I applied online. I interviewed at MediaSilo (Boston, MA) in Oct 2015
Interview
I was asked to the office and met with the CEO and VP Marketing for about an hour. I was able to see how the office ran and employees interacted with one another, as well as have them see me interviewing. After I'd spoken with Kai and Dina, they brought in a member of the sales team, with whom I chatted for 30 minutes or so, after which I was asked to come back in two days for a second round of interviews/meetings with the VP Sales and other employees.
Two days later I met with the VP Sales, for whom I would potentially be working, and a product manager. These interviews were again conversational in nature, while focusing on day-to-day responsibilities, past experiences, and the ways I felt were best to approach potential sales opportunities. The VP Sales didn't crack a smile for the first 30 minutes of the interview, but once he did, I got the sense I had the job.
I sent followup emails to all with whom I interviewed and received courteous responses in return. I was advised that the VP Sales would be traveling out of the country to visit clients and so would not hear back from them immediately. ie, I wasn't left hanging, wondering when they'd get back to me. I was given a two week timeframe during which they'd check my references and come to a decision, and heard back from the CEO a few days short of two weeks.
I applied through a staffing agency. I interviewed at MediaSilo (Boston, MA) in Apr 2017
Interview
I had a phone call with one of the lead developers first. It was a conversation about my interests, background, more about their company, and possible projects I could work on. He asked me a couple of OOP questions but didn't stress this too heavily. He asked me to do an onsite interview by the end of the conversation which we scheduled for 2 days later. There is no receptionist so when you get to the fourth floor be prepared to walk right in to them working.
There was an island of about 9 standing desks, a kitchen, then another island of desks with smaller rooms on the perimeter of the floor. It had a nice feel - very open and not too crowded. I spent 30-45 minutes each with 2 more people.
The first interviewer was informal and conversational and he worked in behavioral questions when natural. He had my whole resume memorized. He gave a good insight into what I would be doing and spent some time convincing me that they have everything I'm looking for.
The second interviewer had a much more rigid vibe than what I was expecting based on their culture. Some of the conversation felt forced but maybe we were both nervous. We did some white-boarding together on data storage strategies. I learned some new things that I had not really come across in my current position.
I was supposed to meet with a third guy but they said he was too busy and they sounded optimistic when I was leaving. "We hope to hear from you soon, Alex will give you a call"
Two days later I got the 'no' with some really helpful feedback when I asked directly for it.
This is the first company I've interviewed for that has actually googled and found some of my work online and actually asked me about it. They even asked about a question I asked on a mathworks forum. I think it was definitely a plus for me but just be prepared for that.
