I really liked the vibe given from the website (types of projects/clients worked on, and staff comments/profiles) and speaking to Human Resources was a much better experience than the other mobile-agencies/companies I talked to. Sounded like a good place to grow as a developer - loads of expertise in the team and range of projects / technologies to get exposure to. I applied speculatively to the company - for a Junior iOS Developer position, which wasn't being advertised for at the time.
First step of the was process - after my email application was responded to - was to have a telephone screening interview with the Head of People. From the phonecall they seemed like a much more friendly team and like they valued their staff more (others agencies I spoke to took themselves pretty seriously / sounded quite stuck up and were slow to answer communications or sounded distant/disinterested in emails etc)
After this step I was given a coding exercise to complete over the next couple of days. At the time I was already working on another coding exercise for a different prospective employer - and Future Platforms were very flexible and understanding, allowing a time extension so that I could complete both.
Once I'd completed the exercise, FP were pretty quick to get back to me with feedback - and I was kept in the loop about any delays so didn't feel like I had been forgotten about.
After my work had been reviewed I had a face-to-face interview with the Head of Mobile and a Technical Lead - both great people. And then finally, as it was my first development job, I had a face-to-face interview with the Managing Director and Technical Director - again, both great people. Everyone I had contact with sounded like they wanted to speak to me, which was different from most of the experience I'd had elsewhere. As a developer trying to get their first gig (a bit of a gamble for any employer) I was really impressed with their treatment of me.
I think it was less than 1 month from first contact to offer - which was perfect. I felt like the process was challenging/involved enough to feel like FP knew and cared what they were looking for, and quick enough to respect my time/life! (Another prospective employer waited 2-3 weeks between stages of the process and the whole thing took 3+ months - by half way through I already didn’t want to work with them because it felt like they didn’t care)