I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Transport for London (Londres, Inglaterra) in Feb 2018
Interview
After applying via LinkedIn, I received an assessment invitation quite quickly. Instructions straight forward and interview took place in Stratford.
Interview consisted of an 'unseen' presentation and a competency based interview. Again, all relatively simple process - only feedback on presentation is that, you are asked to complete a presentation about TfL. I would have preferred to present a comms plan on something that I had previously worked on. However, this was OK.
Competency questions were also quite simple, and relevant to the role.
I had some questions to ask the interviewers - as TfL are going through a significant change process, I asked how this was working within the business. This was a non inflammatory question but I felt the interviewer became quite defensive about the changes. This made me feel that maybe 'all was not great' within the team. I also felt that the structure of the role was not entirely clear - it is a hybrid of marketing and comms, however it appeared to be leaning more toward the comms side. This isn't quite clear in the JD and after the interview, I felt that maybe the team in situ were not totally clear either.
I was due to hear the result within a week but this took over two weeks.
No feedback was offered - as 'they are very busy with the number of interviews'
For me, this is totally unacceptable - if you reach an interview, you should be offered feedback regardless of how busy you are. This was a clear sign to me, I would not want to be working within a team/organisation that take this approach. I think it is somewhat indicative of how people and organisations work.
I don't think any one should be the victim of somebody else's inefficacy.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell us about a successful campaign that you have managed
I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Transport for London (Londres, Inglaterra) in May 2018
Interview
One of the worst interview processes I have been through. It was very poorly run and there was more of a focus on following HR practices, rather than a focus on a candidates experience that could be relevant to the role.
The interview started with being presented an 'unseen' presentation with 30 minutes of preparation time. This then needed to be presented back to two of the members within the current team, followed by questions from them about the information I had just presented. Some of these seemed unreasonable, for example, what budget I'd assign to the project. This isn't something that can be plucked out of thin air (especially with 30 minutes preparation time) and has too many considerations to take into account. It also seemed like both of the interviewers hadn't listed to what I had presented to them, as the majority of answers to the questions they asked, had been presented to them in my presentation.
We then moved on to a series of competency based questions that had nothing to do with the role. These were so long and complex, it seemed they'd been designed to deliberately trip people up. These did not touch on any of my previous experience. When I asked the interviewers to clarify the approach I was taking to answer the question was correct or to check I'd answered their questions in full they replied with 'you can answer in any way you like' and 'if that's what you're happy with' (only to be given the feedback after the interview that they wanted things answered in a particular way and about specific things!)
Throughout the entire interview, both interviewers looked bored and fed up and there seemed to be a lot of inconsistencies in the responses to the questions I asked. Neither seemed to know anything about the other projects.
The vibe that I got from the 1hr 30mins I was at the TfL offices was very negative and that this isn't a fun marketing team to work in and there would be a lack of support from the team on projects. There seems to be far too much compliance to jump through and this seems like more of a people please role, than an actual behaviour change role.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Thinking about the time, quality and cost triangle, tell us about a time you've managed a project that you had to one particular area, to the detriment of the others. What did you do, why did you have to do this and what was the outcome?