Interviewed Nov 2008 in New York, NY (took 4 days)

Initial conversation happened because my resume was sent to division head. Had a one-on-one phone interview with the head. Next step was an in-person panel interview with this person and the 2 people who would be my counterparts (head of technology, head of content). Each interviewer focused on a functionally-relevant theme.

The interview was LONG - 4 hours - with a break in between for a company-wide monthly birthday celebration. It is a small company with 26 employees and they wanted me to see how they interact with each other. The division head did a 5 minute wind-up for every question he posed. He interrupted all of us regularly but gave himself verbal self-congratulations when he "allowed" us to complete our thoughts. The head of technology seemed unsure of himself, looking to the division leader for approval of his comments and questions. The head of content appeared to be the most knowledgeable, substantive and balanced of the three.

My perception was that everything revolved around the division head. The birthday celebration was for 2 other employees but the division leader talked the entire time about how the company had not celebrated his birthday. The company's morale seemed forced. One would expect a birthday recognition to take 15 minutes. This one took 40 minutes.

The culture seemed too "self-aware" and affected.... "we are so cool, we've introduced this site that people will flock to. Several individuals that I met appeared knowledgeable and committed - eager to make the site grow.