Product Manager (PM) Hiring process:
1. HR screening
2. Audio call with hiring manager
3. Virtual Onsite - four video interviews with team
4. Virtual Presentation - takes up to 8hrs to prep
5. Hiring Bar - final committee to review your candidacy
I made it to stage 3 while interviewing for a PM role on the Invoices team. I was really excited about Square and the process seemed good overall. I also thought the recruiter was fantastic and communicative throughout. BUT, I had one horrible experience during my interview process at Square. During my last interview, which happened to be the Analytical Interview with Data Science, the interviewer started to LAUGH in the middle of my interview. It was clear she was distracted throughout my interview as she was furiously typing on another screen and giggling. Mind you, I answered the case question correctly, but this was just throwing me off my game. Maybe her co-worker was sending her funny memes on Slack. I don’t know. Then she started cracking up laughing during the middle of my interview. That is SO UNPROFESSIONAL.
Also unsurprisingly, this was the same interviewer who cancelled & rescheduled my interview at the last minute.
Look, I work for a big company too. I invested a lot of time in interviewing at Square (2 weeks back and forth with recruiter and 2-3 days of heavy calls). All I expect in return is that Square conducts the interviews with a baseline of respect.