How We Hire: Your Roadmap to Landing the Perfect Job at Meister

Job-seeking can be daunting, but we believe your journey from application to your dream job at Meister should be a smooth and comfortable ride. Whether you’ve already sent us your application or you’re a potential applicant and want to know how the hiring process works, this post is for you. We want your recruitment experience with us to be a great one, so read on to learn how you can prepare for the hiring process, what we look for in candidates and how to nail your interview. 

When you apply for a job at Meister, you’ll quickly see that the hiring process is as much about you as it is about us. It’s very much a two-way street: a way for us and for you to find out if we’re a good match. To give you some insight into how we do things and avoid any unpleasant surprises along the way, we’ve broken down the hiring process into four steps.

In this post you’ll learn about:

1. Your phone interview with a member of the People & Culture Team.
2. Completing your Meister challenge.
3. Your personal interview with the Team Lead.
4. Meeting your future team-mates.

Less Interrogation, More Conversation

If you’re ready to talk, we’re ready to listen. Meister’s hiring process is a conversation. It’s an opportunity for us to get to know each other, and engaging in a two-way dialog makes the whole process way less scary. Each stage dovetails with the next as we get better acquainted, and by the end you’ll know whether Meister is right for you. We’re definitely looking for a long-term commitment, but in truth our hiring process is short, sweet – and effective.

The idea is for you to feel comfortable throughout the process so you can be yourself and show us you’ve got the potential for us to work beautifully together. Let’s take a closer look at each step.

Step 1: Phone Interview

If everything goes well with your application, you’ll be invited to a 20-30 minute phone conversation with a member of our People and Culture Team. During the conversation, you should ask questions that help you paint a picture of the job at hand – we’ll ask a few of our own too. Examples include:

• How much do you already know about Meister?
• What does the role entail?
• What are the perks of working at Meister?
• What are your expectations?

There’ll also be a chance to clarify a few administrative points, such as your potential starting date or any relocation or visa issues. You’ll learn about Meister’s flexible work options, where you choose what works best for you.

How Should You Prepare?

The first phone conversation can be intimidating, we get it! But there’s no need to worry. We want you to feel at ease, be authentic and try to find out if Meister’s culture and the position fit your expectations. Our top tips:

• Familiarize yourself. Reading the Meister website and Focus blog will give you an overall feel for what we do and a chance to reflect on your company fit.
• Tool up. Could you imagine using, championing or developing MindMeister, MeisterTask or MeisterNote on a daily basis? Try them out!
• Get technical. If you’re applying for an engineering position, acquaint yourself with our Apps, Integrations and APIs and check out the help centers for each of the tools.
• Be prepared. We want to know what makes you the best candidate, but what do you want to know about the job, the team and about Meister? Have your questions ready!

Step 2: Complete a Challenge

It’s important to us that you’re a great fit for Meister and for your new team. However, you also need to show us that you have the relevant skills. You’ll be asked to complete a short challenge tailored to the particular position you’re applying for.

For instance, if you’re applying for a commercial role such as a Content Writer, we’ll ask you to produce a short blog post or edit a text. For a Digital Marketing position, we’ll give you time to plan a small campaign to promote a new product feature or build brand awareness.

If you’re applying for one of the many Developer roles – frontend, backend, Android or iOS, for example – we might set you a coding assignment, ask you to write a query to select all the root children in a mind map, or challenge you to build a blog application where multiple users can create posts, comment on posts and react to comments. As a prospective Machine Learning Engineer you might be given a dataset and asked to develop a predictive model.

How Should You Prepare?

The challenge is a way for you to show us how you work and gives you an idea of the kinds of tasks you’ll be facing in your role. As tough as it sounds, it’s actually fun – and everyone loves a challenge, right? Here’s our advice on how to prepare:

• Read the instructions carefully, then read them again.
• Take your time and make sure you answer the questions properly.
• If anything is unclear, ask for clarification before you start.

Step 3: Personal Interview

The personal interview with your potential future Team Lead isn’t meant to be a rehash of the phone interview: it is much more in-depth. You will find out more about the position and the team you’ll be working with, have the chance to go into greater detail about your previous experience, and tell us what you bring to the Meister table. During the interview you’ll also receive honest feedback about the challenge you completed. This way you’ll have a better feel for the Meister way of doing things.

Make a good impression by:

• Going into detail about past projects you’ve worked on or led.
• Asking questions about the challenges ahead and what to expect.
• Paying attention to what your interviewer is asking.
• Telling us about your failures as well as your successes.

We’re curious to get to know the real you: we appreciate candidates preparing themselves, but we want you to be natural and avoid reeling off standard interview questions and answers. If you really want to make a good impression, do your homework on Meister and ask about things you’re genuinely interested in. Give your story some context: be honest, be authentic and sell yourself, not the version of yourself you think we’d like to see.

How Should You Prepare?

Don’t waste this opportunity to get to know us better! Here are some tips to help you ace the personal interview: 

• Show up on time. We don’t expect you to be perfect, we do expect you to be punctual.
• If you know who you’re interviewing with, check them out on LinkedIn beforehand.
• Don’t rely on generic questions and answers you’ve found on the internet.
• Revisit your challenge and be ready to discuss feedback.
• Reflect on your phone interview and ask any questions that fell through the net.

We’d like to meet you in person, and attending a face-to-face interview will also give you an opportunity to take a tour of the Meister head office in Vienna. If for any reason you’re unable to make it in person, you can still join remotely. If you’re applying for a more senior role, you might also be invited to a second interview with the department head or founder.

Make a Great Impression While Interviewing Remotely

If you’re joining the conversation remotely, here are some tips on how to make a great impression on us.

• Find a calm, quiet spot where you won’t be interrupted or distracted.
• Allow sufficient time to check your internet connection and test your video and mic.
• Turn off notifications, close any other browser tabs and mute your phone.
• Stay focused and pay attention to what your interviewer is saying.
• Try to use a computer rather than a cell phone.

Interviewing remotely isn’t without its pitfalls and technology has a habit of letting us down at critical moments. We’ve all been there and if something does go wrong, it won’t count against you. We want you to feel calm and comfortable every step of the way.

Step 4: Meet the Team

The final step in the hiring process: meet your future co-workers. Before signing on the dotted line, this is your chance to find out who you’ll be working with, ask questions, and see whether you can work beautifully together.

You might want to hear about the onboarding process first hand, ask for advice for your first few days and weeks, or learn more about the perks of working for Meister – such as Hackfest, the company’s annual retreat. Don’t be shy, you can ask anything!

How Should You Prepare?

Here are some tips for the final stage of the hiring process at Meister:

• Reflect on all the previous steps in the hiring process.
• Prepare any final questions you might have forgotten.
• Reflect on your skills, passions and expectations, but try not to be overly self-assured.
• Stay true to yourself, be authentic.

Your Time to Shine

If you feel at ease, then the real you will naturally shine through. We hope by now you realize that Meister’s hiring process is designed to give you the chance to showcase your skills and characteristics within a stress-free and supportive environment. You’ll receive honest and informative feedback, regardless of the outcome.

If Meister sounds like the kind of place you’d love to work, then head on over to our careers page. We’re always on the lookout for amazing people to join our amazing team.