The interview process was thorough, but enjoyable. As the owner and founder of the agency is still very much hands on, and a massive believer in 'culture-over-everything', they take recruiting the right people into the team very seriously. They want to make sure they are bringing talented, humble and hard-working people to the team which will help grow the agency, and not lose that coveted 'family' vibe that so many agencies claim to have, but a lot of them don't. And I can say for certain, that they most definitely do have that at J2, and if you're lucky enough to join the team - then you're there because you really are the best at what you do.
I applied through other source. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at J2 (UK) (London, England) in Mar 2021
Interview
Connected with J2 via a friend from a LinkedIn post. I sent a CV and cover letter, and was invited for an initial call.
This first call was positive. I was given an overview of what they were looking for (someone junior and ambitious, prepared to work mainly in Wordpress and PHP), and asked about my background and experience.
They had been looking for suitable junior devs for a while, and I got the impression they were happy with me and interested in moving forward.
I was then invited to a second and final interview. Again, this was mainly a culture fit conversation, with no technical test. We discussed the technology and learning opportunities, but I was mainly told they were looking for someone "inexperienced" like me, who would be grateful for any entry level job. At this point, warning signs went off in my head, as I didn't expect to be treated by much respect or offered many learning opportunities.
The conversation then became increasingly uncomfortable, as I was asked several personal questions which are not relevant to any job interview. Interrogation about my family dynamics, background, social and romantic life etc, and questions such as "are you a naughty girl? You look like a good girl." and "what are you like on a night out?" I was shocked and disappointed to be asked such questions in 2021.
They were generally quite positive and told me I'd hear from them (with an offer) in the next week. I never heard anything and just let them ghost me. I did consider writing to the HR department or even the first interviewer to inform them of the inappropriate content, but I didn't see the point in this. The other interviewer was visibly uncomfortable in the interview, but also didn't say anything - I expect this is the culture at J2.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Are you a naughty girl?
Are you prepared to work with Wordpress?