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      de Banke Group

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      de Banke Group interviewsde Banke Group Patent Formalities Officer interviewsde Banke Group interview


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      Patent Formalities Officer Interview

      3 Sept 2024
      Anonymous interview candidate
      London, England
      No offer
      Negative experience
      Easy interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at de Banke Group (London, England) in Sept 2024

      Interview

      IP CENTRUM My interview was originally scheduled for 10:00 AM on Friday. However, just one minute before the scheduled time, I received an email rescheduling it to Monday at 10:30 AM. While I understand that unexpected changes can occur, I found the timing of this very late rescheduling to be quite unprofessional. During the rescheduled interview, I was asked to share information about myself and respond to basic questions, such as how I handle conflict and what my greatest achievement is. Interestingly, I was also asked how I would deal with someone being an hour late to a meeting, which seemed ironic given that my interview was rescheduled at the last minute. The interviewer kept asking me what annoys me, what gets under my skin which I thought was odd. When I inquired about the firm, the interviewer was unable to provide detailed answers, noting that she works remotely and has only been with IP Centrum for five months. This raised concerns for me about the work culture, particularly when it was mentioned that although unlimited holidays are advertised, many employees don’t take full advantage of this benefit as it is frowned upon. Furthermore, she emphasized that the role "can be hybrid for the right person," but also mentioned that other team members go into the office five days a week to "bounce ideas off one another." This gave me the impression that hybrid or remote work might be discouraged, which is concerning. She also mentioned that people come in as early as 8:30AM and leave as 6:30PM which doesn't signify a healthy work/life balance. While the interviewer highlighted perks such as a Michelin-starred restaurant and trips to Spain organized by the CEO, these do not align with my priorities. I would prefer to receive the monetary value of such perks rather than participate in work-related travel to vacation destinations. Lastly, it's a significant red flag that the majority of their reviews were posted in July 2022, mostly by current employees. It raises suspicion that they might have been incentivized to leave those reviews, especially since they're all 5-star ratings. Out of 40 reviews, only six are from former employees, while the rest come from current ones. The only negative feedback mentioned by these employees was 'working long hours, but you get rewarded for it,' which feels somewhat contrived.

      Interview questions [3]

      Question 1

      Do you drive? (I found this odd)
      Answer question

      Question 2

      What gets under your skin? (Why would she asks this?)
      Answer question

      Question 3

      Name a time you had to stay late to work?
      Answer question
      avatar
      de Banke Group response
      1y
      Hi! I'm Simon - CEO here at IP Centrum. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. The last minute cancellation is not good, apologies. I know the interviewer apologised to you on the call, but didn't explain she had a nasty accident a few minutes before the original meeting time, so sent her apologies through the recruitment agent. She's one of the most hard working, selfless and caring people you'll ever come into contact with, so I can assure you she'd have been mortified to have caused you this inconvenience. Really valid points about the reviews, although almost everyone who is currently at the company has written a review, so there aren't that many new people who could. A few have written reviews after they left though. I actually did ask everyone a few years ago if they would be willing to write a review, so you're on the money there. The reason was that we had had a number of new starters who for whatever reason didn't work out, so I wanted everyone to know the warts-and-all reality of working here from the horse's mouths. We don't tend to employ puppets so I think you can probably trust those reviews - read the bad ones as well though, as there are a few absolute stinkers! And judge for yourself. (Also take note, the positive reviews also state a lot more negatives, they’re just not negatives to everyone). One of things that is difficult is that we are an extremely authentic company. We really do believe in extremely hard work and working together to achieve something extraordinary. We really do care incredibly deeply about our clients, and that what we do delights them. We also care hugely about our suppliers, and want them to have a great experience working with us. But this level of care doesn't tend to happen between 9 and 5, so it’s just a fact that if you highly prioritise the traditionally understood notion of “work/life” balance, it’s really best you don’t join. Work is every bit a part of one’s life. So we often use the phrase "work/home balance" instead. People who work here absolutely love their work-life (not everyday! Sometimes it absolutely sucks) and I have to spend a lot more time telling people to go home, and take holidays, rather than the reverse. How we are isn’t “right” or “wrong” it’s just how we are. Some people absolutely love the pain and suffering of the gym, others don’t (I'm not a massive fan). Neither are right or wrong. It’s the same with us. I have total and complete respect for people who know what they want and are willing to go for it, and it sounds like you do - and what you want is similar to a lot of people, so you’re in good company. That’s not available here, so I’m pleased you and we worked that out at interview! Whilst we're not destined to work together, I wish you all the best finding the right role for you. Best wishes, Simon PS. We would have asked about whether you drive, because our current head office is a nightmare to get to without a car, so we’d have just mentioned this to you before an offer if you didn’t drive.