Prior to their having a recruiter:
1. Phone Interview with Studio Director
2. Simulation (sorry, NDA)
3. Heard nothing for a month
Once they got a recruiter:
1. Simulation (again, signed a NDA)
2. Phone Interview
3. In-person interview
Apparently, they were interviewing a good number of candidates (~7 or so). Interview lasted about 3.5 hours, and I was the only one interviewed that day. Each hour was a different interview with a different department head and fortunately, the CEO and COO as well. Interview with the PM Director was well structured and very informative. He was able to successfully answer all of my questions concerning competitors, investors, the company culture, expectations of the role, and company outlook.
Interview with the others consisted of mock scenarios and whiteboarding, but was not well structured and the interviewers seemed unprepared. It seemed like the two interviewers didn't know what each other was asking, and even when I asked for clarification, they had to correct each other's clarifications. There were a couple mock scenarios (such as the introduction I'd give to the team I'd be leading) that didn't make sense to answer in an interview. Then came time to discuss salary, and I asked them what their budget was. They had no idea. Then I asked him if they had any issues or concerns with me, and they said they had no questions for me.
Interview with the CEO and COO was more a casual meet and greet. Discussed a few ideas that seemed unrelated to the role on the surface, which was great. I plan on using technique for my own future hiring.
Found out a week later that I didn't get an offer. My thoughts for Game Closure:
-If you're hiring a position and tell me you've been looking for awhile and have 7 business days worth of interviews (mine being towards the end of the group), it's a good idea to know your budget.
-Have structured, feasible interview questions prepared beforehand. Aside from the PM Director, interviewers correcting each other's clarifications hints that miscommunication between departments is common and worse, makes it seem like you're not invested in who they're interviewing. Why waste an hour or more of your time?
-If a candidate asks you if you have any concerns, put them on the table and let them argue their case. If you say you're looking for someone who is a good communicator, then show that you are and discuss any issues or concerns. In my experience in interviewing, even when I have a good candidate, I'll know right away as to the reason why I don't think they're great. I've yet to experience two great candidates, but I can imagine if I did, I'd either hire both if it was in the budget, or do a follow-up interview to figure out which one is amazing.
-If you're the head of any department, your job is to lead the vision and make me believe in that vision. If you are asked about what you do, don't tell me that you "run this department". No, I know that, I did my research. I want to know why this position excites you and what you can do to get me excited to work for you and with you.
-Manage your expectations and know why you asked the question. If you explain that the role you're hiring for is entry-level to start and that you even started in the same role without knowing things like budgeting and timelines, then don't ask a budgeting and timeline question. Rolling your eyes after I give an estimate and explain my thought process, then just saying "OK" without any follow-up questions about my thought process is both distracting and misguided. With that kind of response, you either were unhappy with my answer, at which point you should asked follow-up questions, or in some bizarro world, you were happy with my answer but didn't know why you asked the question in the first place.
Overall, your job as an interviewer is to sell me on the company and make me believe it's my dream company. I should walk out of there feeling like I couldn't live another day if I didn't get a job there, instead, I walked out of there with very tangible concerns and pretty indifferent.
