I saw a job posting on a class forum by an internal recruiter from this company and decided to apply because I was very interested in working with big data, data analysis, and data visualization.
I emailed the recruiter asking if this job was still available, and was asked to send in my resume in early April, 2012. I received a reply within a week to set up a phone interview scheduled for early May. I spoke with the manager of Business Intelligence and the conversation covered the expectations of the position and my previous experience and education.
I emailed the recruiter a few days later to follow up, and received another reply to arrange for a second phone interview in June. I spoke with the team leader of Data Analytics in Business Intelligence and learned that the position they had advertised is no longer available but that they are still interested in interviewing me for possibly a future opening. I expressed my interest in working with big data using machine learning techniques and creating useful visualizations from the data. The conversation progressed well, as it seemed that this person had a deeper understanding of machine learning and data analysis techniques.
Following this second phone interview, I followed up again with the recruiter via email. I received a reply to come in for an in-person interview in July. This is almost 3 months after my original inquiry and application to this job.
My in-person interview consisted of one-hour meetings with two people from each of the teams in the Business Intelligence group.
The first two people I spoke with are from the data reporting group. They both are guys in their late 20's and seemed to speak the same way about their work. One guy is white, the other guy is Asian. It seemed to me that the Asian guy asked me harder questions and was a bit doubtful about my background and knowledge. This person's questions to me seemed like he was trying to compare himself with me, which was a bit of a turn-off to me as someone interested in the work culture of the company.
The second two people I spoke with are from the data analysis / machine learning group. These two guys are also in their late 20's / early 30's. One guy was Korean, the other guy was Indian. Both seemed to be quite knowledgeable in machine learning techniques. The Indian guy was the same person who I spoke with on the phone for my second interview.
The third two people I spoke with are the managers of the Business Intelligence group. It was essentially my conversation with these two individuals which convinced me that this company was not for me. As I walked into the first manager's office, I noticed that his attire was completely inappropriate. He was dressed in flip flops, tattered shorts, and an old faded T shirt. I understand that the work attire here is business casual, but this is a little too casual for me. It's almost disrespectful to wear clothes like that to work, and his attire gave me the impression that he did not take his work too seriously. The other manager I met seemed nice upon initial meeting, but shortly gave me a bad impression with the types of questions he asked me. These questions included:
1. "So, how old are you? You went to ---- high school? Haha, I went to ---- high school. What year did you graduate? Come on, tell me. Are you older or younger than me? I'm class of '98. Let me guess...you're class of --- haha, that's the same year as my EX GIRLFRIEND."
This question was asked despite my attempt to change the subject. Do these people realize that it is ILLEGAL to discriminate against a person based on age, race, or sexual preference? These two employees who are an EMBARRASSMENT to their company!
2. "So, what's your least favorite subject in school? Oh you have two Masters degrees? Gee, I have an MBA!"
It was as if, this manager wanted to compete with me, and the constant questions were intended to one-up me, rather than to really listen to my answers. This was a huge turn-off for me, and again, the immaturity of these questions reflects very poorly on Blizzard as a company.
Other questions asked by these two "managers":
1. "What's your favorite city?" (I answered San Francisco and Boston)
"Oh hahaha, I knew it. I knew you were going to say that."
(my thoughts: How do you know? You don't know me. And how are these questions related to the job? Completely inappropriate.)
2. "So what's your favorite city in Europe?" (and now I'm thinking that these questions are completely irrelevant to the job, but I answered that I like Amsterdam and the South of France, as I have spent a significant amount of time there)
And their response: (changed the subject) -- was not even listening to my answer! Very rude and immature.
I finished my interview thinking, I'm so glad that I've decided to join another company!