I applied in-person. The process took 1 week. I interviewed at Xantrion
Accepted offer
Positive experience
Average interview
Application
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Xantrion (Oakland, CA) in Feb 2012
Interview
I was looking to move back to California after some time on the East Coast. I researched several companies in Central and Southern California and eventually became sold on Xantrion after speaking with their staff over Skype, phone, and email. Everyone I spoke with seemed genuinely excited to work there, enthusiastic about technology, and had great people skills.
First stage I spoke with a recruiter at the company who almost immediately launched into a technical quiz which caught me a bit off guard. That being said the questions consisted of common knowledge stuff in the industry and were not difficult.
From there I was given several online tests to complete which consisted of a personality/IQ test, which took about an hour. Some of the questions were difficult to conceptualize but overall, I came to appreciate it after the fact as I realized it was to make sure the company and myself were a good fit. My advice on the personality test is just to be honest and answer the questions as candidly as possible, otherwise you might find yourself in a company and culture where you may not be your happiest.
After that I spoke with several higher-ups in the company which was a 2 part interview. The first part consisted of a friendly conversation with management, then I was handed off to speak with the senior technical staff. They asked several questions which consisted of entry level knowledge all the way up to expert level knowledge. After the questions were answered they offered to fly me out so we could meet in person.
To summarize my interview and hiring process with Xantrion, they are only interested in people possessing people skills to match their technical experience and acumen. The hiring process was easily one of the longest I have went through, but because of this I truly feel like the company and myself are a fit.
Good luck!
On-site interview with a number of people, included a lunch out with some of the other consultants. Got to ask a bunch of questions. There was also a computer assessment to determine my personality type and potential fit with their team, but I was not privy to the results of this. An offer came the next day.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
A question about TCP came up, and I needed to be up to date on how IP addressing worked.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Xantrion (Oakland, CA) in Sept 2012
Interview
Saw initial posting on craigslist, and also had a friend of a friend that had worked there for a number of years. I had my resume submitted directly via this contact, so that may have helped get me past the first checkpoint.
Did an initial feeler interview, which resulted in being offered an onsite interview. During this interview, they're still mostly trying to get a feel of whether you're someone that will fit with the culture of the office itself, and get along with the rest of the staff. There's an online portion of the screening process as well, and I did well enough to make it to the more technical portion of the interview process.
During that portion, they quickly ramp up to the point where you're in over your head. It's important to realize that they're aware that no single person can possibly know everything about IT, so they're just trying to gauge where your knowledge reaches, strictly for placement within one of their four discreet tiers. Don't try and be overly fancy here. Truth will go a long way in providing the best fit in the long run.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
As mentioned, there is no specific question that will be asked. It will cover a wide range and in many cases there is more than one correct answer.
