I was contacted by a recruiter. The first phone screen was scheduled in a week. This call was with the hiring manager. In this call, we discussed my previous work experience, why the position I am interviewing for interests me, what value I can add and what kind of products interest me.
I was then invited for an onsite interview. Met the recruiter, hiring manager, two product managers, one developer and a cultural ambassador.
Hiring Manager: In this interview, the hiring manager was basically gauging my product acumen. Questions were like- what is your favorite product and why? What can you do to improve mail? How can you make it more social? What is your idea of social, give specific examples.
Product Managers: In these interviews, the product managers were gauging how I deal with day to day activities. Questions were like- How to resolve design and technical conflicts between your product direction and an engineer's idea of product direction? Some discussion around Free and Premium models, specific ideas to improve mail esp contact, event and calendar management.
Developer: In this interview, the developer was focussed on understanding how I work with engineers. Questions were like- How do you resolve conflicts between design and engineering, how do you decide product direction, how do you handle conflicting/changing priorities, what are you strengths and weaknesses?
Cultural ambassador: In this interview, the HR tried to gauge how my attitude and values align with respect to that of the company. Questions were like- have you worked with a difficult personality, how did you handle it? What would you do if your manager is difficult and is a micro manager? What does your ideal job like? What did you think of the previous interviews?
Recruiter: This was basically exchanging pleasantries, showing around the office, gauging my interest in the position and company. The recruiters were great and kept me engaged throughout the process of getting approval for my offer. That helped me know that they were working on the next steps. I enjoyed working with such friendly and genuine recruiters.
After clearing the onsite interview, I spoke with my hiring manager's manager on a phone since he was based out of another location. His focus was to gauge my business acumen and the ability to see the big picture. Questions were like- How do you finalize and pitch a product idea? How do you get buy in?
After my interview, I was invited to join a birthday party for one of my team members. I thought that was very warm of the team.