Oceana Interview Questions
& Process

I went through two interviews. After that, I didn't hear anything back for about three weeks. I had to reach out to get an update, and then they sent a super generic rejection email. I get that not everyone is a fit, but they should at least treat people like humans. Don't leave people hanging for weeks just to send a generic rejection. Treat me like a person after I've interviewed twice. It felt really disrespectful, which is frustrating since I thought a company with a good mission would be better than that.

I interviewed with Oceana Europe for a social media specialist role. It involved a phone chat with HR, then an in-person meeting with the team, followed by a technical test. After that, another interview with HR happened, covering pretty much the same stuff as the technical team chat. About a month later, I was told things were dragging on. Two months passed, still no word, and I noticed the job was reposted under a different title, and I still haven't heard anything.

The whole thing took like a month. I had 3 interviews, and there was a chance for a 4th, which felt like a lot for an intern role, but I guess they were just really trying to find the right fit. First up was a phone screen with the hiring manager. Then, I did a panel interview with some other team members. Everyone was super nice and professional. After that, I had a Zoom chat with the hiring manager again. They got back to me with their decision in under a week.

The whole interview thing was a mess, like hurry up and wait, and I felt like it was a disorganized waste of my time. I first met with the hiring manager thinking it was just a casual chat, but it turned out to be a job interview, and I didn't even know there was an opening since none was posted. But the manager seemed to think I'd be a good fit for a new role they had in mind. I left feeling really good about it and thought I was a strong candidate. The manager then set up interviews for me with the whole team, back-to-back, in one day with four people in person and one on Skype. The next day I had another Skype interview, and the following Monday, a phone interview with the last team member. So, that's seven people in total over three days. The manager was also pushing for me to fill out a formal application, including references, and do a writing test, which was pretty simple and didn't take too long. Everyone on the team had clearly done their research and asked me specific questions based on my resume. They were all nice and professional, and I think I would have liked working with them. They mostly asked about how my past experience would help me at Oceana, but they really focused on my communication style and how well I work with others. It felt like they were hinting that their manager wasn't communicating with them. After all that, radio silence. The next step was supposed to be a final interview with the president and Comms VP, but I heard nothing for three weeks. I finally had to reach out to the hiring manager myself to find out what was up. This really bothered me; they should have kept me in the loop. I emailed him in the morning, and he didn't reply until after 6 pm, telling me they weren't going to create the position anymore! I put in a lot of time and effort, only to be left hanging and then get a 'sorry, my bad, we changed our minds' kind of response. Super unprofessional.