Communispace Community Manager Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – Selected for an interview along with over 30 seniors applying for the same position. I was Interviewed by 3 staff members in client services, they were all very nice and asked me fairly straight-forward behavior questions such as tell me about this internship you had and what you learned, how do you deal with competing priorities, how me an instance when you came up with a creative solution to a marketing problem, etc.

Negotiation Details – There was no room for negotiation in any way because it was an internship.

Interview Details – Overall, the process took a little under three months. I was given a 20 minute phone interview and was asked to come in the following week for an in person interview. The second meeting was with three different employees, all at different levels in their career. After this, I was given the chance to move forward and was asked to do a content analysis powerpoint based on data given to me. I had the weekend to complete it and was then asked to come in for my final interview. Again, this step included meeting with three people.
In the end, I was not chosen. In the future I hope they make it clear to potential employees that they are not a good fit before they are led on for almost three months.

Interview Details – Initial phone screening interview with HR (about 20 mins) - asked basic questions about my resume, experience etc. Although I didn't have much market research experience, I still got the second interview (which is strange in retrospect, given how important this is for the job). The second phase is an in person interview with a director level person and Community Mgrs I and II ( all individual, one-on-ones and half-hour each). They mostly ask about your experience, why you want to work in Market Research - have pointed out some specific questions below. This was followed by a written survey/client email test for 45 mins. The written test had me write a response email to a customer query and design a 10-question basic survey in response to the presented case. It wasn't very complicated, but you have to be quick since you have 45 mins to do this. I didn't get past this stage, but after this, they send you consumer insight over email and you have to make a presentation within a week and send it back to them. That's the last phase of the interview process.

Interview Details – I had four interviews over the course of 8 weeks. Phone interview, in-office interview with three employees across the ranks, a content analysis exam, and an in-office Powerpoint presentation.

Negotiation Details – What were you able to negotiate? What advice would you give others considering an offer?

Interview Details – I was contacted by a very polite and helpful hiring manager for a 20-30 min phone interview about 2 weeks after I sent in an application. About 10 min was questions about my experience/resume and then there was an overview about the position and their hiring process (they were trying to find people to start ASAP so it was pretty accelerated). At the end of the phone interview we set up an actual interview in their Boston office for the following week. I met with three employees, two upper level managers and one senior associate community manager. All of them were were actually a pleasure to speak with, and their passion was contagious.

Mostly asked questions about my internship experiences, and what they did as a company. A couple of questions repeated through each of the interviews and there were definitely some common themes (like communication with your team). Parts of the interviews were conducted in Spanish, and afterwards there was an hour-long demo project where I had to read a couple of pages of community members' responses to a question and analyze them (all in Spanish).

The only negatives about the process weren't that I didn't get hired (they found some people with more prior research experience) but the fact that I had to harass them to find out if I had been hired or not (they told me they'd get back to me in 48 hours, I called them after a week of hearing nothing). The hiring manager left me a message saying he'd be happy to give me some feedback on my interview (it was nice of them to give feedback), but it took 2 weeks of me leaving messages on his answering machine until I finally got in touch with him and got some feedback.

Moral of the story: Super responsive before the interview, but I was pretty much ignored afterwards. Not a pleasant experience.

Interview Details – I was originally contacted by HR via phone for a 20 minute phone interview. The following week, I completed a content analysis - which they use to see if you are actually capable of doing the work. Approximately two weeks after that, I had 1 on 1 interviews with four team members. Then, finally, two weeks after the I had to return to give a presentation and Q&A session in front of a panel, which was followed by a 1 on 1 with a CS VP.

Interview Details – The interview process was extensive, but fair. After applying, I was contacted by HR. I went in for three interviews with three different people at various levels. Everyone was very friendly and honest about the expectations and work culture. After this, I had to complete an analysis test. I analyzed data and wrote a report on it. After they reviewed this, then I had to create a business presentation and go back in one more time to present it to a panel of employees. Although the process seemed intimidating at first, it was enjoyable since it allowed me to prove my capabilities aside from talking.

Interview Details – I recently applied for a Community Manager position at Communispace. The process was demanding but thorough. It also gives you a clear idea about the company’s expectations and the kind of work you’ll be doing.

In my case, I had to go through three rounds. The first was a set of three half-hour interviews. The second involved a take-home test (a content analysis). And the third was a live presentation on a business topic.

We’ve all been told we are under-qualified or “don’t have enough experience” for a job when, in reality, we know we could do it quite well. This decision is usually—and somewhat arbitrarily—based on the dates of employment on a resume. Communispace, though, makes prospective employees do the job before actually getting hired.

It’s a tough process, but it’s truly best for everyone. You get a fair chance to prove yourself, and the company can base its choice on valid criteria.

If it weren’t for the content analysis or the presentation, I honestly don’t think I would have been hired. Sure, I have marketing experience, but my resume doesn’t scream consumer insight. But I was offered the chance to prove that my aptitudes make up for my experience.

Interview questions were definitely fair. They don’t try to trick you or throw you off—they just want to see how you think and solve problems. I was never asked, “Try to sell this pen to me.” That’s just awkward and generally unnecessary.

Apparently, a lot of prospects drop out when they hear about steps two and three. This weeds out the people who aren’t willing to go above and beyond.

Last but not least, HR is always in touch with you. They aren’t cryptic about the process. When I got the results for my test, they gave me constructive feedback. I then applied this feedback to my presentation (the third and final step).

Bottom line: The interview process is not easy but I found it to be a welcome challenge. They actually let you prove yourself. And, if you’re not up for an intense interview process, that’s probably a sign.