I applied online. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Fibo Art Academy (Brea, CA) in Jun 2019
Interview
I had a phone interview with Fibo Art. Overall the experience was pretty negative.
They contacted me via email fairly quickly which was great, but once my application was passed to the manager I got the feeling that they didn't even acknowledge my cover letter or resume (they said they didn't have my phone number which I found odd since it is on both my cover letter and resume - their initial application consisted only of uploading these materials, no additional questions or fields to fill out). Instead, they relied only on three questions which were answered over email: do you have a BA in art, are you available during the required times, and do you live near the studio. I was excited to have a phone interview with them because I thought it would be a legitimate interview in which I could elaborate on my experience, skills and desire for the position. Instead this "interview" was a short call in which that manager reiterated the same three questions from before (checking to see that the information I had provided before was still accurate) with the addition of two new questions, do you have customer service experience and do you have any experience teaching children (I met all of the desired requirements minus experience teaching children - something I am more than willing to learn). I was shocked that an "interview" would consist entirely of yes or no questions (which I tried to elaborate on to make the experience seem more like a legitimate interview). They emailed me the next day to tell me I would not be considered for the position.
Overall I was really disappointed with this experience. I had read other negative reviews on Glassdoor prior to this experience and honestly blew them off as people being a bit nit picky. Boy was I wrong, Fibo Art is not looking for a passionate and experienced artist to teach their students. They are trying to check off a list of boxes and are willing to pass over talented artists in the process.
I wanted to leave a review about my experience here not to bash on the company, but to help anyone who might be going through this process with them currently. Hopefully if you are hoping to work here you can use my experience to better utilize their phone "interview" process to your advantage now that you know what to expect. Best wishes everyone!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Do you have customer service experience and do you have experience teaching children?
I applied online. I interviewed at Fibo Art Academy (Anaheim Hills, CA) in May 2017
Interview
Quite possibly the strangest interview I have ever participated in. The interviewers were incredibly strict and made the environment very uncomfortable. The drawing exercises and method was great to see, up until feedback was provided to the staff regarding their testimonies from past clients. I was trying to gain more clarification regarding Fibo services, but the staff genuinely became upset. Very unprofessional and bias when hearing feedback.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Fibo Art Academy (Anaheim Hills, CA) in Apr 2017
Interview
The interview drawing exercises were simple and had clarity on the responsibilities working with children, however the company seemed disorganized with managing their initial screening. They didn't thoroughly look at resumes or portfolios and didn't require an "earliest day to start".
This was an issue because the company was desperate to hire asap. I was honest and explained that my current situation would allow me to start in a few weeks, but they continued to interrogate me as to why I couldn't start the next day. They made me feel as if I was wasting their time, when they should've properly screened candidates early on. The second interviewee was so unprofessional as well, long faced, head down and elbows on the table as if he didn't want to be there, non engaged.
I found it strange that the interviewees treated my responses as if I was too visionary and complex, mocking me that I had a higher education? They asked "what are your career goals" and treated my answer as flawed. If you have aspirational plans of being a professional working artist with your own practice, and doing multiple things in life because who doesn't want to?... and express that teaching here would be a stepping stone in your career and so on...wrong answer. Ironic since they apparently stand for arts education.
Overall, if you have a BA in art, don't waste your time here, this company should recruit either people with high school degrees or some degree in education with a bit of appreciation of the arts – NOT someone with a degree in art. They will belittle your knowledge, passion, and skills as an artist to be trained as a patty-cake artist.
