5 ms·

So, to make this more constructive than a rant-article, does anyone know who does this right? For a large company? Can it be done with a separate HR staff, or

So, to make this more constructive than a rant-article, does anyone know who does this right? For a large company? Can it be done with a separate HR staff, or do you need an engineer on the inside managing this?

kelukelugames 12y ago
I had a pretty good time with Facebook and Twitter. But I was interviewing with the Seattle offices.
walshemj 12y ago
For me Reed Elsevier took I think around 3 weeks in the UK only two interviews.
vtbassmatt 12y ago
Disclosure: I am a Microsoft employee but am only speaking about my personal observation of our processes. This is not the company's opinion. I believe I am not disclosing any proprietary information. Microsoft doesn't always get it right, but the process is designed and intended to provide a top-notch candidate experience (sometimes at the expense of the interviewer's time, company's budget, etc.). I primarily have experience with the college recruiting side of the house. Industry candidates come through a different pipeline. * We have people dedicated to logistics: scheduling the loops with engineers, air transit, hotel, rental cars, etc. * A separate group of dedicated people handles the candidate's side: Email them details ahead of time, meet them at the beginning and end of the day, and keep them informed throughout the process. * Although we have an official tool for documenting interview loops, the more important aspect is a strong culture of "warm handoffs" from interviewer to interviewer. What was covered, where did the candidate do well, where could we use a deeper dive to understand the candidate's skills? * Training at multiple levels for interviewers: Before you can begin interviewing, you have to attend a training. Many divisions have historically required additional training. Want to go to campus? There's another training for that. Also, the training now emphasizes how useless "trick" questions are and how to formulate good questions. There's more, but it veers into proprietary details of the process that I don't feel comfortable disclosing.
- cdr 12y ago
  When I was in school I was always amazed at how lavishly Microsoft spent at my no-name tech school. A full time local Microsoft recruiting rep (don't remember if regional or assigned solely to that school), quarterly Microsoft events with giveaways, prominent booth at the career fair. Google probably didn't even know the place existed, but especially at the time they were such a sought-after company that they probably didn't need to expend any effort on recruiting.
marblecake 12y ago
I signed up to respond to this. I recently joined Booking.com and one of the factors that led me to join them was their excellent interviewing process. A quick HR screening phonecall was followed by a telephonic tech interview scheduled a couple of days from then. In a few hours I received an email asking if I could visit them for an interview in Amsterdam. When I visited, I really liked the people who were interviewing me. Of course even when not at their office, I was walking around the beautiful city and felt that the Dutch are awesome folk and made me feel welcomed in their city. That day, I had a 3 rounds of tech interview followed by a short walk around the office floor after which they made me a formal offer. I was interviewing with some other firms during that period and this process with B.com went so quickly (along with being so pleasant) that I just informed the other firms that I was accepting an offer from elsewhere and took a few days off to meet my friends and family before leaving the country. The entire process was smooth and professional. After joining them, I was curious about the process and came to know that they keep working on the method scientifically and improve it regularly.
- contingencies 12y ago
  Congratulations! As someone who used to run a startup in the same space, I am very aware of the competition. Booking.com's user experience is the best in the business, and Amsterdam aint half bad! Welcome to HN ;)
eschutte2 12y ago
I've had great interviews at Intuit and Yahoo (both long ago).

kelukelugames 12y ago

I had a pretty good time with Facebook and Twitter. But I was interviewing with the Seattle offices.

walshemj 12y ago

For me Reed Elsevier took I think around 3 weeks in the UK only two interviews.

vtbassmatt 12y ago

Disclosure: I am a Microsoft employee but am only speaking about my personal observation of our processes. This is not the company's opinion. I believe I am not disclosing any proprietary information. Microsoft doesn't always get it right, but the process is designed and intended to provide a top-notch candidate experience (sometimes at the expense of the interviewer's time, company's budget, etc.). I primarily have experience with the college recruiting side of the house. Industry candidates come through a different pipeline. * We have people dedicated to logistics: scheduling the loops with engineers, air transit, hotel, rental cars, etc. * A separate group of dedicated people handles the candidate's side: Email them details ahead of time, meet them at the beginning and end of the day, and keep them informed throughout the process. * Although we have an official tool for documenting interview loops, the more important aspect is a strong culture of "warm handoffs" from interviewer to interviewer. What was covered, where did the candidate do well, where could we use a deeper dive to understand the candidate's skills? * Training at multiple levels for interviewers: Before you can begin interviewing, you have to attend a training. Many divisions have historically required additional training. Want to go to campus? There's another training for that. Also, the training now emphasizes how useless "trick" questions are and how to formulate good questions. There's more, but it veers into proprietary details of the process that I don't feel comfortable disclosing.

cdr 12y ago
When I was in school I was always amazed at how lavishly Microsoft spent at my no-name tech school. A full time local Microsoft recruiting rep (don't remember if regional or assigned solely to that school), quarterly Microsoft events with giveaways, prominent booth at the career fair. Google probably didn't even know the place existed, but especially at the time they were such a sought-after company that they probably didn't need to expend any effort on recruiting.

marblecake 12y ago

I signed up to respond to this. I recently joined Booking.com and one of the factors that led me to join them was their excellent interviewing process. A quick HR screening phonecall was followed by a telephonic tech interview scheduled a couple of days from then. In a few hours I received an email asking if I could visit them for an interview in Amsterdam. When I visited, I really liked the people who were interviewing me. Of course even when not at their office, I was walking around the beautiful city and felt that the Dutch are awesome folk and made me feel welcomed in their city. That day, I had a 3 rounds of tech interview followed by a short walk around the office floor after which they made me a formal offer. I was interviewing with some other firms during that period and this process with B.com went so quickly (along with being so pleasant) that I just informed the other firms that I was accepting an offer from elsewhere and took a few days off to meet my friends and family before leaving the country. The entire process was smooth and professional. After joining them, I was curious about the process and came to know that they keep working on the method scientifically and improve it regularly.

contingencies 12y ago
Congratulations! As someone who used to run a startup in the same space, I am very aware of the competition. Booking.com's user experience is the best in the business, and Amsterdam aint half bad! Welcome to HN ;)

eschutte2 12y ago

I've had great interviews at Intuit and Yahoo (both long ago).