Reed College Interview Questions
& Process

The first part was a phone call, and it was heavily focused on questions about Equity and Inclusion. Then, for the second round, they emailed over some interview questions so I could take my time to craft good answers. Overall, it was a good experience! The role was relatively new when I applied, and it involved a lot of behavioral questions alongside the equity and inclusion ones.

Reed has an extensive interviewing process, including three rounds of interviews (one 20-30 minute phone screening, 45-minute Zoom interview, and an in-person interview). I made it through to the second round of interviewing before receiving a rejection email. During the phone screening, I was asked about my interest in the position, my interest in Reed College, and what social justice means to me. I was offered the follow-up Zoom interview at the end of the call, and scheduled it for the following week. During the Zoom interview, I met with the director of the Center for Life Beyond Reed and an advisor in the department. They had supplied me with interview questions 24 hours beforehand (included below), and I answered all of them in about 20 minutes — this interview was VERY stiff, and they never diverged from the scripted questions. Overall, it felt extremely impersonal.

I formally applied for this job in early May, after talking about it since March. I was told I'd be interviewed, but every week there was a delay. I was finally interviewed around June 15th. The interviews were fine until I met with HR. I thought there were three positions and three candidates, but HR told me there were only two positions available. HR also asked me what my biggest concern about the position was and then completely dismissed my answer. After the interview, I was told I'd hear back soon, then it was pushed back multiple times until I was told I'd hear over the weekend. I was stressed waiting for that call, but it never came. I emailed for an update on Monday and got no response. The next day, I finally found out via phone at the end of the day that I wasn't getting the job. The interviewers made it seem like I would get the offer, but after waiting from March to July, I didn't get it. This whole process was mentally taxing, and I'd recommend others avoid it.

I applied in early August and had a 2-hour phone interview with the hiring manager. Then, I met with the hiring committee in the first week of September 2016. I haven't heard anything about the job status even after sending many emails and calls to the hiring manager and HR. Two weeks ago, I got a voicemail asking me to call back, which I did, but still no response. It's been eight weeks since my in-person interview. The whole process was long: resume & application plus a short essay, a phone interview with the hiring manager, and an in-person interview with a five-person committee. I think people in such a long hiring process should get timely updates. I figured I was out after a couple of weeks of no response but would have liked a reply from Reed. I told HR I was having trouble finding out my status, expecting them to help, but again, no response.