The process took 7 weeks. I interviewed at Esri in Mar 2010
Interview
Initial phone screening interview with HR Representative in Week 1.
Phone interview with Manager in Week 2.
Additional phone interview in Week 3.
On site interview 8 hours in Week 5.
Determination in Week 7.
POSITIVES:
All interview expenses paid.
Friendly staff.
Inviting campus.
Debt free.
Stable.
NEGATIVES:
Location
Unprofessional
Examples:
One of the interviewers made it known that internal candidates were also being interviewed and one of them happens to be a friend of his outside of work.
Another interviewer made it clear that everyone has worked their way up the ranks and that outside candidates are at a severe disadvantage.
Schedule changes. Some interviewers running late.
Unorganized
Examples:
Some interviewers were unaware of the schedule changes that took place and unsure where to direct you to next.
You interview with so many people many of which might not have correlation to your position however they each have their own perception of what your job is supposed to be. By the end of the day you have heard so many different opinions that you are completely confused about the position.
Inaccurate Interviewer Knowledge
Example:
I was asked a basic black/white technical question and provided an appropriate response. I was then asked if I was sure. I gave it some additional thought and replied with the same response. I was informed that that my answer was incorrect. After arriving back home from my trip I looked up the answer and had in fact been correct with my response.
Culture:
Everyone speaks of "culture" and I truly believe that culture can be an incredibly positive trait within an organization however in my experience it was spoken about to the point where I began to develop a negative perception about it especially when they spoke of new people from outside joining the company. It began to feel somewhat like a cult where outsiders are alienated and unwelcome.
I applied online. The process took 6 months. I interviewed at Esri (Topeka, KS) in July 2011
Interview
The day of interview consisted of 11 different 1:1 interviews that lasted approximately 45 minutes long. In between the different interviews I had a 20 minute presentation to give to a panel of 15-20 people. The people at Esri seem very friendly. By the end of the day I was pretty exhausted from interviewing with the different people. All around I thought the interview was challenging but good.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Tell me about your education/experience and how it relates to our the job applying for
I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Esri (Redlands, CA) in Mar 2008
Interview
They invite you to Redlands, and then have a full day of interviews. These mostly consist of programming and math questions, with some domain specific questions thrown in. The best advice I could offer would be to review your algorithms and data structures, and if you don't know the answer take a stab at it anyway. It's a pretty standard technical interview, just rather long.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What's the best way to detect a loop in a linked list?