10y
We appreciate that this candidate took the time to provide a review of the hiring process at Q1 Productions for the Junior Conference Production position.
Our interview and hiring process takes usually between 6 to 8 weeks from initially posting the job description online and collecting resumes, reviewing resumes, conducting phone interviews, reviewing projects, conducting initial in-office interviews and then final interviews to select the most appropriate candidate. We work very hard to find and select the best possible candidates for this position, as the role is one that is integral to the continued growth and development of our company.
The “Production Project” was designed to provide candidates with an opportunity to experience what basic online research is like for this role, as the vast majority of candidates do not have any formal previous experience in producing high-level, educational conferences for executives in the life science industry. As outlined in the initial phone interview, the project should take between 1-2 hours of the candidates’ time. The project requires the individual to read a 200 word brief, identify 5 online articles, 10 individuals that would be relevant for the conference, to write one session description and an email invitation. The session descriptions and email invitations are roughly 100 words each, so the total written portion of the project is around 200-300 words.
Each candidate receives the same topic, and the topic is extremely basic, thus easily comprehended by candidates and which already exists in a conference format. These projects are also industry standard.
We have found that there are a number of different backgrounds that are beneficial for this role, and so we list the position in different areas in order to obtain a well-rounded group of candidates. For example, individuals with a journalism background are a good match, as are individuals with market research or healthcare research backgrounds. The conference production role requires a unique skill set, incorporating research, strong professional communication skills, tact and grit, which can be found in a wide variety of different types of former occupation.
We will in the future be more transparent about the length of time spent in our interview process. I appreciate this feedback so that we can provide a more positive experience for future candidates. We will also make sure to better gauge the amount of time spent on projects.
