I received the same enthusiastic, exclamation point laden email about two days after submitting my application. I replied, and we set up an interview date a week off. The interview was over the phone. No "jelly bean" question, or anything similar in terms of brain teasers/riddles. Either they cut this segment, or it was skipped for me because our call accidentally dropped and the interviewer has to call me back. The process was about twenty minutes, and as mentioned before, they seemed to read from a script, without really following up on answers or digging deeper. They also seemed more eager to set up the art test. There was an art test; draw two animals in the In House Style in a week's time or less. I did so in about four days, and received a "Thanks, our art director will review" type reply. A few days later, I got the same decline email the other Illustrator position review mentioned. No offer. I am skeptical of IXL, because their general customer reviews are extremely low. Students seem to hate their products beyond the general Tween Hates Studying caliber. That aside, during the application and interview process, they give the impression that there is SO much art to be taken on. There are HUNDREDS of pictures that need to be created or edited-- that is the case, and yet I haven't seen a single person receive a job offer. I share the concern that they use the "art test" artwork on their website. Unlike the applicant that mentioned being offered $200 for the spec work, I was offered nothing. That said, I sent a follow up email to the interviewer to 1. ask for feedback on my test, and 2. get it down in writing that they will NOT use my art anywhere, since I wasn't compensate, and didn't get the job. They replied that it was "against their policy" to give feedback (uhhh, okay?), but did assure me that my work would not be used anywhere by them, and fully belonged to me. Overall-- A waste of time. Good luck to other applicants.

I applied for the position and received an extremely excited and positive email back from the IXL recruiter that included multiple exclamation points. The phone interview was strange. The interviewer seemed nervous and rushed. She seemed to have no interest in my 20+ years experience working as an artist in the educational space. It appeared she was simply reading a script and had little interest in an actual conversation. The interview quickly went into setting me up to take an "art test" and that they would pay me $200 for taking. I asked about that and have received NO REPLY as of this date. There is also no phone number or contact information in the recruiter's email. However, after being skeptical about being paid, I received a check in the mail seven days later as they promised. I took the test, sent back all the required documentation including a W9 form that they requested. One week later I receive an email that appears to be a form letter: "While we are impressed with your qualifications, unfortunately we have decided not to move forward with your application at this time. After careful deliberation, we have decided to proceed with other candidates who meet the company’s needs more closely." I have worked with many corporations doing EXACTLY what IXL wanted. And this is for a contract position, not full time. Also, they stated you were looking for multiple people to work for them since there was SO MUCH ART that needed to get done. I am skeptical if they even intend on contracting ANYONE for these illustration positions. The same job keeps getting posted over and over. I can only assume this is the way they use contract illustrators.The majority of jobs listed are recruiters and higher-ups. My advice is to stay away from IXL.