Murad Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process took a long time. It started well when I got a recruiter call the day after applying. Then we did a phone screening, and they asked me to come in for an interview at the end of the call. I figured either the call went well or they were in a bind since the role had been open for over a month. The recruiter was great at communicating until the interview, which had to be rescheduled once, and they didn't tell me until the day before, which was super inconvenient. The in-person interview was with the hiring manager and the Senior Analyst (back to back) for about 30 minutes each. It felt like it went well; they asked a lot of questions, and I presented a case study I had already submitted. The hiring manager then said how badly they needed help and hoped to fill the position soon, and that he'd get back to me by the next week, but that didn't happen. I followed up with thank you notes and checked in with the recruiter the following week, and they said they were finishing up some other interviews and would decide by Friday. I checked in a week later and they said the exact same thing and that a decision would be made that Friday. This went on, and finally, the hiring manager called me about 3 weeks later to apologize and say they were hiring someone internally (though it wasn't official yet) and that I was his top choice. It was a nice call, and he mentioned other openings in the parent company. I appreciated that call, but still never heard from the recruiter again. It seemed like there was only one corporate recruiter handling several jobs, so I get that it was hard for her to manage everything, but at least letting candidates know the job is filled or on hold is common courtesy. It sounds like they might need more recruiting help. The whole process took up 3 weeks of my life, but they set different expectations from the start, so it's just annoying when the company misleads you.

I got contacted by HR at Murad. She wasn't super helpful and seemed too busy to answer my questions. But I did go into the office for an interview. The office building is amazing, first off. Then, two PR managers took me into an office for an interview. They weren't the right people to interview candidates for this role, though. I don't know who thought it was a good idea for two very junior PR managers to be the first interview for someone who would be reporting to them, but it certainly wasn't. These two managers weren't paying attention and clearly thought one of them should have gotten the senior manager position instead of hiring someone. That position has been open for six months for a reason. HR should have done the first interview with someone more senior and experienced. I felt like these managers weren't happy with the hire from the beginning, so it made for an awkward atmosphere from the start. Needless to say, I didn't get a callback.

It was a phone interview. They asked about my connections within the company. The conversation was pretty relaxed and I felt comfortable. They gave an overview of the job, what they were looking for, and that the role would require doing many different things. We talked a lot about the company founder and their philosophy, which I found really inspiring and unique.

So, I had this phone chat with HR first. Then, later that week, they reached out and I went in for an in-person interview where I met the Creative Director and the Art Director for the team. The week after, I was called in for a third interview, this time with the VP of Global Marketing. A few days post that third chat, I got a call with a job offer.