Museum of Science Interview Questions
& Process

It was a pretty basic and straight forward interview with behavioral questions. The interviewers were friendly. Since I had worked there before as an intern, I already knew them. Overall, I think it was a good experience.

The first interview was with HR, it was fine, they were nice and knew their stuff. We talked about salary and I got the offer range, which was great. The second interview, however, didn't go well. The job was advertised as hybrid remote (3 days in office, 2 remote), but the interviewer made it clear he doesn't trust remote workers and thinks they can slack off. This was a bit surprising since I've worked hybrid successfully, and he and my potential boss would only be in the office a couple of times a year. He mentioned this multiple times. I asked if training would be in person or virtual, and he was unclear but implied virtual. I also asked about having a dedicated workspace if I'm in the office 3 days a week, or if it would be hot-desking, and if there was a schedule or if everyone came in on the same days, but got no answer. He did say they'd prefer new hires to be in the office consistently for the first few months. He also suggested I shouldn't have a contract or part-time job because it might distract me, which I only mentioned to clarify no conflict of interest in the education sector. This again ties back to his distrust of remote workers. Lastly, the job description I applied for and the one the interviewer discussed with me were very different. Because of all this, I withdrew my application. My suggestion to the hiring team is to be upfront and honest about the job description, salary, office setup, and remote work expectations.

First, there's a recruiter screening, then a hiring manager interview, and finally a panel interview with the sales team. They require five references, which is more than the usual three. They claim these references won't represent the company, yet they ask for work phone numbers, not personal ones. This feels incredibly invasive of people's privacy, especially since the reference checking is handled by a third party. They use over 20 scale-rating questions and two open-ended ones, asking references about three negative aspects and three strengths. The way the questions are phrased is very negative. They ask for these references before even offering a position. It's probably best not to use up your reference bank on such an intrusive process. While this is a sales role, the pay is hourly, which is unlikely to motivate sales reps to do more than the minimum. Typically, an SDR role includes a bonus for completed meetings to drive the process.

Applied online and then had a phone interview the next week. It was mostly about confirming I could do the schedule and the salary. The day after, I got an invite for an in-person interview the following week. First up was HR, same person from the phone chat, for about 30 minutes asking why I wanted the role and how I fit. Then, I met the department's Supervisor and Manager for a more in-depth chat about my background and what I could do, which felt comfortable and lasted about an hour. We finished with a tour of the place. It was a good experience overall, even though I didn't get the offer.