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The BizOps Interview Loop

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The variations are endless, but if we boil a BizOps interview down to the essentials, it's safe to expect:

  • An initial recruiter screen
  • Technical and/or hiring manager screen(s)
  • An onsite interview with 3-6 rounds

Let's dive into each and cover some less common interviews you may see.

Recruiter Screen

This first interview usually lasts 30 minutes and mainly consists of behavioral questions on your motivation and experience such as:

  • "Why BizOps?"
  • "Why this company?"
  • "What makes you a good fit for this role?"
  • "Tell me more about X experience listed on your resume."

You may also see light technical questions on how you work with data, stakeholders, and/or strategic thinking.

Tips for passing this round include:

  • Do basic research on the company so you can show interest. Getting a feel for the business model and company culture is enough.
  • Come prepared with plenty of questions on the interview and anything that piques your interest about the company itself.
  • If it's a phone call, have all of your prep materials physically laid out in front of you for easy viewing. If it’s by video, it’s better to keep your prep materials on your computer so that you can make eye contact often with the video camera.
  • If you can, look up the interviewer on LinkedIn so you can understand them a bit better; make references during the interview if you have something in common.

Technical and/or Manager Screen

For bizops and strategy roles, the most common screening tool is the classic case question. Typically, the hiring manager will hop on a call with you, giving you 45 minutes or so to work through the case live. You might get a take-home assignment (less common) which you'll likely present during an onsite if you make it to the next round.

Standard case questions look like this:

  • "Lyft is looking to expand its rideshare service into a new country, beginning with cities. How would you go about determining which cities to target?"
  • "LinkedIn is launching a new portfolio-sharing tool for freelancers. What factors would you consider before entering the market?"
  • "Should Google enter the ridesharing market?"

Practice case interviews beforehand -- we'll teach you a framework for working through these and any questions on strategic decision-making shortly.

You'll also probably spend some time answering behavioral questions since this is the first opportunity for the hiring manager to get to know you. Expect deeper questions on your experience and culture fit-type type questions.

Remember -- the hiring manager wants to know whether you can do the job and fit in with their team, so try to demonstrate culture fit, interest in the work being done, and overall friendliness/willingness to learn.

On-site

On-site interviews also vary, but they follow a predictable structure. Typically you’ll interview for 3-6 hours total with a lunch break midway through.

You’ll go through many rounds, each 30 - 60 minutes long. You may interview with a panel, or have 1:1 rounds with a mix of cross-functional peers, the hiring manager, and maybe even a few higher-ups.

Rounds will typically include:

  • At least one more case question. This time, it'll probably be more specific to the company you're interviewing with.
  • Behavioral questions assessing your execution, data, stakeholder management, and strategic thinking, as well as your interest in the role and what brought you here.

Depending on the company, you may also get a "hands-on" quantitative or data-centric question. We've spoken with candidates who've been asked to work with a raw dataset and provide recommendations or to create a dashboard, but these are fairly rare.

We encourage you to gather as much information as possible about the exact structure from your recruiter and ask the bizops community questions on Slack.

Some additional tips for the onsite (before and after) are:

  • Imagine what kinds of questions they might ask depending on the company. (e.g. Google might give you a case centered on a search-related problem).
  • Prepare plenty of questions on the company strategy and vision, management structure and culture, and products.
  • Use the product yourself and be prepared to share your experience. Your dedication and enthusiasm will win points.
  • Email the recruiter after the interview thanking the team for their time.

The Hire / No-hire Decision

Each company weighs skills and competencies differently, but the evaluation process is similar across the board. Hiring decisions occur after the final round — typically the on-site. Either the recruiter or hiring manager will lead a 30-minute meeting with the goal of arriving at a decision. Interviewers take turns sharing their feedback and a recommendation along a set spectrum, e.g. Strong No / No / Yes / Strong Yes.

For the most part, these meetings are consensus-driven, but in many companies, the hiring manager has slightly more influence. Sometimes the decision is quick. If not, it may come down to which group can convince the other to change their vote. Interviewers may place more emphasis on technical skills or domain-specific knowledge when evaluating an "on-the-fence" candidate, but evaluations at big companies typically follow a specific rubric.

Feel free to reach out to your recruiter with questions about scoring as you move through your interviewer. You might not get all the information you want, but it won't hurt to ask!

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