| September 29, 2016
Cheat Sheet is a regular series that takes you inside the hiring process. This week: If you’re good with data and like New York City real estate, this spot at StreetEasy might feel like home.
See all the cheat sheets here.
First Round:
Thirty-minute phone interview with a recruiter.
Second Round:
Thirty-minute phone interview with Edwards. He will explore your background, experience with R, projects you've done, work with teams, and communication with those outside your focus area. “It’s just digging deeper into what they have on their résumé to make sure that it’s what we’re looking for.” Edwards will also ask what you find most exciting about StreetEasy and the position.
Third Round:
Data analysis and coding exercise: Candidates must complete five tasks using a mock database and return the results and the R code they employed. It will test proficiency in R and in some data analysis techniques, problem solving, and attention to detail. The StreetEasy staffer who wrote the exercise will evaluate it for the quality of the code and apply such criteria as “how they approach the problem. Are they taking shortcuts they shouldn’t be, that don’t scale to larger data sets? Are they missing data that should be excluded because it’s not appropriate for that analysis?”
Fourth Round:
Series of 30-minute, on-site interviews with various people: a data scientist, the manager of data analytics, a couple of individuals from the PR/communications team, someone from the content marketing team, and Edwards. Interviewers will probe for such skills as technical acumen, experience with analysis similar to what the current team has done, teamwork, and communication. “I try to go last,” Edwards says, “just so I can kind of talk to them about their experience with everyone they’ve spoken to and really give them more of an opportunity to ask questions based on what they’ve heard.” You'll also speak on the phone with someone on Zillow’s economic research team in Seattle.
The Score:
Those who talked to the candidate will have a follow-up discussion led by the recruiter. The final decision lies with Edwards. Also important to remember are Zillow Group's core values: move fast, think big; own it; act with integrity; Zillow Group is a team sport; turn on the lights; winning is fun.
Do write a cover letter. Many résumés come in, and “a lot of people have very similar skills on paper. A lot of people went to the same programs for academic purposes. And so a cover letter for me is important, just because it shows additional interest in a position.”
Do, know about StreetEasy. Have “an understanding of who we are, the role we play in the market, the fact that we have a strong B2B side as well as a B2C side, the types of data and reporting that we’ve done historically. Check out our blog for the stories that we’ve done—either have feedback on that or be able to talk about potential ideas that we should be tackling.”
Do show curiosity. “Looking for the ‘why’—I think that’s one of the big things that I’m looking for, because I think it’s a hallmark of success for someone who’s faced with a sea of data and tries to make sense out of it.”
Do fit in. “The great thing about StreetEasy is that we’ve got a very established product in the marketplace that consumers love. But it’s still very much a startup mentality. … And we’re backed by a public company like Zillow. ... People who have extensive experience at large organizations where they’re very siloed, we tend to get concerned, but people who are willing to jump in at both a tactical and strategic level are people who are valued here.” Also, make sure to convey what’s key to you in a company’s culture.
Do send a thank-you note. It’s unusual, but “a small thing that I think goes a long way just to show your continued interest and to highlight a couple things that you enjoyed about the conversation. ... We do discuss those and look for those, but it’s a very rare thing. … It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s an easy thing to do that shows interest, so why not?”
Don’t do a StreetInterview. “This is a tough one when you’re interviewing, and you’re already employed, but people that stand on street corners, and I can hear buses going by and dogs barking and that sort of thing.” It’s hard to have a discussion “when you’re contending with background noise.”
Don’t make Edwards work too hard on the phone. “The painful conversations are the ones where you’re pulling teeth. You should have an idea of why we’re interested in you and what your experience is and be able to talk about all the great things you’ve done and how applicable it is to the role.”
