbally included company shares, but the offer letter stated the board would 'recommend' granting them, not guarantee it. This phrasing removed any firm obligation. The guaranteed compensation was only the salary. The offer details included standard vesting over 4 years and a window to exercise shares post-employment. However, the VP also revealed the company is VC-backed, operating at a loss, and not planning an IPO for 3-4 years, presenting considerable risk. Post-interviews, I checked Glassdoor, and reviews corroborated my concerns about unrealistic expectations, leadership support deficits, and uneven workloads, with reviewers linking these to favoritism. The final deciding factor was the compensation; despite meeting all qualifications, the offer was at the lower end of the salary range. The overall offer value did not justify the risks of a potentially negative work environment, leading me to decline.

They clearly laid out the interview process upfront, which was pretty long. I actually enjoyed the take-home assignment, but it felt like the interviewer hadn't even glanced at it or my resume before we talked. He mixed up details from my resume and then accused me of not submitting it in full. When I mentioned I was certain I'd checked it multiple times, he finally scrolled up and saw the whole thing. I put in the effort to prepare, and I honestly wish the company had done the same.

The recruiter had a brief call with me, and we quickly reviewed my resume. When I tried to express my enthusiasm for the brand, I felt the recruiter wasn't really engaged, as if it wasn't a priority for them. I attempted to explain how my previous experience relates to this role, but the recruiter focused on their plans for brand expansion. Towards the end, they mentioned the position is highly competitive with multiple candidates already in the final stages. I found it a bit confusing why they were still reaching out to other candidates when several people were already in the final round. The whole interview process felt drawn out. I was initially told I'd get feedback in 3-5 days, but it took a week for the first feedback. It seems like the recruiter's outreach might be more about hitting their performance metrics.

I applied online and heard back pretty fast. The interview process had 2 zoom calls. The first one was about my experience and skills. After that, I had a second zoom interview with scenario questions, asking how I handled stressful situations. Finally, I went to the clinic for a hands-on work interview to show my skills and how I could fit in. This interview process was different but I liked it because it helped see if the job would be good for both of us and gave me more clarity on whether this clinic was the right choice. The hiring team was really friendly and made things less stressful.