Epic Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – Career fair -> phone interview -> on-site interview -> offer.

They seem to look for everyone with a technical/math background... even candidates that are out of their league as far as their salary levels go (60-70k, unless perhaps you have a programming background). A PhD in my field (decent industry demand) is more like >90k, yet they walked me through the whole process and didn't mention the expected salary until the last HR part.

The phone interview is low stress, and most of the on-site interview is just testing (some programming involved) and/or showing off the facilities... the interview did not involve much stress or many typical interview questions.

Reason for Declining – The salary was far too low. Given the other reviews on here, the job doesn't seem like a great choice at the median salary for my degree... getting more than 20k less than that was a definite no. If your educational background means that 65k is a bad offer, then don't bother accepting the on-site unless you're desperate for free food (or you're a programmer, who presumably gets paid more).

Interview Details – Met them first at a school career fair, then was emailed the next day to go in for testing (standardized grammar, math, and comp sci testing), then had a phone interview, and was finally flown out to Madison for a day. During that day, I had 2 interviews, a case study, and a presentation that I had to give on any topic that I chose. It was an overall positive experience- the campus was amazing, most of the people, besides the man who took me out to dinner the night before my interview, were nice and fun to talk to.

Interview Details – If they asked you to do a presentation, you are being considered for a project manager position. I heard that you cannot use powerpoint, but you are free to talk about anything. I was considered for technical services and EDI, so I didn't have to present. If you are being considered for either of those two, you'll have to take a programming exam, which will take 2-3 hours. (Everyone has to take 4 short exams apart from the programming exam.) You do not need to prepare for the exam. They don't require any technical background in their recruits, so trying to refresh on your programming language won't do any good. It may be a good idea to brush up on your thought process on developing an algorithm to solve programming problems. Read through a couple of AP Computer Science programming questions and think about how to write a program for it. Aside from the exams, you have two rounds of interview with two different people. In one case you will be presented with a scenario and be asked to describe your reaction. On another, you'd be asked a couple of standard interview questions like what are your strengths/weaknesses.

Just be yourself and you'll be fine. You'd be able to find some reviews on Epic if you google it, but don't trust it. The view from those people and the people currently working are very different, and I rather agree with those currently working in terms of work ethics and environment. And I would recommend that you don't wear a suit. You'd feel awkward surrounded by people in their casual clothing. One recruit wore a sweatpants and a t-shirt, but he didn't seem out of place.

Interview Details – I first applied through my college job fair. The recruiter submitted my information into their system and I got their email after about a week later. I was set up for a 30min phone interview. They asked me basic questions like any other interviews. Then I was set up for an assessment test. After that, I was disqualified. Good to have at least a basic computer programming skill.

Interview Details – Probably one of the most structured hiring processes for those out of college, that I've seen so far at least. You apply for a position then, if they're interested, they will either contact you for a phone interview for the position or for a position they feel would "best fit you." The application itself is all in-house so don't expect Taleo or any of the other standard websites to come in. They also ask a lot more about you outside of your work and education experiences, much of which is attempting to get you know you better. After the phone interview they will give assign you to do a standardized math, reading, and pseudo-programming test (no programming experience necessary but understanding how coding works helps!) usually in your hometown but I've seen a couple people get flown up to take it. The test itself isn't insanely difficult, they're basically seeing if you're smart or not and most people with a good all around education will do fine.

Once you pass those hurdles, they invite you to visit their main campus where they tour you through their facilities then have you meet with various employees currently working in the departments they intend to slot you into. Epic does a fantastic job beautifying their office and they well deserve then #1 spot of coolest office spaces on Glassdoor. Personally, I was not too interested in the "cool" office environment and sought to know more what I would be doing at my position on a regular basis, one which no interview could really pinpoint directly. This was a red flag for me that will be elaborated upon later. Environment is advertised as "relaxed" but it appears to be a misnomer.

The candidates were there for most of the day largely for touring then interviews here and there. For project manager candidates I saw many of them give a presentation and for software developers there were additional coding tests. TS saw largely one-to-one interviews, a group interview, then a case analysis where you are asked to solve simulated problems that may arise during your work. If you've made it that far, expect quite a lengthy day!

Oh, and you fly first class sometimes!

Reason for Declining – Wanted to stay below the snow-line and found a job more related to my degree. Was a business major and applied for an operations analyst job, slotted for TS because it was my hobby (I assume). Final nail on the coffin was that after three interviews about the position, I could not get a grasp of what they wanted me to do and seemed to be dancing my questions on actual work. I want to add a couple more things though as it seems a lot of bad rep on Epic is misunderstood..

Suggestion for future candidates: Just be relaxed and yourself. Be upfront with them even though Epic is not at times upfront with you and really really have a realistic expectation on Epic, do not be a drone to their tours, food, and scenery. Yes they cherish their fun environment, Yes they pay you a lot at the start, and yes they will work you for it. If you're reading this now, you've probably seen the plethora of negative reviews, particularly on workload, and that being said, also know the industry is growing as much as 20% per year and companies are struggling to keep up their hiring needs. From what I can see and saw with peers quitting was that people simply were not a good fit for the workload in the first place. I would say that if you know you're reliable, your time management is stellar, and you're a fast and diligent learner and honest about all three of these things, you should be fine. The key Epic really wants to hone in on is ownership! If you find that what you may do at Epic is what you enjoy, 60 and even 90 hour weeks are meaningless! If its not, 35 hours is too much.

Suggestions for Epic: Hiring only for smarts will only get you so far, especially recruiting right out of college. When building a quality workforce but I just get the nagging feeling that you're afraid to really show your candidates the level of commitment and hours necessary to be successful at Epic (responses on concerns and counters to negative rep seem scripted). Out of all the on-site interviews I've been to Epic has been the most structured but at the same time the most vague on the job itself. You'll get the talent if you're just straight forward with the level of commitment you require on them. I see a lot of: "good first job, and that's it" or "work here for two years, then run, run, run." I don't know maybe you like high turnover but I'd rather hire one committed person who knows what they're getting into and you're transparent with the expectations than spam twenty with grandiosity and hope five of them stick....for now (and its also cheaper).

Interview Details – Multiple interviews with multiple people. Includes giving a presentation and taking a personality test and an IQ test.

Negotiation Details – No negotiation.

Interview Details – HR mailed asking me to take the epic skills assessment test. Scheduled the test a week later.

Interview Details – Got online test, then comes with onsite and offer

Negotiation Details – fix everything no space to negotiate

Interview Details – Computerized aptitude test (requires selecting all four options in order preferred)
phone interview - basics of how technical you are, and US Employability
on-site interview - Dinner the night before, 2-3 written tests (basic computer syntax adaptability, problem solving, programming), product demo, Lunch, general interview and position-specific interview
It took 1-2 weeks to hear back after the interview.

Negotiation Details – No Negotiation