The interview process at Red Ventures can be best described as long, thorough, and fair. My process began after a friend submitted my resume. I was contacted a few days later and set up a basic phone interview. The initial phone interview lasted about 45 minutes and was basically just a review of my resume and gave me an opportunity to ask questions about the company, and the position. The recruiter followed up within a day or so to schedule an on-site interview.
I arrived about 9:30 that morning at was done by 12:30 or 1. The first on-site interview consisted of 5 separate interview sessions. The first two came from two business segment VPs who asked for a brief review of my resume and then asked me a typical quantitative analysis case question. Neither question was particularly difficult, but I wish I had brushed up on my basic math/chart analysis a bit before because I was stumped up on one of the questions because of basic math errors. The VP was pretty understanding and we worked through that together so that I could produce the correct answer. Following these experiences, I did a case on my own using excel and had to present it to the CMO. The best word to describe this experience is: intense. I did enjoy talking with the CMO and got the impression that he was really interested in learning more about me, and determining whether I was a good fit for the company. After the CMO interview, I went to lunch with two people who do the same job I was applying for and was able to ask them questions in a more relaxed environment. I finished out the day 1:1 with one of the analysts to get a feel for what my position would entail, if hired.
In a few days they called me back for another on-site interview. This time I met with another VP from a separate business review, again with the CMO, and was able to sit in on a marketing partner meeting. The segment VP discussed my resume and asked me some of the "Name a time when.." and "How would ____ describe you" type of questions. The conversation with the CMO was also more of a resume review and gave him an opportunity to see how I think about difference things. This encounter was a bit less intense and more casual. The leadership/ownership of this company are very involved on a regular basis, and this is really reflected in the year over year growth of the company and the general satisfaction they the employees of this company feel about their jobs.
Overall, I really enjoyed the interview process. If I owned the company, I would do it in the exact same way. Having a candidate perform a number of different tasks, meet with a number of different people over a period of several weeks makes sure that there is a good fit between the candidate and the company. They obviously are investing a lot of resources in a new hire, and want to make sure that they make the right call. There is definitely a distinction between the hiring/firing/recruiting process for corporate employees and sale center employees. I am not surprised that there is a lot of negative feedback for the sales positions on this website. Working in a performance based sales environment is not for everyone and there is turnover. If you are applying to work at the corporate level, these negative reviews should not dissuade you as there is a categorically clear distinction between the corporate office and the sales center and Red Ventures is a great company that seems to really value its employees and treat them well.