A total of four interviews, and you have to be invited to each subsequent interview. The first is the basic phone screening interview; we used this time to talk briefly about my experience, a little about who I was, and my interest in Propeller. The second was a meeting in a coffee shop and during this meeting we talked about my experience in depth and did a very high level case scenario. The third interview took place at their offices and we spoke about teams and again about my experience in the context of mini hypothetical case situations. I had an excellent experience in all three, enjoyed each of the women with whom I spoke, and felt excited to move forward each time. The final interview was the business case interview, which lasted for a total of 2.5 hours. The "case" was an incredibly ambiguous situation in which a client wanted to shift pricing models, and I was to prepare content for our initial meeting (there were so many restrictions for this particular interview that would rarely be the case in a real life interaction with new clients). What was most disappointing about the last interview was that lack of time set aside for questions at the end of the presentation. The time we did have was focused on questions I had about the company, and given that I had already been in three interviews, the vast majority had already been answered several times over. If the case is going to be run by individuals who have had no prior experience discussing my experience and getting a sense of who I am and my areas of expertise (perhaps running one of the earlier interviews), then there needs to be time for questions of the interviewee. They were willing to stay past the allotted interview time if I had more questions for them, but I was unable to do that. The implication was that they would discuss the case interview, review notes from the prior three interviews, and make their decision based on the aggregation of that information. I ultimately was not offered the job, which given my experience at the last interview, was not entirely unexpected. I was told I would be informed within the week about their decision, but I had to reach out after two weeks to ask (even though at that point you know what the answer will be). I was offered feedback, sent an email requesting that feedback, and have not heard anything since. **Please note that the length of the interview process (3 months, listed below) for me is a reflection of my schedule, not theirs.

The first three interviews were great and I left each feeling excited while the fourth and final interview felt like it was for a different job and tainted the entire experience. There were four rounds of interviews including a phone screen, in-person technical interview, in-person culture fit interview, and finally an in-person business case review/presentation. The first three interviews were informal meetings at coffee shops focusing on my experience and how it related to the work done at Propeller. They were each about an hour long. During the technical and culture fit interviews I was asked to problem solve for a mini-case, again it was very informal and the goal was for the interviewer to understand how I process my thoughts and problem solve. Much of the conversations centered around relationship management, process, organization, and understanding the human element of consulting. The business case interview was formal and lasted about 2.5 hours in their office. After the HR rep welcomed me and reviewed the process for the interview I had roughly 1.5 hours to review the case and white-board a presentation of recommendations. I presented to a panel which included one of the principals and a director who role played as the client. My recommendations focused mainly on the objectives and relationship management. As the presentation became a discussion it became clear I hadn't included ample case analysis, specifically hard timelines, budget line items, and success metrics. As a result of the case review, I didn't receive an offer. Upon reflection, I believe there was a misalignment of expectations on my end and Propeller's around the position. In each preceding interview, the focus had been on my experience as a workflow and service delivery manager. Managing day-to-day operations, relationship management, and leading process improvements. I had been told up to that point that my my skills were transferable. The final case review was heavy on analytic and project management skills. They were looking for someone with hard PM skills. If this was their intent all along then it should have been made clear from the beginning of the interview process not left to the very end. From those I interviewed with, I understood the company to be one that seeks talent in the earlier stages of their careers and is supportive of their development. I got the impression from the fourth interview that they were looking for a seasoned PM, which I never claimed to be.

First interview was a phone screen with mostly top-level type questions (easy), very conversational and positive. Second interview was in person at a coffee shop and seemed mostly positive. However, presented with an off-the-wall case study and probably struck out on this question. Asked for feedback on session and received none. Interviewer said corporate contact would be in touch with next steps. After a week of silence, attempted to contact the recruiter who never responded. Rude.