Universum Interview Questions
& Process

I got an internal referral for the Research Project Manager position. After waiting a month, I was contacted by a recruiter with only one day's notice for a screening call. I passed that, and the next step was an on-site interview with two team members. On the day of the on-site, one interviewer mistakenly called me on Skype, thinking I was a different candidate with a similar name. This was confusing because Skype wasn't mentioned earlier. While I understand mistakes happen, an apology would have been appreciated given the unprofessionalism. The interviewers were also 10 minutes late and unsure of the meeting room, which doesn't align with my view on punctuality. Although I find the company's ad-hoc approach attractive, it shouldn't excuse carelessness in recruitment. They were supposed to get back to me by an agreed date, but didn't. I had to follow up a week later, only to find out they forgot to send a rejection email. I'm disappointed because I like the company, but the experience didn't meet my expectations.

I saw an opening for roles in my country and HR reached out to me to clarify the differences between two positions. HR then set up a call with the Hiring Manager. The Hiring Manager discussed the role and mentioned a case study test. Since I was employed elsewhere, I mentioned I could only tackle the case during my downtime, and they were fine with that. I completed and submitted the case study within a week. Afterward, they scheduled a presentation call. Following the presentation, they wanted me to proceed to the next stage, which involved meeting the Country Head. After that meeting, the Hiring Manager indicated they wanted to extend an offer but needed to finalize internal discussions with HQ HR. Due to holidays at HQ, the process took longer, and my offer arrived quite late. In short, it was a 4-stage interview. Prepare for a business case, especially if not in Sales. The HR offer process can be slow, but the hiring manager kept me engaged, and the offer eventually came through.

The interviews at Universum Global in Stockholm were a complete mess. I've never had 3 in-person interviews, 2 phone calls, and a group assessment day before getting a 2-month internship that was unstructured and unclear. What really frustrated me and other applicants was that Universum kept saying offers would come in a week or two, but they actually make you wait for 2-3 months sometimes, keeping you hanging.

The interview process felt a bit on the fly, with the conversation just kind of happening rather than following a set plan. It might not be for everyone, but I thought it was pretty interesting and felt more like a real chat. The questions were good and really let me talk about my skills and what I've done. It could've been a little more organized, but overall, it was a good and helpful experience.