Applied through a job board and they got back to me within a week. Generic behavioral interview. However, the interviewer had a bad attitude and was incredibly rude. She stopped me mid-sentence and said, "So, Square Root isn't important to you, correct?" I was shocked as to what led her to believe that and why she would say something like that so I told her no (as in, that's incorrect), why I really wanted to be a part of the company, and apologized multiple times if I came off that way and she proceeded to call me sassy which was completely unprofessional and uncalled for. I was speechless. After that incident, I felt like there was no way for me to recover and I was destined to do poorly. Then, she would ask a question but not pay attention to my answer and asked, "Wait, what did you say?" Overall, she was really unprofessional and it gave me a bad impression of the company. The recruiter or interviewer is often the first person from the company the applicant is exposed to. I understand that sometimes the interviewer will ask these types of questions to gauge response. The recruiter/interviewer should be welcoming, professional, and embody the culture of the company (even if the applicant gets rejected, the applicant would still have a good impression of the company). However, I didn't get that from her and automatically knew I didn't want to work there.
Hi, Thanks for sharing your feedback. We hate that you had a negative experience. Part of our process is to chat with candidates early on to get a feel for whether they’re both interested and a fit for the position as well as Square Root. However, it’s never our intent for someone to feel bad about this experience. We’ll follow up on this feedback with our team. Thanks again! Square Root
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Square Root
Interview
Two phone interviews, first with an HR person then with the hiring manager. The phone interview was very easy and straight forward, they just wanted to make sure I had the skills required for the job. The interview with the hiring manager was much more specific. She asked about my experience with certain tools, even though this was an entry level position. They told me the reasons I was not picked for the job, which was that it seemed to them I was more excited about the possibility of moving to Austin than the actual job.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Square Root in Nov 2014
Interview
The hiring manager reached out for a phone interview within 48 hours of applying. I had a phone screen, two on-site interviews and an offer within 2 weeks. I met with 5 people in total including the CEO. Each person was from a different department and had their own take on what the role would be. This was a little confusing, but was helpful to know once I started in the role. Each interview was about 45 minutes to an hour. The interview questions consisted of various scenarios where I had to answer with detail on how I would tackle each and what relevant experience I would bring. There was also a culture interview aspect to find out my communication style, problem solving abilities, and if I would thrive in a start-up (slightly chaotic) environment. Everyone was welcoming, friendly and proud of their work, culture and company. After being in that energy, I had to accept the offer!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I was asked to describe what I thought Square Root did; so research before the interview is key!
Glassdoor users rated their interview experience at Square Root as 60% positive with a difficulty rating score of 3.44 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty). Candidates interviewing for Office Manager and Data Engineer rated their interviews as the hardest, whereas interviews for Administrative Assistant and Intern roles were rated as the easiest.
The hiring process at Square Root takes an average of 16 days when considering 10 user submitted interviews across all job titles. To compare, the average duration of hiring at similar companies like BlackRock, Inc. is 14 days, Fabricated Software, Inc. is 2 days, and Apple Inc. is 21 days. Candidates applying for Copy Editor had the quickest hiring process (on average 1 day), whereas Data Engineer roles had the slowest hiring process (on average 30 days).
