Phone interview with HR, then phone interview with member of the team. I was asked to come in for a five hour interview, to which I happily obliged. Halfway through my interview I voluntarily left, the first (and hopefully only) time I have ever done so. This is also my first Glassdoor review; I felt the need to share my experiences:
In-person interview experience
Group one, two individuals:
A) I was asked to select a project and walk through the: 1) goals 2) enhancements made and 3) KPIs. I referred to an onboarding project I had executed at my previous company to which I was told it would suffice for the exercise. For about 15-20 minutes I detailed how I identified the need for the project, outlined a hypothesis, and then reviewed how we tested its impact via A/B test. At the conclusion of the interview I was told though my project seemed good, what is done at BBB is more intricate and that it's "not as simple as just an A/B test." Should the initial instruction have been clearer, I have many examples of more complex projects which I would have shared.
B) As part of our conversation I asked "what PM Methodologies do you and your team follow?" I was asked for more clarification, to which I said: "Such as Scrum, or Agile?" I was then told I was incorrect in using these terms in that manner, as it's the "development process." I was lectured about the differences. At this point the meeting quickly ended as the next group was waiting for me in the hall. Prior to the new group transitioning into the room, the previous group shared their experience interviewing me and laughed over that "last question."
Group two, two individuals:
A) I was asked about my strengths, to which I replied, "I've never missed a deadline." The individual challenged, "Never?" When the next whiteboarding project was being assigned I was told that I should also be sure to include my timeline strategy as "one of your strengths was 'never missing a deadline.'" This was requested in a condescending way.
B) I was asked to share details on what I've been doing to further my PM skills since leaving my last position. I noted that I am currently working as a consultant (virtually full time), with a new startup where my duties include: building new team framework; developing the product marketing strategy, UI, and dashboards/reports. This was quickly dismissed as irrelevant and was asked if I had completed “classes or training." I noted that I received my certification in Scrum and was pressed about if it was completed in the "last few months." I noted it was completed in December 2015.
Before even starting the second assigned project, I gathered my belongings and walked out.
After calling and emailing about my experiences, later in the evening HR reached out stating that feedback was very positive and they apologized that the interview "didn't go as planned."
The overall atmosphere during the interview was one of condescension, and rudeness; it was a gathering of egos too big for the room. I realize those feelings may be subjective, so I wanted to refer to a few other Glassdoor reviews that cite similar experiences:
10/11/2014 Bed-Bath-and-Beyond-Assistant-Planner-Interview-Questions
11/15/2015 Bed-Bath-and-Beyond-Administrative-Assistant-Interview-Questions
11/22/2015 Bed-Bath-and-Beyond-Assistant-Buyer-Interview-Questions
04/29/2016 Bed-Bath-and-Beyond-Web-Manager-Interview-Questions