RedShelf Interview Questions
& Process

I sent an email to apply and then got a call back a few days later for a phone screen with the head of product. She asked good questions and answered mine, seeming interested. About a week passed, and then they invited me for an in-person interview. I met with the same person again for a longer discussion, covering more typical product questions and learning more about their needs. It was clear that while product experience is valued, cultural fit is much more important to them. After the in-person interview, there was silence for weeks, not even a confirmation of my attendance. I found this odd given the phone call's politeness. Despite this, it seems like a pleasant company overall.

After I applied online, the hiring manager reached out a few days later to set up a 30-minute phone screen. This first chat was mostly about my background, work history from my resume, salary expectations, and what I'm looking for in a new gig. Things went well, so I was invited for an in-person interview at their office. There, I met with the hiring manager again and another marketing person. They asked more resume-related questions and about my digital marketing background. It seemed to go okay, and the hiring manager really wanted me to meet the HR Director, who wasn't free that day. After that, I would have met with one of the founders. But, I got a rejection email three days later. Honestly, I wasn't too shocked because I felt the role wasn't a great fit (they seemed to want someone with more digital marketing chops), but I didn't love how the hiring manager made me want to meet HR only for them to reject me later. It felt a bit misleading. Still, the people I did meet were very nice, and I got a decent impression overall. Since it's a startup, I figure they're still figuring out their hiring process.

I applied online and after about two days, a recruiter reached out to schedule a brief 15-minute call to discuss the role and my background. Soon after, I received coding assignments for both frontend (ember.js) and backend (python script to parse and categorize purchases from a CSV). I submitted my solutions and received feedback the same day, within a few hours. Although my initial backend script had an incorrect output, I was given two opportunities to revise it, which allowed me to advance. The subsequent step was an in-person interview at their office, consisting of an hour with the director and a 30-minute session with the team. The environment was very welcoming, and their enthusiasm for the product was palpable. Even though I didn't end up receiving an offer, the overall interview process was quite positive.

This was a really lengthy process. I had a phone interview with HR and the office manager, an in person interview with one of the sales directors and the same lady from HR, I was asked to do a project and then had another interview with the CEO and CFO. The communication about the process was great and they followed through with the timing expectations they set - until the end, which was really frustrating. Overall, I enjoyed the people I met with and was impressed with the company throughout the process, but at the end of the process, I was disappointed and felt taken advantage of/misled. I feel like my time was completely wasted and I was misled. We talked compensation expectations and salary from the start and in every interview. I was continually told they would be able to be in the salary range I was looking for only to be called after all the interviews and project to be told that my salary expectations were too high. I wish they had been honest from the start and saved both sides some time.