After applying online, I received an email in less than 24 hours saying they wanted a phone interview. Upon concluding the phone interview, I had a PR test that was essentially creating a marketing campaign for a client they already had -- a little uncomfortable for me -- in a 90 minute time-frame. It was challenging, but standard media outreach, writing, etc.
Once that was complete, I received an invitation to interview in person. During the interview, I met with three people. Pretty standard interview, mostly get-to-know-you questions. It wasn't an overly warm or welcoming environment, everyone seemed very involved in their work and there wasn't much conversation. The office, however, is absolutely gorgeous with lots of natural light. The lobby to the office space they have is really nice. The HR representative is also very polite/professional and made sure I was comfortable. Everyone seemed to have a rehearsed speech about Susan, the CEO. I'm sure she is a lovely woman but when I asked anyone about what his/her favorite part of working at Stern was, he/she almost said the exact verbatim phrases about Susan as every other employee. This made me uneasy, because I feel like everyone should have a unique perspective on a favorite thing, or at least some type of variation.
Following the interview, HR asked me what my salary range was. I told them, and then I was sent a personality test which also involved a math/problem solving section. Took around an hour. Early the following week, I received a phone call with an offer, which was low by industry average. I received email confirmation and a benefits package PDF the day after that. The benefits package is the bare minimum, with a lot of out of pocket cost, and they do not pay into your 401(k) for a year. The PTO advertised in the recruiting packet they give you during the interview (140 hours) is actually for a year after you start, the actual PTO is around 11 days. They gave me until the end of the week to review.
I went back with a request to negotiate salary, which they accepted. Less than 24 hours after speaking about a new agreed upon salary, I received a phone call rescinding my offer. I'm not very upset, because I was very uncertain about working with the group, but I found it very unprofessional. Never in my life have I seen a company do what this company did. I'm sure someone will learn a lot working there, but I am happy to say I will be pursuing other opportunities as I found this entire process over complicated and unprofessional.
I didn't look at Glassdoor prior to interviewing with Stern, but upon reviewing what others have to say, I'm happy I did not take this job. I'm sure there are perks (like location and building amenities), but it sounds like this company reflects the impression they have provided during the interview and what other non-management inflated reviews have established on here.
