The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Backbase
Interview
I worked client side with Backbase and they made a number of hints that i should join them, so i submitted an application.
After my application I had no response for about 4 weeks. I made contact with an intermediary and suddenly things started moving. Unfortunately I was passed through no fewer than three different recruitment contacts, two of whom failed to make any contact with me. After a polite but firm email, i finally got confirmation of my interview.
Interview 1:
Skype interview. Generic call. Asked about my ways of working tried to establish culutral fit. Easy.
Interview 2:
Skype interview with Senior business analyst. Questions about methodology, culutre, culutral fit. Easy
Interview 3:
Took a long time to organise. In the meantime i had accepted and started another role.
In this interview i had the senior BA in the room as well as another senior BA and a director over skype. I was given a simple business case which i prepared for.
I followed the (very limited) instructions but it emerged that there were some big differences in interpretation (basically, method had to be their way or it was wrong). The director seemed more interested in checking messages on her phone than participating in the interview. Perhaps it was skype, but the interactions felt incredibly forced.
A few days after the final interview I was sent a generic email telling me that i didnt have the right skills! I was stunned that Backbase didnt even have the courtesy to call a final round candidate.
In summary, the interview process was forced, disorganised and unprofessional. But most frustratingly, they missed out on a candidate that knew the product, knew the company (had worked onsite) and had a number of established positive working relationships with Backbase employees.
The person from the recruitment team set up an interview but never turned up. He emailed 2 min before the meeting that he cannot join. An organization who cannot respect people's time us not worth conversing with. Pls refrain from discussing any roles with this form as it is a waste of time as they don't value candidates time
Smooth interview process that didn't take long. Questions were straightforward and related to working in agile. Presentation and case study followed at the final step of the interview process. Great experience in a group setting
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Q: How do you work with the product owner to gather requirements?
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Backbase (Melbourne)
Interview
A waste of time during 3 rounds. In the final in-person round, the interviewers wasted first 15 mins by doing logistics in the co-working space and coming unprepared. The meeting room was occupied by another party for a while. A couple of people stayed fixated on things that were not relevant to the core topic of the presentation. I spent a week, working almost full time, for giving my best shot. Half of the panel was good, but the other half just made it easy for me to decide to withdraw my application without bothering about the fourth round (which they did not notify me about, at the beginning of the hiring process). Not worth working along side. In one of the earlier round, I felt the interviewers had no etiquettes for holding a conversation. Basics like active listening, not interrupting until someone has finished were non-existent. I felt like the interviewers got their real world problems solved from the skilled BA professionals without even having them onboard. Unfortunate for the candidates. The case study was relevant but the amount of work and type of work that is given makes you doubt the real intent, especially when feedback and decision making process on their side is ambiguous.
