I applied directly with Wayfair on their career site. I received a response within a weeks time.
First I spoke with the recruiter, who obviously screened my candidacy. The recruiter was merely understanding, based on her experience, if the role would be a good fit. The recruiter explained that Wayfair does not hire for a particular position but rather you interview with a multiple departments and then they place you.
I will say this is a poor experience for any candidate, based on from what I have read here it appears all too common.
Following my conversation with the recruiter, I spoke with a manager for Department A the following day for 45 minutes. General questions were asked again just to understand your past experience and to ensure the recruiter actually had the correct candidate.
The next day the recruiter reached out stating the interviewer did not feel I would be a good fit for his department but suggested we try Department B.
Again, the following day spoke with a Department B manager, same breakdown. Wayfair obviously is somewhat structured and scripted.
The interviewer and I obviously had a better rapport and the recruiter the following day invited me in for a face to face with 5 Wayfair employees from various teams within this department.
Wayfair's office is centrally located, so applicants can drive and park underneath their building for a fee (Wayfair will not validate) or take public transit, the T line.
Once the applicant is at the office be prepared to sit in a room for 3+ hours and not be offered any additional water, restroom breaks, etc. It was not a hospitable atmosphere. From the start I could see Wayfair was more about appearance than actual substance.
Applicants meet 1 on 1 with 5 interviewers. Two interviews will be purely questions about you, and your past experience. The other two will be user studies. The last will merely be the recruiter acting as a bookend to debrief.
