I applied for the job about a month or so before I ever heard from the recruiter. The recruiter, Vanessa, was very likable and professional. Just a lovely person. She asked me all the pertinent questions and seemed keen. She wrote to tell me soon after that I passed the first test and that the person who would be my boss wanted to have a 45-minute phone interview with me. Phone interview went very well. Was asked about my experience as a writer and editor, why I wanted to leave the freelance world, why Homeaway, etc. Got an email an hour after the interview concluded to say they loved me and that they had interviewed a lot of people but I was "special." They asked me to complete a writing and editing test. I did so and sent it along.
Was asked to fly to Austin to have a final interview with five people, including the CEO.
I had the five-hour interview. The first was with the woman would would have been my boss. She asked some good questions but then started asking me about analytics. I never saw analytics in the job description nor did anyone ask me about that skill before. I fumbled for an answer and knew I was rambling because I only know the basics. I could see her eyes crossing. She never asked me about my writing or editing assignment. Just asked me howI think I did. Her questions rambled and were not coherent. Many of them had nothing to do with the job. The other four people asked me pertinent questions and seemed to like me.
They never called me or emailed me afterward to say I didn't got the job. I even sent a handwritten thank you card to the woman who would have been my boss. You would think she would have given me the courtesy of a reply? VERY UNPROFESSIONAL!
I hounded the HR person, Vanessa, and she did finally respond to say I didn't get the job because I had no analytics experience. She seemed very apologetic.
Ok, that's fine but PLEASE put that in your skills section on your job posting so you people applying know. And it was a writer/editor position. Anyone can learn analytics.
Funny thing, they told me they had been looking for months for someone and had flown one or two other peeps down from the big city (NYC) to Austin for final interviews. I bet those people stumbled on the analytics questions, too. This interview was in March, they reposted it right away and AGAIN, this week, they have the job posting up on their site. I guess you can't find any analytics editors with more than 10 years experience, huh?
Oh and another thing: The hotel they had me stay at was abysmal and asked me to pay for my room when I arrived. When I said it was prepaid, they said that wasn't so. The dumb front desk person or the HR assistant screwed up and I had to fork over my card and I was charged TWICE for my hotel room. Needless to say, it took me more than a month to get reimbursed. Very unprofessional.