Multiple steps in the interview process. Spoke with cross functional key internal stakeholders. I heard back from the leadership team quickly and offered a generous base and benefits package. No assignment as part of interview.
A phone screen with the hiring manager, then a tech interview with a junior engineer whose internet kept failing.
On site interview with no agenda, no list of people I would be meeting or their roles, despite my repeated requests for one. Only met one person actually on the team. Another interviewer seems to have been pulled from his desk to interview me without any planning or warning.
C-level department head did not show up until much later, leaving one of the interviewers and me having to awkwardly kill time until he arrived.
Said C-level department head interviewer had no idea of my field and admitted as much. I figured that was why they wanted me, for this knowledge and experience. Interestingly, he was yawning, staring out the window, and squirming in his seat for most of the conversation.
After they made an offer I had to insist to meet with several other people, preferably who knew what this role was actually about, in different positions, with whom I would be working. This took days.
They never even asked for references and failed to figure out that I had worked with several of their employees in previous jobs. This should have been easy on LinkedIn.
I wish I had never accepted that offer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Typical coding questions. They did not know how to optimize or about constraint-checking, which was odd.
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at iota Biosciences (San Francisco, CA) in Jan 2024
Interview
The interview consisted of phone calls with the following: Recruiter phone call, Hiring manager, Direct Report.
I then received a follow up phone call with the hiring manager. In my first interview, the hiring manager asked me to expand upon my resume because it was generic and not detailed enough. There was disinterest in my answers and I was told I then went into too much detail.
Ultimately I was offered a 3 month contract job due to the uncertainty from my interviews which I declined. I felt that the hiring manager was condescending and lacked interest in my description of my experience. I asked about what skills would make an applicant successful in this position and the hiring manager responded with “well it’s in the job description so I guess I will just read that to you.” When I expressed my excitement in working for the company and the technology, I was also told that the website is inaccurate and not completely reflective of the company’s goals and projects.
I received phone calls 20-30 minutes late which was not respectful of my time.
Ultimately my advice would be to give feedback on your applicant’s answers in the moment rather than offer feedback after as well as a job offer that does not align with the original job posting. Additionally, calling late and offering “blunt” feedback without care or respect for the applicant’s feelings indicates an unhealthy work culture. I would advise to be careful about joining this particular group.
It’s a tough job market out there and applicants are doing their best to find jobs as well as managers that will be a healthy fit for them. This should be taken into consideration when being spoken to in interviews. Showing a lack of care in that regard will not bring in applicants with the skills needed to fulfill the roles being offered.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
- Describe your interest in Iota Biosciences
- Describe your experience in Product Development
- Describe your experience with regulatory FDA submissions