Brighterion Interview Questions & Reviews
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Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.
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Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 9 ratings 
“Average” Interview
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Interview Experience [?] Based on 9 ratings
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| 1–9 of 9 Brighterion Interviews | Sort by |
Software Engineer at Brighterion
Posted Oct 10, 2011
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3.0
Average Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2011 in San Francisco, CA (took 2 days)
The interview process was a mix of 1:1 discussions with the CEO, a written skills test, and some conversations with other engineers in the company. It wasn't too different than what was mentioned in some of the other comments, except that I did get a chance to talk (briefly) with 4 other people in the company. From the other comments and talking with other employees not everyone got that chance. Be sure you ask for this when you interview.
The downside was that it was spread over 2 days, when it could have easily been done in 1 day if things were more organized. I spent 30 minutes or more each day waiting around.
First impressions of the office: nice open space with lots of natural light. It's fairly quiet in the office, not in the sense that nobody is there but rather everyone is seriously hard at work. There were a few conversations going on and some people walking around but that's about it.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
Up front : the pay is on the low side across all levels. The tradeoff is you'll get offered stock options, so it's similar to many startup situations. However you should ask for what you think you are worth based on the market. This will at least lead to their best offer and you may get more stock options. Then you'll have to decide whether or not the tradoff is worth it for you personally.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview and a Skills Test.
More Brighterion Software Engineer Interviews
Helpful Interview?
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No
Inappropriate?
Junior Analytical Engineer at Brighterion
Posted Sep 13, 2011
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2010 (took a day)
Applied to a Craigslist add, which was listed as "Analytical Scientist". Got an email to come in. No phone screening, which I haven't experienced anywhere else. I waited by the front desk for almost an hour, and this happened to every person that interviewed there as well. Finally you get asked in and the first person you talk to is the CEO, which I haven't experienced anywhere else either. He goes on about his own experience / growth story / how great BRIGHTERION is BTW and how it will be bought by their main client.
Then I interviewed with the French management duo, wasn't anything hard, but I got the impression that they weren't very interested. Also interviewed with the QA manager. Lots of waiting involved.
Then back to the CEO office, where I get some speech about how none of the guys wanted me there. And it goes on and on and on, and then finally it turns into "but I'm going to give you a chance". (?) I talked to others about their experience and it had been the same.
The craigslist posting said to mention a salary requirement, which I did. I was told that I would be hired on a "training salary" which I thought meant that I'd have that for a couple of months, and then I would get what I had mentioned in the application. This did not happen. The whole salary thing is very mysterious, and when you get the small raises starting from the under $2000/month training salary, it's never explained how much you are going to get or when you are going to get a raise. Apparently one person got fired when he asked for a raise.
The interview isn't technically difficult but it's a very bizarre experience.
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
There is no option to negotiate, it's a take it or leave it situation.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
View Comments (2)
Inappropriate?
Modeler at Brighterion
Posted Jul 26, 2011
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1.0
Very Easy Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Jun 2010 in San Francisco, CA (took a day)
They had me waiting for around 3 hours before I went in for the interview. I had a 1:1 interview with the entire management team, basically just asking me what had I done during college.
After that was over I waited for another hour before I talked to the CEO, in there he just rambled on and on about how great, intelligent and successful he has been, and how great he was for giving me an opportunity.
Honestly I felt a little bit offended by some of his comments.
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
View Comments (1)
Inappropriate?
Software Engineer at Brighterion
Posted Mar 4, 2011 — 1 of 1 people found this helpful
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1.0
Very Easy Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2011 in San Francisco, CA (took a day)
The interview is quite ridiculous. The first half is CEO talking about how great they are and some large corporations was going to acquire them. How they are the best in this field. The second part some senior engineer came and asked about what projects I did and very basic technical questions. The offer is a fraction of my previous job.
Interview Questions
Reason for Declining
talked with several people who has worked there and decided to stay away.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
More Brighterion Software Engineer Interviews
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Project Management and Marketing Associate at Brighterion
Posted Nov 1, 2010 — 1 of 2 people found this helpful
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Positive Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2010 (took 1 week)
I found this position on Craigslist. I sent my resume at 1PM and got an email response back for an interview at 4PM the same day. The day of my interview I tried to do some recon on the company by researching their website as well as doing a Google search (and this is how I found glassdoor.com) I should have been prepared for an interesting interviewing experience after reading about other person's interviews on this website. My second clue that I was in for a doozy was when I hit the bathroom on the same floor as Brighterion's offices before my interview---because I met a very friendly woman who was doing her makeup in the mirror. She asked me if I worked for Brighterion and I said no but I was interviewing for them in just 10 minutes. She goes, "oh, well maybe one day I'll know what they really do as a company". There are a total of two companies per floor in their office building, and the only other company on their floor has no idea what they do? Upon entering the office (where I had to knock and wait because it was locked), I was greeted by a receptionist and row upon row of cubicles with what looked to be college students. It was dead silent. Eerily silent. After a 10 minute wait I was ushered to an internal conference room where I was told to take a seat. My interviewee (who remained unnamed until the end the interview) came in and immediately began asking questions that seemed somewhat irrelevant to anything. Some of the key things I remembered from the interview are:
-Him rambling on about how important honesty is
-If I was the project manager, how would I get a programmer to finish something on time?
-Do you think your parents would want to see you in this position?
-What are my goals in life?
We'll see what happens I suppose.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Technical Writer at Brighterion
Posted Sep 28, 2010
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5.0
Very Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Apr 2009 in San Francisco, CA (took a day)
I came in for an interview which was mostly the CEO telling me how intelligent he was and how he was the only one from his village to come to the U.S. and get a degree. He asked me a lot of questions about my ethnicity and immigration status--I replied that I was an American citizen and had been for almost 25 years. His questions became more and more inappropriate at this point, he asked me if I was married, and if my husband was an American, if my parents lived in this country, how I supported myself (I had been unemployed for almost 5 months when I interviewed here), and why it took me so long to finish college (seven years, because I worked full-time!!). When I left the interview I was close to tears. Never heard back from them.
Interview Questions
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Engineering at Brighterion
Posted Mar 17, 2010
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2.0
Easy Interview
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Overall Neutral Experience
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Received and Accepted Offer
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Interviewed Mar 2010 in San Francisco, CA (took 2 days)
Like another recent interviewee have stated, you mostly talk to the CEO. He was selling the company and told me how great and intelligent his staff is. He goes on to say that honesty is the number one thing int he company and to respect everybody, even if you get yelled at. I then took a quick programming test with broiler plate stuff...no theory, just stuff you can rip from a text book or google.
The next time I'm in, I basically get the job, and the CEO goes on to repeat a lot of the things he said on the first interview. He then tells me (or was it a warning?) about how many of his international staff is very introverted. (I'm not an introverted person, so that has me a lil worried about potential communication issues)
The offer was a HUGE pay cut, but since I will be learning a lot from the phd guys, it will be worth it. I will also be able to increase my salary after a few months
Interview Questions
Negotiation Details
I didn't try to negotiate since I needed a job.
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview and a Skills Test.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Project Manager at Brighterion
Posted Feb 4, 2010 — 1 of 2 people found this helpful
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4.0
Difficult Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Interviewed and No Offer
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Interviewed Jan 2010 in San Francisco, CA (took a day)
I recently interviewed at Brighterion for a Project Manager position. This was the most strange interview I have ever had. I had a 1 on 1 interview with the CEO of the company who refused to introduce himself. He said he will only introduce himself after the interview.
The CEO spent a good 30 minutes talking about how great the company is, how the turnaround rate is zero, that no one EVER leaves the company and everyone holds a PhD :-) I have to mention that as I was waiting for the interview to begin I saw at least 10 employees. ALL of them seemed like recent college graduates in their early 20s which made me think: when did they have time to get their PhDs??? I also checked out Brighterion employees on the LinkedIn and did not see any that held PhD degrees. Brighterion's website says that 76% of their employees hold a PhD degree.
The CEO told me that they usually interview 60-70 people before they pick 3 or 4 that will be taken to the next level because they ONLY hire the BEST. Everything about the company was "Confidential". I was not given a chance to ask questions.
Bottom Line: If you are a genius, have a PhD and would like to earn half of your potential salary, this is a place for you :-)
Interview Questions
Other Details
The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
Senior Software Engineer at Brighterion
Posted Mar 19, 2009 — 1 of 2 people found this helpful
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1.0
Very Easy Interview
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Overall Negative Experience
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Received and Declined Offer
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Interviewed Nov 2008 in San Francisco, CA (took 2 days)
The interview mostly consisted of the CEO talking to me about the visions of the company, how likely it was that they would be acquired by a certain major creditcard company and his background. The only technical aspect was a 4 page questionarie (probably totalling around 20 questions) with questions ranging from "how to list the files in a directory in unix ?", "how to you inherit in C++" and "write a short but correct xml document".
I went there twice, since I figured the first day was just a screening, and had specifically asked to talk to a few of their engineers (I wanted to get an impression of the technical level of any potential coworkers), and if possible, also the CTO.
On the second day, I was interviewed by two women, once who was the one organising the interview, the other didn't introduce herself or her position in the company. From the questions they asked it seemed more like a HR personality Q&A session. Ie. "what tools do you use to organise yourself ?", "how do you resolve conflicts with coworkers ?". There was no technical content and at the end they left without much chance for me to ask them questions.
After that, the CEO talked to me again. When I asked about talking to senior tech people, I was told that the CTO had a delicate mind and was busy today or something along those lines. After that he began explaining that they would pay no more than 80K/year, and that my request for a few additional days of here and there did not sit well with the companys work-ethic.
After that I was exited, without having had the chance to reverse-interview a single engineer.
Interview Questions
Reason for Declining
It seemed that the company was looking for junior people rather than senior people, that was probably my misunderstanding of their job-posting. In between the salary offer and the interview itself, my decision to decline was 50/50 based on not wanting to take a 40% paycut, and that not having had chance to reverse-interview their technical staff left me with no impression of what working there would be like, or if there was any opportunity to learn and grow there.
Other Details
I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview and a 1:1 Interview.
Helpful Interview?
Yes |
No
Inappropriate?
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