I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Heist (London, England) in Aug 2017
Interview
I had a phone interview, followed by a series of in-person interviews on one day. The latter involved a combination of working through a task I had been asked to prepare in advance, and some 'speed-dating' style interviews with various members of the team. My experiences with most of the members of staff I met were reasonably neutral, but I was then interviewed by a man in a senior position (I'm not sure what his precise role was) whom I found to be rude (see interview questions). This was a year and a half ago, so I can only hope the interview process has been reformed since, but it was a truly negative candidate experience for me.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The man I referenced earlier talked through my CV, and asserted we had a 'broadly similar academic background' (we'd both been to the same prestigious university, though he'd attended a well-renowned independent school prior to this, and I'd been state-educated my whole life). He then argued that he'd graduated from said university not really knowing how to work hard, and it was only through his stint at a top-tier consultancy that he'd developed this ability. I'd just graduated at the time and, in light of this, he told me I had 'nothing' on my CV (not true if he'd bothered to actually read it in a little more depth) and, given his own experiences, asked me if I was an 'arrogant little sh*t' at this stage in my professional life, seeing as I was fresh out of university.
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Heist (London, England) in Sep 2017
Interview
I was interviewed over a year ago at Heist Studios office in Camden. As I see Heist's popularity grow on social media as a pro-women brand, I have begun to reflect on my experience with them.
My experience was very similar to another negative interview experince I read here. Firstly, when I arrived at the office it appeared as if no-one knew I was being interview, despite having communicated via email with the company that day. When someone finally arrived to interview me, I found they were very dismissive. No questions had been prepared and little effort was made to ask about my qualifications or experience. Having walked into the interview with great admiration for the brand purpose, I found the interview process very down heartening. I never received any further communication from Heist Studios, but as by then I had lost faith in their authenticity as human focused company, I didn't really mind.
I applied online. The process took 4 days. I interviewed at Heist
Interview
A phone interview, followed by a face to face interview in their office. I must have walked into the office at a busy time because the mood was a bit intense and deflated.
I found the interviewer to be scatter brained and flakey. I can understand that it could have been a busy time, but it they didn't actually know what they were looking for, which for me was extremely frustrating, but also telling. When asked point blank what the role they were looking to fill is, he couldn't answer ("we're not sure yet.." uhh?). For an ambitious company who says they respects people's time, these actions did not reflect this at all - it seemed they were more window shopping for a potential creative and some new ideas, rather than a specific need or role to be filled. Needless to say I was not there to for this purpose.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Lots of opinion related questions and thoughts given on things; other brands, campaigns, marketing channels etc. One question was about my grades in school - odd.
I was also asked to do a small task, which I spent time on and was prepared for, however the interviewer forgot he even tasked me with this and it turned into a quick skim over the info - annoying, given I spent time on this - again, telling of their respect for other peoples time.