I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Via Oncology (Pittsburgh, PA)
Interview
Phone screen followed by an on premise interview consisting of three pairs of interviewers.
Technical questions were generally in line with those for a senior level software engineer though not always applicable to the work being done at Via. "Behavioral" questions were also presented.
Processes are mostly traditional. The focus is on long-term schedules and meeting delivery dates over providing value and quality. Communication is done through several layers of vertical channels via the organizational hierarchy.
Technical practices lack maturity. Scrum and agile are claimed but it is simply rebranding of a traditional PMI approach. Developers mostly work in isolation. Code is developed then "tossed over the wall" to an external testing team with little automation. Testing is conducted in a separate cycle.
Continuous learning is advertised although it appears to be a secondary thought. It is now being prioritized, promoted, and enabled by the acquiring company (Elsevier).
Feedback provided after the interview exposed some miscommunication and assumptions; Via had no willingness to followup for clarifications or additional discussion.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Identify syntax, logic, and style issues in a short method presented as a printout.
I applied online. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Via Oncology in Jan 2017
Interview
Via seems like an exciting place to work with respectable and professional employees, but it has a lengthy and disjointed interview process. I was first screened by phone and then about a month later I was invited to the office for an in-person interview. The first interview lasted 60-90 minutes and was broken into two separate 2 pairs of interviews. The first pair was with the hiring manager and a content coordinator and the second was with two other content coordinators. The interviewers just read from a list of questions they had prepared but there did not seem to be much coordination because many of the questions were repeated between the both groups.
Three weeks later I was invited back via email for a second interview with a similar format, but with the CEO and three other senior members of the staff. The day after I committed to an interview date, the HR contact replied and requested I bring a writing sample with me to the second interview. There was a vague prompt regarding a healthcare topic with no guidance regarding length or format. I was able to complete the writing sample before arriving for the interview but i was unhappy that the writing requirement was not communicated at the time the invite to the second interview was extended.
The second interview covered no real new ground with regard to the types of questions asked and no additional opportunity to meaningfully interact with the hiring manager. In addition, the CEO, it turned out, was double-booked, and was unable to appear at the interview.
Finally, you have to go the the UPMC.careers portal to find out if you are turned down. They don't send you a "thanks but no thanks" email. It definitely left a bit of a negative impression that that professional courtesy was not extended after the extensive interview process
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. I’m happy to hear that you felt our employees were respectable and professional. With that said, I’m very sorry to learn that your interview experience was not positive, and apologize for my scheduling conflict. I'll re-look at our process in the areas that you pointed out to see how we can do it better in the future. We are always looking for ways to improve our recruiting process to make sure each interview round is beneficial and informative for both parties. We value your feedback and really appreciate you sharing your experience.