We often hear that the interview process is unexpectedly long and challenging. That is definitely the case! You do a phone interview and if you make it through that, you're invited in for testing and panel interviewing. The testing consists of 3-4 tests including a personality test, typing test and standardized test. Later on, there are also several different writing tests to gauge your communication skills and affinity for the position. You are also given a book to read, "The Findability Formula." This lets interviewees/interviewers get better insight into whether the position is a fit. Final steps are meeting the CEO. If he likes you and you are deemed a good fit for one of the teams at ROI, then you are presented with an offer.

This was by far one of the worst interview processes I've ever experienced. I'm not saying that just because I didn't get the job-- ROI is known for having a rigorous interview process and I understood that going in. I passed the phone interview, the assessments, and then was brought in for a first round interview. After passing that, I was given an outdated book on search engine marketing called The Findability Formula and asked to read it before the second interview. The second interview was a panel of 5 people-- I was told that there were several jobs open, and that a number of strategy managers needed to be present in case one of them wanted to hire me (there were apparently several open positions). The interview consisted mainly of the recruiter asking generic questions that were written out on a piece of paper, and the whole process felt very impersonal and uncomfortable. After an hour of this sort of interrogation, I was asked to wait outside while they deliberated. When the recruiter fetched me back in, she told me I was going to be welcomed back for a third interview. During our time scheduling the appointment, she asked me some questions about how much notice I would need to give, and indicated that she would be contacting my references. Hearing this, I assumed that the third interview would just be the final step toward receiving an offer. Before the interview, my references contacted me to inform me that they had been contacted, and assured me that they gave me glowing reviews. The third interview was another panel interview, and I believe I did fairly well. I think I made good connections with the people I was talking to, and after leaving I had no reason to believe that I had bombed it or wouldn't be receiving an offer. They said they would get back to me by early next week (it was a Friday). On Tuesday, I received a very generic, boilerplate email saying that they were unable to offer me the position at this time, and good luck on all my future endeavors. I was completely floored. After forcing me to take time off so often for interviews, forcing me to read an entire book, and wasting not only my time, but also the time of the people who I listed as references, I couldn't believe that they wouldn't so much as call or provide me with some reasonable explanation as to why they couldn't hire me. I tried emailing the recruiter back to politely ask what I could have done better, but I have yet to hear a response. While up until this point I had accepted the interview process as their company policy, and even applauded their ability to get back to me quickly, I cannot accept this level of disrespect for both myself and my references. I find their conduct to be incredibly callous and rude, and I would not recommend anyone putting themselves through what I went through.