theSkimm Interview Questions
& Process

Applied directly on their site and got contacted 3 weeks later by the Managing Editor for a 30-minute video interview. She was 5 minutes late, saying she had technical difficulties. Then midway through the interview, she went on mute while I was answering a question, talked to someone else, and walked out of the room. She didn't even acknowledge it. We were almost out of time, but she stayed a few minutes after to answer my questions. The next day, I got a generic rejection email. It was a really bad and unprofessional experience.

It was great! The person who interviewed me was very collaborative. She actually gave me the kindest, most encouraging rejection email ever. The edit test, however, was a bit extensive and I'm of the belief that you should pay people for completing edit tests, especially since they legally can use your edit test even if you don't make it to the next round.

I applied online and the hiring manager contacted me the same day to set up an interview. There were three interviews in total: first with the hiring manager, then with someone from marketing, and finally with a senior designer. Everything seemed to go well, and I thought I'd get an offer, but then they ghosted me. I followed up twice and never heard back. It was really unprofessional. At least they could have told me they chose someone else. I definitely would not recommend this company to anyone based on their unprofessionalism. It was a complete waste of my time.

The interview process wasn't excessively long for a company based in NYC, but I felt some parts could have been more efficient. It involved several phone calls, in-person meetings with various team members, a take-home assignment, and then a presentation of that assignment back in the office. While I really liked everyone I met in person, given how much the company promotes its culture externally, the interview process itself was a bit lacking. I was in the final stages, about to speak with the founders, when I was informed they had actually decided to hire someone for a senior role first and wanted me to interview with that person as a final step. This would have delayed their process by four weeks. They suggested keeping in touch, which was understandable, though a bit frustrating, but that's the startup reality. I did keep in touch, and about four weeks later, I inquired about the role. I was told they were nowhere near hiring the person they wanted me to speak with and they would see what they could do. After another month without hearing back, I followed up again about the role (having apparently been in the final, final round). I never received a response. It was a disappointing experience to be ghosted so close to the end, but I suspect their recruiting team might be struggling to manage the workload as they scale. My advice for interviewees would be to clarify the timeline for the role very, very carefully as you progress through the interviews.