Gave an assignment to be completed in 7 days. Assignment required extensive review of DDG search results. I was asked to create Screener, Discussion Guide and laternate method of conducting the same research. Didn't get a job offer, but they paid $750 promptly.

This company feels like a scam. I read through the reviews about interviews on this page before applying and thought that people who could not get in were just steaming off but now i know how they feel. I am currently a ux manager at a big brand and have more than 10 yrs of solid ux research experience. i was ready to take a step down from manager to sr level at DDG because i wanted the "worldwide remote" option for personal reasons. In my current manager position, I am myself looking for Sr. UX Researchers to join the team and I know what talent exists in the industry. I am confident that my analytical skills, thoroughness, speed of work and critical thinking is at the topmost level. I can find at least 5 things that were wrong in the research project they provided me (specifically user testing videos) that are not best practices, scripts having leading questions and absurd questions that make users just choose a rating and move on without much thinking. While I was doing the project, I knew that this team does not know how to do it. Even then I finished my project because I had already spent much time on it. In response, they say nothing except that my profile "does not meet requirements". Very vague and makes me think about the rubrics they have for grading. I noticed in reviews on this page that people who put in WAY more hours than what was asked for the project actually got an offer. So it seems like honesty and speed/ efficiency is not their thing. If you search for people who work in DDG on linkedin, you will find many that just kept on hopping from one role to another, from one company to another in their career and are now directors and VPs at DDG. Also, some people who you can clearly say that have not cleared any projects to make it through their interviews at DDG. Makes me doubt their employees' qualifications. No wonder even after existing for so many years, their search engine has serious usability issues and is a pain using. Users in the usertesting video themselves said they are not so likely to switch from google to DDG. I am just appalled by their response. They are transparent with everything, including their policies after employment, but NOT transparent with their grading of projects makes me doubt if they are just using these projects as a way to get ideas out of qualified people. If you are going to apply, I would say make the ultimate goal the money you will be getting by doing the project. Don't expect too much from them. I have never seen such impersonal communication from a company after expecting to work so hard on their interview process. Yes, they are giving money for the project I worked on, but that is not what I am here for.