The phone interview was honestly a joke. It was obvious the HR rep was very young and inexperienced, speaking with someone who has over 15 years of professional experience. The whole conversation was painful — she was asking the kind of basic questions I haven’t heard in over a decade. If your company wants to attract seasoned professionals, you should have a more experienced HR representative handle the outreach. It was also quite uncomfortable — after I answered her questions, she just went silent, offering no feedback or reaction. At the very least, show some engagement. It felt like she was half-listening, maybe distracted working from home and not wanting to miss her favorite TV show. Right after the call, I told my friends, “Just look at how their HR performs — you can probably imagine the overall culture of the company.”

I was schdeduled to interview via email. Met with two gentlemen from an asset management analysis team, both with senior titles. Interview lasted about 30 minutes and was very direct, and slightly abrasive. Questions consisted of asking me about my background, technical skills, and education -- standard interview questions. In between these typical questions was some brief insight into the strict, agressive nature of the company. They made it clear that Irvine Company is a "No BS" kind of place where formal professionalism is expected. Work long hours, wear suits every day, and be paid well. They also explained that the company is very comparmentalized, and that the hiring decision would likely be made by them alone. They also seemed concerned that my bachelors and masters degrees were not from USC. I can assure you that both are very good schools, but it seemed that a USC degree is preferred here. I may not have come across as the "bulldog" that it seemed they were looking for, as I did not receive responses to my interview follow-up attempts.