Avaaz Foundation Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at Avaaz Foundation (Boston, MA) in September 2015.

Interview

So destructive that it has taken me over a year to write about it, not just because of the emotional impact, but also the practical effects on my life. In summary: I applied for 2 positions. The first, I was told would have been mine had they decided to actually hire for it (they called after 2 or 3 interviews to tell me the role had been "de-prioritized", but that I was their #1 choice). For the second role, I had several more interviews. During the final interview, the interviewer (the ED), told me that she didn't see how I was qualified for the role. I attempted to counter that by explaining why I thought I was (really I was just bewildered by the statement seeing as I had just undergone several interviews and exercises, and didn't understand why I would have reached this point if I wasn't qualified). They ended up making an offer anyway quite quickly as I had very recently accepted a different offer and explained to them that since I was going to have to rescind my acceptance of offer A, I needed to do it ASAP. I am also a part-time student, which is listed at the top of my resume. I worked for them for 5 days during which time my school schedule became an issue (A total of 5 hours of class time per week. Bear in mind that Avaaz is a virtual organization. I was working remotely. It was very clear that many Avaaz employees did not keep traditional hours. It also says in their handbook that alternative schedules are approved by line managers. My line manager knew about my classes and said it was ok.). They asked that I drop a class in order to make my schedule more amenable to their needs which I succeeded in doing regardless of the add/drop deadline already having passed. Then, they fired me, claiming that I had failed to practice what they call "radical honesty". Needless to say, I was unable to get the first offer back and was thrown into a high pressure job search. This is the most egregious part of the experience. It was also just generally fraught with inadequate internal communication. I should have heeded that as a warning sign during the first round and stayed away, but the prospect of what I thought would be fulfilling work drew me in.

Application

I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Avaaz Foundation (New York, NY) in June 2014.

Interview

I applied online. The application involved a long list of screening questions. Once I submitted the application, I asked an acquaintance on the inside to help move the application along. I was contacted via email by a staffer and we scheduled an initial interview. I was interviewed via Skype by a Campaigner. The interview went well. The questions were nothing out of the ordinary - about my experience, skills, working style. She then scheduled a second interview with someone higher up the ladder, a Campaign Director (I believe). That interview started amicably. But very quickly went downhill. Five minutes in, the interviewer asked me to detail on the spot a strategy to combat corruption in an African nation. He said to take a minute or two to write down my thoughts. As I explained my ideas, the interviewer cut me off - in what I interpreted to be a very rude manner. He said, "Stop. You are not a good fit." and gave me a couple of reasons why. I was taken aback. This is my first experience in my 20-year professional career in which an interview ends in such a rude tone. I understand now that Avaaz has no time for the niceties but If this is indicative of Avaaz' institutional culture -where rudeness is mistaken for decisiveness and nimbleness- maybe the rejection was a blessing in disguise.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took a week. I interviewed at Avaaz Foundation (New York, NY) in October 2014.

Interview

Perplexing -- AVAAZ has a small team and no time for niceties of normal NGOs. I filled out a template form to answer interview questions. (Pretty good questions, really.) I was sent a link to sign up for an hour interview with a senior campaigner. Two minutes before, I got a skype contact request.

The interview itself didn't go well. I was hunting for a senior management position, and it didn't really sink in until half-way through that as a "director" I would be implementing campaigns under a "manager". So the first two or three questions were all about my work style -- and what I expected from a manager. Turns out, the boss helicopters in on your campaign work and can change it or even reassign you to another campaign without explanation.

I had prepared for the interview on my subject areas, which did well in the 2014 Poll. "We prefer people who don't know a particular geography or technical theme but are all-rounder campaigners who can just jump in and show creativity on any subject."

AVAAZ' interview style, which was stated up-front, was to be rather rude and cut me off. "Well, let me tell you two reasons why I think you aren't a good fit for AVAAZ and would be unhappy here."

Conclusion -- This is indicative of a corporate culture in which rudeness is seen as decisiveness, and to be "nimble" means that you put up with arbitrary decisions about your work without protest.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Avaaz Foundation.

Interview

I had a one-on-one skype interview with a recruiter for the organization named Elana. Throughout the interview she was combative, rude, and condescending. It was such a nasty experience that I almost cut of the interview in the middle of the interview. It seemed as if she was trying to be more of a therapist than a manager. It was so unforgettable and uncomfortable that I wrote to the executive director Ricken who I received no response from despite having met him at several political events.

The whole time she was explaining how elitist the organization was and how they described themselves as meritocratic (an elite group of people whose progress is based on ability and talent rather than on class privilege or wealth) even though I was asked no real questions about my skills (I am HIGHLY respected and accomplished in my field) and instead very leading personal questions. Elana went to explain how she and a man had created their entire management process and kept fishing for compliments.

Overall, the worst interview experience I have ever had. I really worry for the staff here and based on other interview reviews I've read and my own I would highly recommend avoiding this problematic organization.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Avaaz Foundation (New York, NY).

Interview

I was contacted by the previous holder of the position, seeking leads on potential candidates, and then asking if I was interested. I did an in-person interview with that person for several hours, then did some written test exercises, then met by phone with the person who would become my primary subordinate and then met with the Executive Director for an hour. My resume and references were thoroughly checked. I had known the previous holder of the position for several years and had collaborated on joint projects between Avaaz and my previous organization.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Avaaz Foundation.

Interview

Applied online, was contacted shortly saying that they were interested and would like to move forward by sending me a design task. I sent it back after a couple of days and never heard back – even after following up. Actually I did, many moths after saying that they had paused this position or something on those lines.

Total lack of respect with my time, my work and my interest in joining their awesome mission.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 6 days. I interviewed at Avaaz Foundation in June 2015.

Interview

The interview process I had with Avaaz involved the following interview stages:
- Technical phone screen
- Two culture interviews
- Technical panel interview (~2hr)
- Final interview with the executive director

I found the technical interview questions to be on par with the questions that most companies ask and the interview was done in an online pair programming style.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took a week. I interviewed at Avaaz Foundation (New York, NY) in January 2017.

Interview

Non traditional interview process combines Skype initial interview. Then if chosen to proceed applicants are asked to do a mock work session. Then additional Skype interviews with various Executives. This process seems to work for them but it is cumbersome for most applicants. The interview felt forced in that they expect you to give the perfect, exact answers they are looking for by pushing you through- but then those answers are used against you during the feedback portion. I knew within 15 mins of the start of the interview that I did not want to work for the organization and would not have accepted the next step of the process had it been offered.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 2+ weeks. I interviewed at Avaaz Foundation (Washington, DC) in June 2014.

Interview

After submitting a resume and cover letter, I was required to submit a writing sample. The writing sample was on a current event topic in the Middle East or Latin America. I was then asked to come in for an in-person interview.

Interview Questions

Interview

Filled out a very lengthy personalized questionnaire about why I thought I would be a good fit at Avaaz, my work experience, etc. This process took quite some time. Then received an additional email some time later asking me to give a detailed response about architecting their system, which they expected would take up to an hour. At this point, I had some additional questions about the nature of the role, the team's size, etc. as the job posting had been rather vague, and it's unreasonable to expect someone to spend multiple hours on an interview before even figuring out whether or not the job is a good fit. I received a form response about how they'd be able to give me more information about the job once I'd answered their technical question. I passed -- there are plenty of other companies that are willing to at least chat with me and get some additional detail about the job given my credentials (degree from a top 5 engineering university, have worked for one of the tech giants). I recommend that they streamline their process and get some better HR folks in place who have more of an interest in ensuring that a job is a mutual fit, and not just having people jump through hoops for the sake of it.

Interview Questions