Travelzoo Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was pretty straight forward and the team appeared interested. They were quick to schedule follow-ups and asked typical interview questions. After meeting in person, everything went south. They delayed the final update for several weeks and then, after several follow-ups, I found out they were moving in a different direction. I have a lot of respect for Travelzoo and wish them the best. At the end of the day, everyone has a different perspective when meeting via Zoom vs. In-Person. Someone can appear different (ex: taller, shorter, looks, age, etc.). Part of the sale is your appearance, and having to go through the process for over 2 months to then find out you probably never had a chance. I probably could have used my time elsewhere. The kicker is, the job is still posted to this day.

This was a weird interview process. For the very first step, I had to prepare and give a presentation. One of the founding brothers interviewed me. He went off on tangents, way over the scheduled time, and later sent emails from a personal account. It felt like I wasn't even asked real interview questions, and he seemed more focused on how things looked than the actual substance. I wasn't formally rejected; I had to chase them multiple times for an answer, which felt disrespectful, especially after I'd already put together a presentation.

Applied for a Publisher role and heard back from HR right before the holidays. Had a nice chat with the HR rep who seemed excited about my background. Then got a writing exercise to do over the holidays. After sending it in, the rep said the team liked my work. It took three weeks to hear back about the next steps. The next step was a joint interview with Ralph Bartel (founder, chairman, chief talent officer) and the Global Head of Brand and Content. It was a bit weird to meet the head of the company before the hiring manager, but I figured it was a scheduling thing. When I confirmed, the rep mentioned they wanted to interview me for an Associate Publisher role instead of the Publisher role I applied for, but they'd still pay me the Publisher salary, which seemed like a red flag. I decided to keep going, though I regret it now. The Global Head of Brand and Content was great, but Mr. Bartel was super rude. Within 15 minutes, he told me my generation is 'brainless' because we rely on tools like analytics to measure KPIs for websites. He then made assumptions about how I work, downplayed my past experiences, and complained that his editorial team can't explain why they choose content based on audience resonance. He made it clear he wants his online travel deal site to be like pre-internet era Travel + Leisure or National Geographic Traveler, where writers did what they wanted, and blamed my generation for the lack of intuition in content creation. I tried to give examples of my storytelling that met goals beyond just visitor metrics, but he wasn't interested. Honestly, I felt bad for his staff and knew this wasn't the place for me. The HR rep emailed the next day saying they decided not to move forward. In hindsight, I don't think they ever planned to hire me. Mr. Bartel seemed more focused on shaming my career and accomplishments than actually hiring me.

I applied online and the Global Recruitment Manager called me within days. It was a quick call with basic experience and interest questions. They thought I might be a better fit for an Associate Producer role but wanted to move me forward for the Producer role anyway. I had to follow up almost a week later to get the written assignment. It was straightforward, and I'd recommend being creative and knowing their company voice. After they confirmed they got it, I got an interview request about a week later. There was a mix-up with an email, but we rescheduled. I thought the in-person was for the Associate Producer role, but it was for the original Producer role. I worried this lack of clarity might hurt my chances. The office in downtown Chicago was underwhelming, sterile, and quiet, not the innovative perk I expected. The interview seemed to go well, conversational, and focused on my experience. They said it was the first in-person round with more steps. There were two projects: evaluating a past top 20 project for click potential and estimating annual revenue for a hotel chain. I used my knowledge for that, and I think this might be where I failed since the rest went well. Two days later, I got a standard rejection saying someone more qualified was hired. They encouraged me to apply again. I asked for feedback and was told again someone else was a better fit. It felt abrupt after the process and a positive interview. I appreciated the response and that everyone was kind.