PartsBase Interview Questions
& Process

I got reached out to by a recruiter on LinkedIn about a CHRO role and set up a call with their Sr. People Ops Manager. I was a bit skeptical due to reviews, but she was nice and wanted me to meet with the COO and CEO the next week. I was really hoping they wanted to improve their company culture. After a week of silence from them, I followed up with the recruiter and then the HR person, still nothing. Over a week later, the recruiter finally got back to schedule the CEO and COO meeting, panel-style. It became obvious they weren't looking to change anything. The COO asked me about tracking employee productivity, and I explained how I support managers with goal setting and proactive issue resolution. He then revealed they use 'productivity analysts' to review data from their tracking software daily, monitoring every keystroke. The COO then asked my opinion on 'DIE', and I talked about the importance of 'DEI'. He responded, 'Well, I think it's stupid. I just wanna make money.' It was a really unsettling experience, and I felt bad for their employees.

I had a 45 minute phone interview with someone in HR, where she went over various aspects of the role and my background. Towards the end of the call, I asked about the company's benefits, like parental leave. I was told parental leave is not offered. What surprised me was that the hiring manager then asked about my family planning plans. She took back her question midway, realizing she shouldn't have asked it. It was surprising and a big red flag that the hiring manager, who works in HR, would ask an illegal interview question. After the interview, I was ghosted and never heard back.

This interview process is pretty involved and can be tough, but it shows how much thought and effort the hiring team is putting into bringing the right people onto the team. As a candidate, you can expect to talk with several different people on the team. The vibe is usually friendly and somewhat formal, and they ask really thoughtful, deep questions. It's highly recommended to prepare beforehand, as it really makes you stand out. Keep in mind, you're also evaluating us as we're evaluating you!

I interviewed with two team members and the CEO. The team members had only been there a short time, one less than two weeks and the other just over a month. This made it hard to get a feel for the company culture and work. The CEO was only there for the first half and seemed quite cold, not engaging much with my answers. The whole interview was about 45 minutes. I got a job offer over the phone the next day. After I asked a few more questions, I received the official offer by email the day after that. I had a few days to consider it. Then, the recruiter called, and someone else from the company called, but I was busy and couldn't take the call. About an hour later, I got an email saying my offer was rescinded because they were going in a different direction. Later, I found out the recruiter was no longer with the company, possibly fired, as they posted on LinkedIn that they were looking for work. Reading reviews, I think this was a major red flag I managed to avoid.