Music & Arts Interview Questions
& Process

I interviewed for a Human Resources Business Partner individual contributor role, similar to my previous job. Even though it was an IC role, they put me through six interviews, which is way too many. After the sixth interview with a VP of HR, I got a generic rejection email from the recruiter. I suspect I was used for benchmarking. After six rounds and interviewing with a VP, candidates should get feedback. Individual contributor roles should only have 3-4 interviews max. They seemed disorganized and wasted my time.

I was interviewing for a Product Owner role. The process started with a phone screen and was followed by 3-4 interviews, or whatever it took. I decided to withdraw from the hiring process because the actual job responsibilities were quite different from what was advertised in the job description. Additionally, while the job posting mentioned 2 days in the office per week, new hires are expected to be in the office 4 days a week. This is despite the fact that most of the team is located offshore, and the remaining colleagues likely won't be in the office during those days. Poor communication and the unexpected extra rounds led me to withdraw my application.

It really depends on how urgently we need to fill positions. If we're in a bind, the hiring process is quick and effective. You'll get a call, have a brief phone chat, and then meet with the manager you'd be working with. If that meeting goes well, you'll then interview with the district manager, and you'll be set to start by the next payday. We generally offer temporary roles during August. You might even get a permanent position afterward if there's still a need. If we're not in a rush, your best bet is to drop off your resume when the manager is in, and hope we're hiring. Don't bother asking for an application.

I applied online right before the holidays in December 2018. The Marketing Manager called me directly in early January 2019, which was a nice surprise since I usually hear from a recruiter first. We had a good chat about my experience, especially with agencies and grand openings, since they were opening new stores. She suggested we connect on LinkedIn to arrange the next steps, which was an in-person interview with her and some team members on January 18th. All communication up to this point was via LinkedIn messages. She mentioned the salary would be in the low $50k range, which was a bit of a pay cut, but I figured it might be worth it given the location and potential fit. The in-person interview went really well with another Marketing Manager, the Creative Manager, and the hiring manager. I felt like a good fit, and the hiring manager said I was a top candidate. We bonded over Harry Potter houses and discussed workshops for women; I even recommended one. The next steps were supposed to be an interview with their Director and another staff member, with an offer expected the following Friday. She also suggested I visit a local store, which I did, taking notes and photos. Things got weird after that. I sent thank you emails on Monday morning, and two days later, one team member replied wishing me luck on my search, which was confusing as I hadn't heard anything else. Then, the hiring manager posted about the job opening again. I followed up via email with the hiring manager but got no response. About a week later, I messaged her on LinkedIn, and I could see she was online but didn't reply. After two weeks of no contact, I assumed I didn't get the job, which was disappointing given the clear next steps they had outlined and their claimed company values. I followed up one last time after almost three weeks, asking for feedback as fellow women in marketing. Surprisingly, I got a response within 30 minutes. She said it had been a crazy time and she was sick, and that they were looking for someone with more quantitative experience, which seemed odd given our earlier conversation. It was a strange experience overall.