#1 Met with country manage and senior technical guru over a coffee. It was a polite and open discussion of my experience and skills. At this point the only information I had on the product is through their website and by reading their patents. (They have many). They are looking for a particular kind of "fit" which will not be directly disclosed. Their mission is never to have a failed implementation of their software. The are flat in structure and you will essentially have to be voted in by the entire team. It has a private club feel more than any other company I have dealt with.
#2 Had a phone call with another Senior Tech resource that went over my experience and covered some database theory, join methods and performance tuning.
#3 Had a demo of the product which consumed 2.5 hours. Had 15 minutes to present a bit about a time critical data processing scenario I had solved and was clued in to consider how I would use their tool to solve the same problem now that I had seen it. This example and my explanation of how their tool could attack the problem would be key in future discussions.
#4 Had a video interview where I presented my data processing problem sharing my desktop. Spoke about how I might use their tool to solve the same problem.
After #4 was told that while they liked me that there was not consensus over my ability/fit. Unfortunately no real feedback was given. In the end this long process had the same feel as those electronic job applications where you receive a form letter telling you "thank you, you have not been successful" but this one lacks the standard "we will keep your resume on file for future consideration".
You get one chance to be initiated into the Order of Ab Initio. I made it 4 doors in. There might be 50+ more to get through, I will never know.
