The Cambridge Network (MA) Interview Questions
& Process

I sent my application via email to HR and got a response within a few days to set up an interview. HR was very flexible with scheduling. My first interview was with Greg Friedman, the Director of Program Management. The second interview was with Jim Zhou, a senior manager. They told me I was a strong candidate and that they were trying to decide between placing me as an IP consultant or in a new department they were creating. I felt good about it and followed up a week later. When I called, I was sent to an answering machine. I emailed, but never got a response. I would have been fine with a rejection, even a simple email. Instead, I had to call multiple numbers and never got to the right person. I'm not sure if they even have an HR department or if it's just one person handling everything. The person who answered the phone didn't seem to understand me well and I wasn't sure if she spoke fluent English. The professionalism I initially saw wasn't maintained throughout the rest of the process. I'm disappointed CIIE just disappeared.

I applied for the Associate Director position and heard back from a recruiter the next day via email. He sent a questionnaire with standard questions like why I applied, what I'm looking for, and travel willingness, and crucially, relocation willingness (which I answered 'NO'). After returning it, we scheduled a phone interview for the next day. The 'interview' was mostly the recruiter talking about the company's growth, only asking if I was willing to travel, which I affirmed. He then invited me for an in-person interview two days later. I commuted to Waltham. Upon arrival, I met with the HR person first, who reiterated the company growth narrative and asked again about travel willingness. Then, I met the hiring manager for a very long interview, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. He asked about my entire resume, going back to high school, which felt tedious. When I asked about the role, he was vague, calling it 'a little of everything' and 'trying different projects.' The biggest issue was he revealed the hired person would need to spend 3 to 6 months at a time in Brazil or Mexico. I was furious, pointing out this wasn't in the job post or mentioned earlier. He apologized, saying he thought he'd specified it. This was a deeply unprofessional process. I emailed the initial recruiter, who replied, 'My understanding of the position was a small amount of travel not to relocate.' My total time spent was 4 hours, which felt like a complete waste.

I had a good phone interview with HR who then set up a personal interview with the hiring manager. When I got to Waltham for the interview, a potential co-worker interviewed me for about 15 minutes. They then came back and said the hiring manager was in a meeting and couldn't meet with me that day. I was asked to call the hiring manager in a few days to reschedule. The hiring manager never called me back or answered my email. HR didn't apologize or offer to help reschedule, which was very unprofessional.

I applied online but didn't hear back, probably because they were hiring someone else at the time. But then, a few weeks later, I ran into another employee who called his manager to recommend me. We found out the position had just been filled, but then the new person backed out, so they called me about two weeks later. I had a phone screen, a one-on-one with the direct manager, and then another phone interview with a senior manager. It turns out there was also a background check and an offer.