I applied in-person. I interviewed at Evernote (Redwood City, CA) in Apr 2017
Interview
1 phone call with hiring manager, a 3-hour onsite, a take home exercise with a few instructions. Then a 5-hour onsite including a presentation to the team.
People are friendly for the most part. I think there's a good potential with their product and I somehow liked the office. During the process, I took 2 days off, I spent a lot of hours studying their product and worked on my presentation at night and on the weekends. So, I dedicated a lot of time and energy. They ended my interviews during the very last onsite. About an hour after my presentation I was asked to leave and got some feedback about why. I had a few 1-1's left with the team but they ended everything earlier. Again, after 3 weeks into the process, I took another day off to drive all the way to Redwood City. Not the best candidate experience.
The feedback was fair for the most part. I disagree with minor stuff but I do understand why I wasn't the perfect fit. I use the term "perfect" because there's no room for improvement. It seems that it's not a role where I would have had the ability to learn and grow as a PM. So at the end of the day, it's not that big of a deal besides the way it all ended. Some people like to be in a comfort zone cruising... I personally like to be pushed and challenged. Learning is the main reason why I'd wake up on the morning to go to work. I would have personality hired someone like me over the "perfect" candidate :)
So, again, great people, great product, great company. My advise to the team would be to ask the right questions during the very first phone call. There are several ways to identify weaknesses, especially when you know exactly what you're looking for. It's harder when you DON'T know what you're looking for ;-)
Just be prepared to get stopped at the very last minute before the finish line. Try to have fun with the team too, they're nice people.
10
Other Product Manager Interview Reviews for Evernote
The job interview process felt disorganized, lacking clear communication and direction. It left me feeling uncertain and frustrated, as expectations seemed to shift without explanation. Overall, it was a bewildering experience that could have been improved with better coordination and transparency.
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Evernote (South San Francisco, CA) in Feb 2017
Interview
The whole process took 2 weeks. I could have gotten it done faster, but I was interviewing at a few different companies.
- Step 1: A hiring manager contacted me and set up a phone screen. This was really basic stuff like going over my background and asking questions about what I wanted to do next. I also had the opportunity to ask a lot of questions about the company, the culture, and the way Evernote operates. I moved on to the next step.
- Step 2: I was emailed a take-home exercise with a panel presentation prompt. "Pick an Evernote product and pitch an improvement". This was also accompanied with a few 1:1 sessions with various PMs, Design, and Engineering leads. I arrived at the office at 10:45am got a tour of the space and settled in to present to a group of 4 people. The presentation was me going through my thought process and detailing my improvement. I thought it went fairly well, but was immediately told that they wanted to end the interview now, so I did not get a chance to do the 1:1 sessions.
The pros:
- Got very detailed feedback as to why the interview ended so abruptly.
- Very nice and friendly people. I felt at ease every step of the way.
The cons:
- The take home exercise was sent to me by a recruiter. It would have really helped if the hiring manager would have emailed me and made me feel more comfortable about asking questions so that I could really understand what to focus on for the presentation.
