I'm so glad you had a positive experience interviewing with Illustria! We strive to get to know each candidate, not only as a designer and a professional, but also on a personal level. It is very important to us to evaluate whether there is a good personality fit with the kind of company culture that we are trying to build. We also try to craft very productive, insightful questions that allow a strong candidate to shine. Thank you so much for this positive feedback. I'm sorry that we weren't able to offer you the chance to work together, and I hope your continued search has gone smoothly and successfully!

Hi there, Thank you so much for this constructive feedback. I'm very sorry that interviewing with us was a less-than-stellar experience for you. We have listened to your concerns, and actually made some permanent changes. Here they are: 1. We no longer do surprise phone interviews. As of September 1, 2015, all calls are prearranged via email with the candidates, so everyone has time to prepare and be comfortable during the phone interview. 2. We have coached the staff on making visitors to the office feel welcomed. Our recruiter, or the staff person closest to the door, personally greets candidates upon arrival. We role-played everyone looking up from their computers and smiling one morning- it was a bit silly, but we think it's working. I apologize about the confusion re: our precise location. Being in Bethesda, just over the border from DC and on the metro line, it is sometimes appropriate to advertise us as a DC area business. More accurately, we are located in Bethesda, MD. I can certainly see how that would be puzzling- please trust that we intend to be as clear as we can, while reaching the widest possible audience. Unfortunately, there's a tradeoff. On the plus side, we expect an imminent move of our offices, so in the near future that confusion may be resolved. Thank you again for your feedback- it is really helpful to us as we grow, makes mistakes, and try to learn from them for the future.