I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Troon Pacific (San Francisco, CA) in Sep 2017
Interview
I was the first candidate to interview for the opening at Troon Pacific. In my experience, this is not favorable for neither a candidate nor the company:
- the candidate has yet no standards to be measured by and his/her chances of being correctly assessed are lower;
- the company doesn't have the benchmark for evaluating the candidate and is testing their process.
However, I sensed that everyone I spoke with were well prepared for recruiting a new EA. I met with Director of Administration and Controller, both were very friendly and welcoming. They showed me the office, introduced to the team and maintained warm and inviting atmosphere . Both openly shared their company values and talked about company's goals and challenges. They asked thoughtful questions that allowed me to share my expertise and unique qualifications.
I also met with the CEO, which is not usual for the first interview. He didn't spend much time with me as he's obviously very busy, but was also very polite and friendly. He made it clear that he wanted to meet the candidates in person at the beginning of the process although he trusts his colleagues to carry it on.
I had several follow up interviews with Troon Pacific. They gave me realistic projections about their timeline and, though slow with the process, they were very responsive and met the deadlines they set up for each step. The company is small and doesn't have an extensive experience hiring admin staff, but they were very determined to find the best candidate that would meet their high expectations and didn't rush into making decisions. Given the importance of the new position for the company it was totally understandable that they were taking their time.
After a very thorough interview process, Troon Pacific extended an offer to me, which incorporated the requirements I discussed with them. I ended up declining this opportunity in favor of another company's offer, but it was a very hard choice as I really enjoyed interacting with everyone and was very impressed with the efforts the company makes to be competitive and successful. They indeed have to hire a very experienced professional to help them reach their goals.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked me to give an overview of my experience and provide more details about my skills and capabilities.
I applied online. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at Troon Pacific (San Francisco, CA) in Sep 2017
Interview
Applied online and was contacted for a phone screen with current Office Mgr.
Contacted for a first in-person interview with CEO, controller, and Office mgr.
First, the company's website is very deceiving and makes them appear much more successful and larger than they actually are. When speaking with the interviewers and asking questions I frequently got "Oh we aren't affiliated with them any more" or "We really need to update our website that isn't accurate".
Oook....
I was very prepared and still the interview was challenging. A lot of unusual questions and scenarios.
I frankly was put off by the fact that the CEO was obviously short on time and the interview felt rushed.
I didn't get a warm or positive feeling from him or the controller (who was borderline rude).
I left knowing I was definitely not interested.
It also took them two weeks to update me after I interviewed. (Ie "we have not made a decision"
It has been five weeks and they still haven't reached out with even a "thanks but no thanks" email.
This speaks volumes about their professionalism. I am very happy that I accepted an offer with another company.