When I arrived for the ~3 hour group interview, we all nervously waited in the atrium lobby of the (gorgeous) new EF building in Cambridge. I'm not sure if this was just a fluke, but I was told to come 15 minutes early to fill out paperwork at the front desk. All five of us did indeed arrive 15 minutes early, but with no paperwork in sight. We sat on the couches in the lobby staring at each other. I'm pretty sure this may have been a tactic from the cunning HR coordinators at EF.
It was lunch time, so there were lots of people entering and exiting the building, and walking over to the on-site restaurant. I would say the average EF employee is in their late 20s. As a recent graduate, I felt like I was in the right place. There is no dress code at EF, and it's important to plan your outfit accordingly. I wore a button down shirt with no tie and a form-fitting blazer. Another guy in the group interview wore a somewhat baggy suit and tie and looked incredibly out of place. During the interview itself, the EF staff mentioned several times how it's important for them to find someone to fit their company culture. I would put money down that that guy did not get a job offer.
When the HR recruiter came down (10 minutes late) to round us up, she took us on an expansive tour of the building. It was designed to reflect the transparency of the organization, as there are no solid walls or closed-off offices in the entire building. It was impressive how quiet the noise level was despite it's openness.
We settled into a conference room on one of the higher up floors, with sweeping views of the Boston skyline. Tip: sit facing away from the view if you're prone do daydreaming like me; you're going to be in this room for the next couple of hours. The HR woman started off by asking us what we knew about EF and it's history. She then showed us an accompanying power point in which she asked us each to read a slide. It felt a bit condescending, but it was an informative presentation. She then asked us some background questions, nothing too difficult. Tip: read up on the EF wikipedia page about it's founder and the different EF brands and the services they offer. It's not going to get you the job but it will certainly distinguish you from the other candidates right off the bat.
The next step in the interview was for five employees to come in to ask us questions. They asked us about ourselves, what sales meant to us, why EF, etc. Still not too difficult. One question that threw everyone off was to "Pitch something you're passionate about in 60 seconds". The HR woman actually set a 60 second timer on her phone so you could not go over your time. Out of the five candidates, I was the only one who had a concise, practiced speech about my passion for hiking. I was the only one not to go over my 60 seconds. I also volunteered to go first, which I think impressed the employees. Tip: Practice your speech at home using a timer, it will make a huge difference vs. someone who is just making it up on the fly.
The next portion was a speed interview round. The five candidates each got to meet with the five employees for five minutes each. Five minutes may seem like a lot of time, but unless you have some really concise and practiced answers, it's going to be hard for them to ask you more than a few questions. It seemed like each employee was assigned to ask a questions surrounding a certain topic. One would ask about why EF, one would ask about your experience with international travel/diversity, one would ask about sales experience, etc. Each person I met with was incredibly honest and really open to hearing me out in such a short amount of time, except for the sales woman. When I sat down with her she stoically asked me, "sell me this pen." I had no idea how to "sell her" a pen that she was already holding. It took me 60 seconds to really come up with a solid answer. She seemed displeased with my inability to have these quick sales skills. I understand the meaning behind the question, but I think a question like "explain to me how you would convince someone to go on a trip to France instead of a trip to Germany" would have been more relevant to display my international travel experience/sales skills, rather than "sell me this pen." Tip: practice your "so tell me about yourself" answer so that you can get it under 30 seconds. It will give you more for them to ask you more substantive questions during the speed round.
Overall it was a pretty good experience. I think the group interview was an interesting concept, but in order to really consider a candidate more carefully, you need more time to get to know them.