Our goal is to create an environment where you can showcase your strengths. We hope this guide will eliminate any surprises and help you present your best self during your interviews. If you have any questions, please reach out to your Recruiter!
📚 General Advice & Prep
- Read over the job description. To get ready for your interview, read through the job description and make sure you know what is expected of the role.
- Everyone loves a candidate who does their homework! Do some research on who you'll be meeting (we'll give you names ahead of time), and do some reading on Notion as a company, business, and product. You should know what our mission and values are and be able to speak to them.
- Breaks. We know that interviewing at home can be stressful. For interviews lasting more than 3 hours, we will do our best to include a break in your schedule. If you need any additional breaks, just let us know. Also, our interviewing team is totally understanding if you need to quickly step away or run to the restroom - you're human!
- We love to ask behavioral-based interview questions. Behavioral questions usually start with phrases like “tell me about a time when” or “give me an example of". We want to understand what you owned and what you delivered. Expect follow-up questions such as, “what did you do then?” or “what was the result?”
- Here are some examples of competency-based questions.
- Here are some tips on how to structure your answers.
- Listen carefully. If you don't fully understand the question, please ask! You can ask the interviewer to clarify or rephrase their question. Also, feel free to tell your interviewer you need a moment to collect your thoughts.
- Be concise. Communication is important in all of our roles here. We recommend being thorough but concise. In general, we'd like to hear about fewer things but in more detail. We want to hear about the details of the challenges you've encountered and what exactly you did. Avoid giving "whirlwind tours" that touch on a lot of areas but only superficially or talking about your team or company in a way that makes it hard to ascertain your personal contribution. It's helpful for us to hear about outcomes and impact and not just inputs.
- Come with questions. This is your chance to interview us as well. We value curiosity and want to answer your questions.
Questions
Your Recruiter is your partner in this process and is here to answer any questions you have along the way.
🌱 Overall Interview Process & Focus Areas
Interview with the Recruiter
Come prepared to provide a succinct overview of your background and experience as it relates to the role you are interested in. We're also excited to tell you more about what we're working on and answer any questions! (30-45 mins)
Interview with the Hiring Manager
The Hiring Manager will want to understand how your past teams operated, reflect on what went well and could have been better, and your proudest achievements and challenges in your career. Be prepared to provide a few examples of recent work, preferably work that you directly led and managed from end to end. (30-45 mins) For some roles, we may ask that you complete an assignment/prompt before or after this round. We created some Notion templates for you so you can get a head start!
Virtual Onsite Interviews
- Role-Related Interview with a Team Member: You will have the opportunity to meet a member of the team — someone you'd work closely with. They will ask you specific questions as it relates to the job.
- Career History Interview with the Hiring Manager: The Hiring Manager will spend more time learning about your experience and work style, as well as answer any remaining questions.
- Partnership Interview with a Cross-Functional Team Member: We are looking to see how you've worked with different stakeholders and perspectives while working towards a common goal. Skills we may be looking for: communication, collaboration, ability to influence, problem-solving, navigating ambiguity, and the ability to make things happen.
- Manager Attributes Interview (for Manager Candidates): For roles that will have direct reports, we will focus this interview on your management and leadership style, including how you attract, retain, and inspire team members.
Final Interview(s) with C-Suite
You will have the opportunity to meet with someone on our executive team as the final step of our process. Please come prepared to have a discussion around your values and motivations, as well as your interest in Notion and this opportunity. They will want to understand your goals, interests, and motivations.
Reference Checks
As a final step in the process, we will also conduct reference checks. All offers are contingent on a background check, which includes employment verification.