I applied online. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Cengage (San Francisco, CA) in Oct 2017
Interview
The whole process takes about 6 weeks, with 6 rounds in total (it sounds scary but it is actually necessary since Cengage has multiple offices and people need to talk to you remotely). I applied through the online application system and the 1st interview was talking to my direct manager at San Francisco (remote). The interview went very well and most questions are relevant to my education/working experience. Then I was given a writing task about a product's marketing analysis. It took me two days to complete. They reached out to me in the next following week with 2 rounds of remote interviews from Boston headquarters, and another onsite in SF office. The last round was talking to two VPs, which were also remote.
I have heard that Cengage has the tradition to interview multiple rounds, so it seems OK to me when I actually went through the whole process. Be prepared to talk to more than 10 people and don't lose hope. People at Cengage are really nice and smart, and they are looking for people with certain characteristics and backgrounds. The SF office is really nice, it is located in an office building with fountain. I am really glad to get this offer.
I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Cengage (Boston, MA) in Nov 2017
Interview
I had a 30 minute phone screen and it went well. The person I spoke with said there were a couple roles he thought I would be a good fit for and that he would follow up with me. A few days passed and I didn't hear anything so I sent him an email. No response. I sent another one a few days later. No response. I found this very unprofessional and a waste of company time. Not to mention the reputation hit Cengage took.
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Cengage (Albany, NY) in Aug 2017
Interview
Process was compact, running roughly three weeks from submission to offer. (Might be a bit longer if you apply just as the notice opens.) The steps were set out and communicated by the recruiter and hiring manager. The inclusion of a written, screening assessment in the domain area (project management, in my case) was a different way to approach finding out a candidate's knowledge and approach on typical scenarios. There was a screening interview with the HR recruiter, an interview with the hiring manager, another interview with the Director, and then another discussion with two current project managers in the role. All meetings were web meeting (with video) or phone. (Position is remote, so there is a heavy use of virtual meetings.)
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is one word you would use to describe yourself? (Then, what is one word a friend would use to describe you?)