Big Fish Games Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 4+ months. I interviewed at Big Fish Games (Seattle, WA) in February 2016.

Interview

The whole interview process takes a very long time. The hiring manager and interview teams are very nice and friendly. Lots of questions abut CS algorithm and system design. However, the recruiter is the worst I have ever seen. He never answers my question or reply emails, very very rude.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. I interviewed at Big Fish Games.

Interview

A "senior technical recruiter" sent me an email stating that he would like to setup a time for a phone call and requested my availability. I replied. After waiting for a week, I have heard nothing back, so I have dispatched another email wondering what happened. Again I have heard nothing back, but after a few days I have received an automated email stating that the position has been filled.

Ok. I get it. Something came up, something has changed, the hiring manager had a nephew who was interested in the position, etc, etc, whatever. What threw me off is the fact that the recruiter has stated on his LinkedIn profile that he not only have 10 years of imaginary experience in recruitment, but also...

"Expert at navigating through the full recruitment life-cycle with strong attention to detail and commitment to customer service."

Attention to detail!? Commitment to customer service!? Sadly, some people have no clue about what those phrases are and they simply use it to enhance their LinkedIn profile and promote their "greatness".

Son, when I request an appointment from someone for a phone call, I have the decency AND the courtesy (...I'm sure those are words you have never heard of...) to follow up with them if something has changed or came up.

But don't worry, I'm sure karma is on its way...

Interview Questions

Application

I applied through other source. The process took 2+ weeks. I interviewed at Big Fish Games (Seattle, WA) in March 2014.

Interview

Had about 3 calls - went thru a technical test - passed. Test was Javascript (really low level). They were about to fly me out when I was told there was a local that was less experienced but was closer and was a bit lesser money requested.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 2+ months. I interviewed at Big Fish Games (Seattle, WA) in December 2018.

Interview

Interview process started with HR reaching me out for a introductory call. It was 30 min call 10 min for past experience and the other for SQL test. Questions were basic but went into details. HR was very friendly and encouraging during the 30 min call.
The next step interview was with the hiring manager, she was friendly asked the basic questions from past experience like tell me when ?this call went on for 20 min and she said she liked me and would love to move forward but unfortunately the role was closed.

Interview Questions

Application

The process took 6 days. I interviewed at Big Fish Games.

Interview

The progress of the whole interview was decent. I got the email for a phone screen. Scheduled a call. Answered a few questions. And got the feedback in time too.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 3+ months. I interviewed at Big Fish Games (Seattle, WA) in March 2015.

Interview

I had multiple phone interviews to start; first with HR and then with some team members. They seemed interested in my background but hadn't made a decision yet about the roles they were trying to hire for. A few weeks went by and they had adjusted the roles they were hiring for based on some internal changes.

They followed up again via e-mail to setup some additional phone interviews. They were very good, early on, with communication. Setting up and confirming phone interview times was all done very well. After more successful phone interviews they invited me in for a full day of in-person interviewing. I met with about 10 different people; most in person and some over Skype. Again, everything seemingly went very well. I sent e-mail follows ups to everyone I met with thanking them for their time. The next day HR followed up and asked for references. At this point, everything seemed great - it was all heading in the right direction.

And then, nothing. Silence. I sent a few follow-up e-mails. I sent e-mails through Jobvite. I reached out to both HR and to some of the people I met with directly just asking for an update; anything, really, would have been a nice. A simple "we're still working things out" or "we'll get back to you when we can" or even "we've decided to move on" would have been fine. But after multiple attempts to get a response from them, I gave up.

A month later I received a seemingly automated Jobvite e-mail stating they were continuing with their search (passing on me). They failed at wrapping up the interview process and I'm probably better off for it.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Big Fish Games (Seattle, WA).

Interview

Recruiter chat followed by an in-house interview loop.

Technical interview felt a little too rigid -- after the interview, I was told that the team wasn't sold on my tech skills, which I think had more to do with the interviewer's personal implementation preferences (and with my slow progress on some binary tree questions ... for a position that would certainly never involve implementing BST algorithms).

Otherwise the people I interviewed with were very friendly and it seemed like a fun team to work with.

Overall, although I was disappointed with one of the tech interviewers, I wish I had done a little better and have a good opinion of the company after interviewing with them.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 5 days. I interviewed at Big Fish Games (Oakland, CA) in November 2015.

Interview

This is an extremely LONG interview process; I was set up to interview from 9am-1pm. (without a break) As the HQ is in Seattle, WA I was asked to partake in 3 remote interviews, and 5 in person interviews. I was fatigued, about 2 hours into it...
I remember interviewing with the 5th person- by this point in the interview, I was so tired of repeating myself and talking about myself that I felt defeated.
They were very unorganized and not transparent with each other- interviewers were asking the same questions... (among different interviewers.)

The interviewer people were not the problem, they were extremely friendly and outgoing and had lovely personalities.

The problem was with how HR chose to let me know they went with another candidate- which is completely FINE.

However, after a candidate shows respect, turns their phone on airplane mode, arrives on time and EARLY- at the very least you can CALL them to let them know their strengths and weaknesses, not via a "Dear John" candid response denial email. Very rude & inconsiderate.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied in-person. I interviewed at Big Fish Games (Oakland, CA) in May 2016.

Interview

It was great. I learned that several employees created their own html software. I had hoped on getting a job as an animator but they were not looking for junior animators when I asked for the informational interview. I sat face to face with one of the employees and ask her questions about BigFish studios.

Interview Questions

Application

I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Big Fish Games (Seattle, WA) in November 2017.

Interview

The first interview was a 30 minute phone call with someone from recruiting. Nothing unusual to report during this phase. I was then scheduled for an on site round of interviews with some of my potential coworkers.

I arrive at reception, and the two people behind the desk ignored me until I spoke to them. Maybe they didn't see me standing in front of them, but it still seemed a bit odd. I was told that unfortunately, the person whom I would be reporting to wasn't in the office that day. But I still ended up interviewing with 4 people individually, for about a 30 minutes each. After that, a second recruiter spoke to me for about 5 minutes to recap. This person told me I should hear something by early next week.

An hour later, the second recruiter sent me an email asking me to take a survey, rating my experience during the application and interview process. They informed me that the link to the survey was only valid for 24 hours. That means they wanted me to take the survey before I've found out if I'm hired. How can I rate the process, when it isn't over yet? Red flag.

When the recruiter's quoted time frame (early next week) had passed, I wrote to them and asked for an update on my status, and never received a response. It's not a problem if they wanted to choose another person. But, to never respond after I was asked to take a survey, and spent that much time interviewing, is extremely unprofessional. I wouldn't recommend this company to anyone.

Interview Questions