At its core, Optoro’s interview process was really three stages: meeting recruiters at an event in DC after applying through my school's career portal, a Skype interview in front of a panel of three current Rotational Associates, and an in-person interview at their office where I met with five people in succession. Optoro took weeks to get back to me between each interview stage, and the entire process encompassed over three months. The first interview was basically just a casual and pleasant conversation about what the company does and my interests and backgrounds. Second round was a lot of vague questions about what approaches I would take to planning publicity events or recruiting new talent (even though there was nothing to indicate that I had experience in this or would want to be involved in this at the company -- I didn't). They were silent for a long time after this, leading me to believe I hadn't made it on to the next stage (which would've made sense at that point), but eventually I did receive another call from the recruiter asking me to come into the office. A week before my final round interview they asked me for three references that they wanted to call immediately (maybe not realizing that the biggest hassle you can possibly create for a college student). There was also a work sample exercise that needed to be completed that week, which was very basic. At the office, most of the people who I interacted with were lovely, with the exception of one person who scoffed at a couple of my answers and also appeared to be visibly falling asleep at other points during the same conversation (???). Five weeks after my final interview and only after I inquired about the status of my candidacy, I finally received a call telling me that I wasn't going to be extended an offer with no constructive criticism or further explanation than, "we've just been really back and forth about it!” Seems that they aren't really looking for anyone with any particular set of skills for this position, which makes some sense given the rotational nature of the role. However I guess they are REALLY concerned with upholding some semblance of prestige for their company's reputation, so they make the application process very long, arduous, and oblique for candidates to create the impression that only the finest talent is accepted, even though no part of it was actually intellectually rigorous. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Optoro’s mission is great and I have nothing against the company as a whole, but the interview process was awful. If you go through recruitment with them, don't let the opportunity cost be applying to fewer other jobs, because they may lead you on and waste your time.
