My interview process for the Pub AM was a series of 4 interviews over the course of about 10 days. Here's a run through of what those interviews looked like:
1: Talk with a recruiter
2: Phone interview with Director of Sales, about 30-45minutes
3: 2 interviews, one with the CTO and the next with the Director of Sales, each lasting about 60 minutes.
4: 5 interviews with 2 employees, CTO and Dir of Sales, and CEO. Each of these interviews lasted from 45-60 minutes and were all 1:1s.
The phone interview with the recruiter was nothing our of the ordinary. The next step was to talk with the Dir of Sales. It was pretty straightforward, talking about my work history, an overview of the Pub AM's opening, and TapSense's business model. Cultural fit is a key component for TapSense during their hiring process, so not only were they looking to see how well I knew the mobile advertising landscape, but they also wanted to get a good sense of how I would fit within their culture. The company moves quickly, working hard to get a solid first version of a feature/product out the door then they make adjustments and updates as needed to properly scale. Because the company is on the smaller side, any new employee should have the ability to problem solve and work with minimal oversight. Also, everyone is working on important projects and quickly adjusting as needed, so new employees should be able to shift focus and help out on other projects if deadlines are tight. Like many other start-ups, the work consists more than the 9-5, but the founders understand that all the work needs to be rewarded with breaks - like taking an afternoon off and heading to the movies, playing softball, taking a cooking class, or unwinding with a bit to eat.
Back to the interviews. After the 1:1 with the Dir of Sales, I went back to their offices to meet with the CTO and Dir of Sales. Again, the purpose of the interviews were to gauge my personality and get a sense how well I understood their business model, and have a more in-depth discussion about the job's role and responsibilities. The final round consisted of 5 total interviews. 2 were with the Head of Product and a Sr Engineer. These 2 interviews were tougher because they really tried to test my skills that were needed to be successful as the Pub Account Manager. We went through a variety of scenarios and talked through how I would solve all types of problems. The final 2 interviews were with the CEO, which was more of a conversation about TapSense's goals and strategy, and another discussion with the CTO. Finally I talked with the Dir of Sales to wind up the afternoon, and this meeting was more about how all the interviews went and to answer any final questions.
Overall it was a challenging interview process, but well worth the time and effort. It's a great company to work for and the current employees want to make sure they are bringing in the right people who share the vision and are able to contribute to the success of the company.
