Confusingly illogical hiring process that felt off. Been contacted before a couple of times for the same role, which never seems to get filled.
I was contacted by a recruiter regarding a role that matched my background, so I decided to give it a try.
Here's a list of all the strangeness that set off red flags at Redfin so you can judge for yourself:
1. The recruiter and I set up a phone call: after 20 minutes of talking, she wanted to set up another phone call, which she called the "phone screen" -- you mean our past 20 minute conversation wasn't the screening? Huh?
2. The next step is having you work on a homework assignment before you meet the hiring manager. Yup, you heard me right. The homework assignment is step TWO, right after the recruiter screening. They make you do the most time-consuming step early in the process to put you in your place. You're gonna feel grateful to eat our dirt, darn it!
Did I mention they expect you to take 3 hours to do it AND want it turned in within 48 hours?
3. Then, 3 different people reached out to me to schedule a phone interview with the hiring manager. Why do you need three different people to schedule one phone interview? Holy corporate bloat, Batman!
How many Redfiners does it take to screw in a light bulb?
4. Spoke to the hiring manager. I don't know if she was having a bad day or if she's just a bad-tempered lady, but for a people manager she was almost comically lacking in etiquette and interpersonal skills.
Here's a specific example:
Earlier in the process, Recruiter 1 had mentioned she and Hiring Manager had talked about the most important trait that a candidate could bring to the role, and that they had agreed that communication (ironically!) was the most important skill. I jotted this down on my notebook, word for word.
During the phone interview, I brought up what Recruiter 1 had told me, hoping to segueinto my own communication skills. Hiring Manager interrupted me:
"No, that's not right at all, X skill is most important to this role, communication is secondary."
I asked her a basic question about marketing trends and challenges in the real estate market. You know, showing curiousity in the industry I'd be working for
"I can't share that with you." Ok . . . guess curiousity is a bad thing too . . . What CAN I talk about?
This Redfin experience was the most bizarre, overly-complicated-for-the-sake-of-looking-busy-and-impprtant interview process I'd been part of. But at least it gave me this great story to share. Hope this helps others in their decisions!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The usual "tell me about your background and why you want to work here" type questions
I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Redfin in Oct 2015
Interview
Phone interview that asked basic behavioral questions, as well as asked about my experience. I applied online through my university job board and was contacted within one week. My qualifications didn't exactly match what they were looking for but the hiring managers were very helpful and kind throughout the process. Overall I had a positive experience interviewing with Redfin despite not being offered a position with them.
Marketing applicants have rated the interview process at Redfin with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 50% positive. To compare, the company-average is 60.9% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Marketing roles take an average of 7 days to get hired, when considering 2 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Redfin overall takes an average of 21 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Redfin as a Marketing according to 2 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 100%
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