I’m a big fan of Glassdoor and the reviews have been quite insightful during the past few years. So, when I read the PM (project manager) review below (May 2015) the day before I was scheduled to go in for my interview, the expression on my face was probably similar to a child’s that just found out his pet dog had run away. I shrugged it off, walked in to Media Genesis and met with the CEO 1 on 1. I'm glad I did. He didn’t waste any time with trivial “tell me about a time when (insert 2-3 random variables) happened” or lazy “what are your strengths and weakness” HR stock questions, which I genuinely appreciated. He went through and discussed my resume, and asked specific questions about my experience and abilities. Then I walked him through a couple examples of some sites I had helped manage. My job at the time required a rather complicated, jack-of-all-trades skillset, so I’ll admit that I wasn’t entirely sure if I was what they were looking for after the interview. I was asked to come in for a 2nd interview a couple days later, and then met with the President & Creative Director, a Senior PM, and their Sys Admin. In this interview, everyone was specifically interested in the types of clients I had worked with and the software and tools I was using on a regular basis. Again, no eye-rolling, run of the mill HR fluff questions. Everyone was professional and respectful. I suppose it’s specifically worth mentioning that the President did have his laptop open for most of the interview, but I could tell from his mannerisms and reactions that he was paying attention to what I was saying. I found out later that this individual is capable of processing, reading, and explaining information much faster than most, maybe even faster than a web server processes PHP. If you interview with this company and see the owners typing away on their computers while you’re answering questions, don’t let it get to you. They are multi-taskers and they demonstrated (to me, anyway) that they’re perfectly capable of listening at the same time. I was offered the job and accepted a couple days later, and they did meet my salary requirements (no negotiation was necessary). If you’re planning on an interview with MediaG, be ready to demonstrate your knowledge and value. You’ll be absolutely fine if you can do this, and don’t worry about preparing to answer the classic HR questions. It will probably help to bring samples of sites, designs, writing, etc. - whatever the specific job requires. I was specifically asked to submit writing samples after the 1st interview, so even if you don’t have a full portfolio to unleash, don’t worry - they’ll let you know what they want to see.

Upon answering the ad they had placed for a Project Manager I was contacted by a woman who walked me through what to expect in the interview - how I would meet with an owner and probably a Lead Project Manager. I came in, and met with a company president and a Lead. The Lead PM stayed mostly quiet while the president asked me a lot of questions about my education, almost like he was trying to trick or trap me. At one point, I messed up the year of graduation, and spent five minutes explaining it was just a verbal mistake. Then the he devoted his attention to his laptop for five solid minutes while the Lead asked me questions about specific software and programs I had worked with. He was nice and friendly, and his questions good. Then the president interrupted him and began asking THE SAME QUESTIONS I HAD JUST ANSWERED. Either it was another attempt to trick me, or more likely, he didn't listen at all while I was answering the Lead. I was invited back and, after getting some salary information from the assistant, came back in despite my reservations to meet the other owner and another Lead. This time, the owner talked more than asked questions, and spent 10 minutes bragging about clients that I could plainly see they hadn't worked with in 10 years (Happy Feet came out in 2006, guys, and that Scion was from 2005). This Lead was helpful too, asking good questions about my education and experience and even though one President came off as self-absorbed and the other as self-important, I was willing to take the job because the two department leaders were so nice. Then I looked on Glass Door, and did an internet search. It seems pretty obvious to me that people are dissatisfied here. There are dozens of ex-employees of Media Genesis on LinkedIn, and even more ex-employees noted on Facebook. Having met with the over-the-top owners, I could see why people speak so badly of them on Glass Door. Then, just to top it off, they offered me the job, with a salary thousands less than I had required. No way. Good bye.