ZIO Interview Questions
& Process

I applied in mid-October and heard back about 4 weeks later for an over-the-phone interview with HR that lasted about 75 minutes. This recruiter was kind, polite, personable, and informative. I felt extremely positive after. My second interview was in-person at the office with two future colleagues. I again left this interview feeling very positive, though they asked some legally inappropriate questions about my child's daycare situation and handling late nights with a family. After about two weeks, I had a third interview with the co-owner, which was a difficult and extreme contrast to the first two experiences. He asked almost incoherent questions, was condescending and narcissistic, and seemed to only want car salesman types. Up until this point, I was assured the role was more about relationship building and people skills, not cold-calls or aggressive sales, but he drilled into sales tactics. After a few more weeks, I received a rejection letter, which I was relieved about.

I sent in my application online back in July, and then about two weeks later, I got an email asking for more info like my job history, what salary I was looking for, and some references. After another week or two passed, I got an email to schedule an initial phone chat with a recruiter, which was pretty basic stuff. Then, about a month later, I had my second interview with two people I'd be working with directly, and they asked mostly behavioral questions. It was smooth sailing until the final interview a month after that with the co-owner, even though the whole process was really slow. The final interview with the co-owner was totally unexpected. He would just keep asking me the same thing but phrased differently, and he brought up stuff that had nothing to do with the interview. He's got a huge ego, bragging about how ZIO is the best and the only company doing what they do. He seemed to be testing if I could handle pressure, or maybe he just needs to focus better. He has this ideal candidate in mind and isn't afraid to compare you to others he's interviewed. Or maybe he was just having a bad day. Listening to him talk about an ex-employee who started a dog bowl business and how they still talk weekly, plus other weird, almost childish tangents, made me realize I probably didn't want to work there. I got a generic rejection email a week later, which was a relief.

I started with a phone screen with the Recruiter. They were nice and knew a lot about the company, which made it seem like a good place to work. Then, I had in-person interviews with both Principals I'd be assisting. My first meeting with one of the Principals went well. He surprised me with some questions I wasn't expecting, which was refreshing since it wasn't the usual boring interview questions. It was an okay interview, just different. My final interview was with the other Principal. This one felt more like other interviews I've had before. He asked about me and my skills, and we had a good back-and-forth conversation.

I applied at the end of October, and about a month later, HR reached out expressing interest. After some back-and-forth emails, we scheduled a phone interview. This call with HR was great; they were super friendly and asked mostly behavioral questions to see if I'd fit the team. Within a week of that call, HR let me know they liked me and I was moving on. This was mid-December, roughly 45 days after I first applied. I had my second interview scheduled within 8 days. It was a video call with a potential coworker. They were a bit reserved but nice and gave me a lot of info about the job, even giving me a virtual office tour. They said they'd recommend me for the next step. The day after that, HR emailed to set up another video interview with the previous interviewer and the two co-owners. We spent a few days trying to schedule this, with some delays on their side due to the holidays (which is understandable). Finally, we had the interview. This is where things got weird. I was early, and so was the other employee, but the co-owners were a few minutes late. The first thing they asked was 'Well, why are we here?'. I answered, and from then on, I was pretty much on the defensive. For the next hour, one co-owner did most of the talking and questioning. No matter what I said, it felt wrong. They weren't standard interview questions, and the co-owner seemed to change them as they went, having a specific answer in mind but not asking the question clearly. I felt like I was being asked the same things repeatedly, just phrased differently, and it felt aggressive. This co-owner wasn't very friendly and came off as narcissistic. The other co-owner admitted they weren't technical, and they seemed disengaged, constantly looking at their phone, not making eye contact, and were very quiet, almost bored or sleepy. Before this last interview, I had a really good impression of the company, but after meeting the owners, I knew it wouldn't be a good fit, even if I got an offer. A few days later, I got the standard rejection email, and honestly, I was relieved. I don't have any hard feelings towards the company or its employees, but I do think the interview process is slow, especially for a tech company, and the owners really need to rethink their approach or they'll keep losing out on good candidates.