ThinkTank Learning Interview Questions
& Process

They asked me a lot of questions about my work ethic, my profession, and legal stuff. They even asked about my personal life and career goals. However, they didn't really ask about the job role or the specific posting. I felt like I didn't know where things were headed, and my ambitions weren't really considered.

So the interview process was pretty standard overall. It started with a phone screening from HR. Then there was a group interview and a writing assessment. The assessment required proofreading a student's college application essay and writing a short essay yourself, all within a time limit. The interview itself involved a bunch of scenario questions about how you'd handle situations with students or parents. It finished with a video interview with one of the managers. I was really interested in this position and excited to interview with ThinkTank. However, I have to say it was one of the worst and most disorganized interview experiences I've ever had. The whole thing took over 2 months. I was first contacted in late August 2014. My initial phone screen went well, and they followed up with the next steps (group interview/writing assessment) about a week later. Since I was applying from out of state, they had me email the assessment and planned to reschedule a Skype interview for later that week. But that week stretched into two, and that's when things started going downhill. I was initially supposed to have a video interview with one regional director, but once it was scheduled, another director contacted me to cancel the first and said I'd be interviewing with them instead. They first asked me to call them to start the interview, which was a first for me. When I called, they were in the middle of a meeting, right at our scheduled time. They apologized and wanted to reschedule for the next Monday, and this time they would call me. That call ended up being over three hours late. I got an apologetic email and we rescheduled for the same time the next day. They ended up calling me two hours later that same night. I decided to just do the interview on the phone right then and there and felt I handled their scenario questions professionally. They said they'd be in touch soon. About two weeks went by with no word. I sent a follow-up email asking if the position was filled. The same director emailed back within three hours asking for a Skype interview (which I never got during the initial assessment). The same director was over an hour late again before emailing another apology. They finally called me, apologized again, and set up our Skype interview. It turned out they had technical difficulties and had to type their questions to me while I was on video. These questions were similar to the scenario questions I'd already answered. I answered four questions, and then the video chat was over, surprisingly in about 5 minutes. The final video interview seemed pointless, just more scenario questions they could have asked weeks earlier. The next day, I got an email saying I wasn't the best 'fit' right now. I respect their decision, but the way the interview was conducted, the timing, the rescheduling – it all could have been handled much better, in my opinion. I felt my time was wasted waiting for these late calls and interviews, and overall, I don't think they took me seriously enough.

I emailed a local branch with my resume and then had a phone interview. After that, I had a face-to-face interview at their HQ in Santa Clara. The office seemed pretty empty and unoccupied. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Then, after passing the phone interview, I had another face-to-face interview at the local branch with the manager there, who was also very friendly and familiar.

I had a phone interview where they asked about my understanding of the company and some general questions. They asked about how I handle stress, my strengths and weaknesses, my commute, my past work experience, my work authorization, and why I felt I was suitable for the role. There weren't any really hard questions. About a month later, I got an email saying I wasn't the right fit.