I went through 4 rounds:
1) Initial Screening with the Recruiter
2) Interview with the Senior PMM
3) Interview with Interview the Senior Manager, Product Marketing
4) Interview with the Product Lead
My initial conversation with the Recruiter and the later interview with the Product Lead felt positive and engaging; both seemed genuinely interested in my background and open in their approach. However, the interviews with the Senior PMM and Senior Manager of Product Marketing felt more reserved and these interviewers seemed less demonstrably engaged during our discussions, which created a somewhat less welcoming impression.
Across all stages, discussions were generally thorough, covering my professional background, my experience in establishing and growing product marketing functions, and my motivations. Key product marketing competencies were explored, including Go-to-Market strategy (where I shared examples of successful launches driven by unique customer research), cross-functional collaboration, metrics and success measurement, and positioning frameworks.
I invested significant time preparing for each stage, crafting thank you notes, and came prepared with numerous questions, showing my genuine interest (although, we only had time to go through 1-2 questions of mine).
Despite what I perceived as a strong performance in many aspects of these detailed interviews, I was informed by the Recruiter that the team had decided to proceed with other candidates whose experience more closely matched the role's requirements, which is understandable.
When I respectfully requested if the team would be open to providing any feedback to help in my job search, the Recruiter responded that while they understood my desire for feedback, it is company practice not to provide specific details beyond informing me that they were proceeding with candidates whose experience better aligned with the team's needs.
Pros:
1) Some interview stages (particularly with the Recruiter and Product Lead) were engaging and allowed for in-depth discussion.
2) Opportunity to articulate my experience across various PMM competencies.
3) Some interviewers did offer positive affirmations regarding my skills and proactive approach during the calls.
Cons:
1) Significant time and effort invested (four rounds) culminated in a generic rejection.
2) Issues with their online booking tool, especially when the Senior Manager of Product Marketing had to reschedule on me, it affected my other interview with the Product Lead, throwing my schedule off.
3) The company's stated policy of not providing any specific, constructive feedback, especially after such an involved process, feels impersonal and unhelpful.
4) The varying levels of engagement from interviewers created an inconsistent candidate experience.
Advice to Management:
I strongly encourage OpenTable to reconsider its policy on providing feedback to candidates, especially those who have invested time in multiple interview rounds. Even brief, constructive comments can be incredibly valuable and demonstrate respect for the candidate's time and effort. This would significantly improve the overall candidate experience. Additionally, ensuring a consistently engaged and welcoming approach from all interviewers would enhance the perception of the company culture. While parts of the interview process were positive, the conclusion was disappointing and reflected poorly on the company's approach to candidate relations.
