Applied via LinkedIn, after contacting the hiring manager with a direct message via InMail. They responded the same day to schedule an interview. The two people who interviewed me (separately) were friendly and personable, generally easy to talk to and I didn’t feel like there were any “gotcha” questions, thank goodness. Maybe one but nothing too horrifying or unexpected. I felt mostly at ease around them and decently well-prepared, but the second manager who interviewed me kept talking about how stressful the job was... but that she loved it, but that it was really exhausting. Hmmm... not sure if that was intentional, to weed out the hungry (or truly desperate??) or if she was just being honest about the commitment level it took. She seemed like a genuine person so I took it more as setting expectations for what the company and job demand. I also wasn’t made aware beforehand that I would be doing two (to three) rounds of interviews with one person and then the next person, and then the next the same afternoon, so I’m glad I hadn’t planned anything else that day as it took a couple of hours. I actually liked that part though - good to get it over with instead of wasting time and no room for hand-wringing over “did I make it to the next round?” Maybe just arm candidates in the future with the knowl she beforehand that they need to alot significant time for the interview. At least three hours... Toward the end of the interview with the second person, the interviewer told me the third person wouldn’t be able to meet with me today as she had to go home for personal reasons, but that they’d schedule a meeting with me to meet her next week if they wanted to bring me back in. Oh well. The interviewer was texting during the meeting, though she said it was personal family emergency stuff and apologized. I felt otherwise good about her overall presentation, engagement, and transparency that I didn’t take it weirdly or as inappropriate. Overall a positive interview experience otherwise. Seemed like a pleasant team of hardworking people, though perhaps a bit short handed (or maybe it was a day when most people were out in the field - it is a news/media company, after all!) and I would probably apply for other job openings with Sonoma Media Investments in the future, for which my background and skills may be better suited.

1st interview with Ad Director. 2nd interview with Chief Digital Revenue Officer and Chief Revenue Officer. 3rd interview with Ad Director, Chief Digital Revenue Officer, Chief Revenue Officer and Publisher of Sonoma Magazine.