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Start Early Interview Questions
& Process

Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.

Based on 18 interview experiences · FREE TO READ

2.6 Rounds average
Average Typical difficulty
33.3% Positive experience

Which role are you interviewing for?

11 roles · 18 reports

Candidate interview experiences

First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Start Early.

Showing 4 of 18
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Operations Assistant

Operations · more than a year ago

Entry Average Negative experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Onsite Background check Offer
Interview formats
Behavioral

It started with a phone interview, and if they liked you, they'd call you for a second, in-person interview. I got to the second interview and they asked me a bunch of behavioral questions. They told me they were really interested and I'd hear back soon for the next step. That didn't happen, I got rejected the next day. I get picking someone else, but don't lie to people. It felt like a waste of my time and too competitive for a job that didn't even pay that much.

Confirmed questions4 questions
  • Tell me about a time you got constructive criticism that you didn't agree with.
  • What's your ideal management style?
  • Describe a situation where you failed and how you handled it.
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Coordinator

Other · more than a year ago

Entry Difficult Negative experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Phone screen
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical

The first interview was great, both in person and over the phone. But then, the follow-up interview/contact was much harder, which was pretty frustrating. I emailed my original contact a bunch of times, and she never got back to me. They used this call-in system that was super buggy and never worked with my phone. Also, they didn't tell me anything about a different position they wanted to talk about, and just pushed me into a phone interview without any warning. It was a bummer because everyone I met in person was so nice and communicated really well.

Confirmed questions2 questions
  • Could you start by telling us a bit about yourself?
  • What made you interested in applying to our company?
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Program Associate

Operations

Entry Easy Neutral experience Decline offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Onsite
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical

I had one phone interview with an HR rep and then one in person interview with two potential supervisors. The organization doesn't have the best rep around Chicago. It's known as an org with no upward mobility, low pay, unnecessarily competitive, and people who aren't there for the mission but instead to tote their degrees and say they 'work for good.' But I figured I should find out for myself. It was absolutely the vibe that came off in the interview. When I asked what their favorite part of the job was, they answered the people. Great answer, except they went on to talk about 'all the phds and experts' they talk to on a regular basis, and that everyone who works there is an 'A' student reaching for that A+. They never talked about the mission. They also expect people with a masters degree to fall into administrative roles.

Confirmed questions5 questions
  • Can you tell me what you enjoy most about this role?
  • Could you elaborate on the type of high-achieving individuals you interact with?
  • Describe your interactions with PhDs and other experts in your field.
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Program Associate

Other

Entry Average Positive experience Decline offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Phone screen Onsite Presentation
Interview formats
Behavioral Presentation

So, the interview process was like, first a phone screen, then an in-person interview with three interviewers from the family engagement team, and then another in-person interview that included a writing exercise. I actually didn't get to do the last in-person interview because I took another job offer, but the interviews I did have were really great and everyone was amazing!

Confirmed questions2 questions
  • What is your understanding of The Ounce?
  • What motivates your interest in joining our organization?

Start Early Interview Questions

Quoted word for word from Start Early interview reports.

What are your thoughts on individuals with master's degrees filling administrative positions?

Read reports

Tell me about a time you got constructive criticism that you didn't agree with.

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How do you think about and apply race equity in your work and personal life?

Read report

Could you elaborate on the type of high-achieving individuals you interact with?

Read report

Formats, difficulty and experience

Across all 18 Start Early interview reports.

Interview formats

Behavioral 52.9%
Technical 32.4%
Presentation 11.8%
Other 2.9%

Interview difficulty

Easy 11.1%
Average 66.7%
Difficult 22.2%

Candidate experience

Neutral 33.3%
Positive 33.3%
Negative 33.3%

Reports by job function

Operations 7
Other 5
Engineering 2
Research 2
Analytics 1
Consulting 1