TL;DR: This could be a great company for the right person, but be on the lookout during the hiring process for expectations for lots of unpaid work and redundant assignments. And make sure to communicate clearly about travel itineraries and expenses.
Everyone I interacted with throughout the hiring process was polite, respectful, and friendly. However, in my many years in the professional workforce, I have never experienced an interview process so extensive and with expectations for so much unpaid and redundant work.
After several remote interviews, the company had me complete a very extensive, unpaid take-home assignment. I've done many of these assignments in the past and usually try to limit myself to two hours, but this assignment demanded significantly more time investment. One part of the assignment was to write a memo about a question that we had already covered during the first interview.
I then traveled to the company's office for an onsite interview, for which I was tasked with delivering a 30-minute presentation. The topic of the presentation was something that I’d already been asked (and answered) during the first interview. It was wholly focused on my past work, not on what I could bring to this company in the future. A rehash of past work didn't seem to add much value to the interview process considering I had already demonstrated my work abilities very thoroughly via the take-home assignment (not to mention my resume and work samples). I would have preferred to use the time to learn more about the company’s specific needs and discuss how I could fulfill them.
Next, I was asked to perform an on-the-spot, live demonstration of my work along the same model of the take-home assignment I had already completed.
Then there was the financial component of my onsite visit, which left me on the hook for some of my expenses. The company said they would pay for my plane ticket and one night at a hotel, and told me to select my own flight itinerary. I live quite a long drive from the nearest major airport. Maybe there was miscommunication, but after I shared an itinerary that accommodated my distance from the airport, the company booked a different itinerary instead, without running it past me. Because of that change, I needed an additional hotel night that I paid for myself.
Overall, I did not feel that the hiring process made good use of my time. While WindBorne is an exciting company with upbeat, enthusiastic employees, I found its hiring process overly elaborate, with overlapping assessments that covered much of the same material. Individually, each assessment may have been reasonable, but taken together they resulted in an exhausting, lengthy process with a significant amount of unpaid work.
Despite all this, I truly think that WindBorne could be a very exciting place to work for the right person. If you apply for a job, I recommend asking upfront exactly what will be involved in the hiring process and making sure that you are willing to commit to the process. It’s easy to get swept up in these processes, so be prepared to set boundaries. And when you book your travel for the onsite visit, make sure to communicate your needs very clearly and confirm the final itinerary before it is booked.
