I interviewed for the UK Senior Legal Counsel role and progressed through to the end of the panel interviews. I did not progress to an offer.
At the top of the process I had the pleasure of meeting the recruiter, Jess Guenette. She arranged the initial call very soon after I submitted my application, was very friendly, clearly described the scope of the role and expectations from the candidates. Throughout the process, Jess was very responsive to any questions I had and was prompt in updating me at each stage. Superb recruitment experience.
The interview process is challenging and does require a significant commitment of your time (to prep and also interview), so come prepared and expect to be put through your paces. I completely understand this approach, particularly given Vercel’s status as a unicorn/rocket-ship start-up (while also being somewhat established in the US). They are clearly looking for top-tier talent and will not compromise in the interest of getting bums on seats.
The interview process has a total of six stages, if you include the recruiter screening too. I found the interviews engaging and the interviewers came across very friendly, were well prepared and punctual. The focus was on situational questions - “tell me about a time you…”.
Although I did not go through to the final stage, the feedback email I received from Jess felt considered and personal to my experience, not an automated rejection. It landed well with me. Moreover, I requested some additional feedback for my own learning experience and Jess kindly obliged.
Overall, while the process is challenging and requires your commitment, it felt well structured, purpose driven.
My feedback in relation to this process would be: 1) that there may be one or two too many cooks in the kitchen. I believe that reducing the panel stage to one or two team members that you would work closes with should be sufficient in determining if a candidate is suitable; 2) try to avoid repeating similar questions from previous interviews; and 3) allow for the conversation to flow more naturally, as the questions felt quite scripted and it didn’t feel as though the interviewer or I could get our true personalities across.