It was one of the worst recruiter screen interviews during my job search. Firstly I was interviewed by the PA to the CEO which is not abnormal as most start-ups do not have fully fledged HR departments. The interview started normally with standard competency questions, and some marketing questions. Then, the interviewer wanted to get the names of my references, which usually be shared at the end of the process at the offer stage. Then, I got more questions to rate myself against certain skills. Then when I asked about salary range for the role, the interviewer couldn't disclose an amount. The next stages included an assessment test and interviews with other team members. Overall, the call was a waste of time, and I withdrew my application.

Ask yourself if you'd like to work for a company that has no issue setting unpaid assessment tasks that, by their estimation, should take at least 3 hours to complete. Had an initial chat with HR and was then sent the assessment task. On principle I dislike doing work for free, and the task they sent is genuinely beyond the pale. It's not that the questions themselves were difficult, it's that they weren't hypothetical situations so it felt like I was just troubleshooting problems for them. Here it is: "This test is designed to evaluate your strategic thinking, hands-on skills, and ability to analyse and optimise marketing efforts. Please focus on quality and clarity rather than length. We understand your time is valuable, so we've estimated the total time required for each of the 5 parts. We value concise, well-thought-out responses. Submit your work as a single ZIP folder or Google Drive link within 4 days of receiving this test. Part 1: Strategic Marketing Plan (1-2 hours) Deliverable: A PDF document (1-2 pages). Part 2: Hands-On Campaign Execution (1-2hours) Deliverable: A ZIP folder with campaign assets (PDFs or images). Part 3: Data Analysis and Optimization (20-30mins) Deliverable: A brief PDF report (up to 1 page). Part 4: Strategic Product Marketing Prioritization (20-30mins) Deliverable: A concise, up to 1-page strategy document outlining your approach, rationale, and any potential challenges or trade-offs. Part 5: Review the Krotos Studio website and propose three specific changes to improve user engagement or conversions. (20-30 minutes). Deliverable: A brief, bullet-pointed response (max 200 words)."