System1 Interview Questions
& Process

I applied for the Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer role. The interview process was pretty bad. The recruiter rescheduled our initial call twice, once 15 minutes before and again on the day of the interview. The recruiter screening itself went well, we had a good chat. I let the recruiter know I'd be on vacation and moving out west for about 11 days, but would still be available if needed. She said we wouldn't interrupt my vacation and would let me know about the next step. After I moved, I hadn't heard anything, so I emailed the recruiter to follow up. I got an out-of-office reply saying they'd be gone for nearly two months and to contact two HR people instead. I emailed both, but one bounced back as disabled. I never heard from the other HR director, but I'm glad I dodged this bullet, too many red flags.

The interview process was really messy and disorganized, so just a heads-up. I applied for a Media Buyer role, but then they sent me an Excel quiz for an Online Marketing Analyst position, which was confusing. I talked to a recruiter on the phone who basically combined both roles and said they were the same, and we had a decent chat. The next part was meeting another team member. He described the job totally differently than the first person, more like a tech/digital marketing gig. This interviewer also said the role involved sales and making ads for campaigns. This caught me off guard because making ads wasn't mentioned before and isn't my strong suit. Instead of digital marketing/analytical questions, I was asked about ad copy and imagery on the spot. It was a pretty uncomfortable interview.

The initial screener call was quick with rapid-fire questions. I was told I'd hear about the next interview in a few days. Then, I met with the hiring manager. She spent about 11 minutes talking about the role, leaving little time for my questions or to discuss next steps within our 30-minute meeting. This meeting felt more casual than other interviews I've had. She mentioned I'd proceed to a panel interview. A few days later, I received a rejection email without any reason for not advancing. I reached out to the recruiter for feedback but received none. The whole process felt disorganized and unprofessional. I applied because I have the experience they need, particularly with the upcoming System1 IPO and the projects involved. Even a little feedback would be appreciated.

Alison from HR did a great job coordinating and letting me know what to expect, making me feel supported. The interview was pretty straightforward: first, I had a chat with HR, then an intro call with the hiring manager who was really generous with his time and answered all my questions. The final round involved a team member for the technical part, who focused on both my tech skills and logical thinking, which made it less stressful. Then, Product and Marketing leaders assessed my communication with stakeholders and my analytical approach to problem-solving. Finally, the hiring manager was there to answer any last questions and outline next steps. Based on the questions and the process, I'd guess this team values transparency, growth, and collaboration. I didn't get an offer, and it would have been nice to know why to learn from it, but I get that everyone's busy.