The 25 most difficult companies to interview

Think of the hardest job interview you went through. Did they ask you to describe yourself in three words or less? Or challenge you to come up with as many uses for a brick as possible in a minute? Glassdoor.com recently released its third annual 25 Most Difficult Companies to Interview report, which reveals how companies stand out for putting candidates through the most rigorous job interview process, based on tens of thousands of intervews shared by candidates over the past 12 months. Four Massachusetts-based companies made the cut, including three in the top 10. Click through the gallery to see what candidates are saying about the interview process, samples of interview questions, average lengths of the interview process, positive and negative experience ratings, overall interview difficulty, and company satisfaction. (Glassoor interview difficulty and company satisfaction are based on a 5-point scale: 1 = very easy ; 5 = very difficult).

25. Rackspace, San Antonio, Texas

Average difficulty: 3.3Positive experience: 72%Negative Experience: 20%Length of interview process (in days): 23Company satisfaction rating: 4.1What candidates are saying: “Hour three [of the interview] involved meeting the prospective actual team lead and manager to see how the fit might be. Questions like ‘Do you get enjoyment out of completing 50 tasks in a shift or do you prefer to tackle very difficult projects that take many hours?’ Resume was scrutinized, and questions about if hired, where I wanted to be within the company in 5 years type questions.’’ – Rackspace Window Systems Administrator II Interview (Austin, Texas)Tough interview questions:“If your day was 20% performing job duties and 80% strategizing then give us examples of what you would be doing with that 80%?’’ – Question from Rackspace Acquisitions Representative III Interview (San Antonio, Texas)

24. Caterpillar, Peoria, Ill.

Average difficulty: 3.3Positive experience: 76%Negative Experience: 10%Length of interview process (in days): 43Company satisfaction rating: 3.7What candidates are saying: “The interviewer was the hiring manager who is from a technical background, so all the questions are purely technical, which were very different from the job description. You gotta be very knowledgeable to go to the next round.’’ – Caterpillar Senior Engineer (Gearbox Analyst) Interview (location unknown)Tough interview questions: “Tell me of a situation when you had to work on safety incident, what was the incident and what was your involvement in providing solution and how it turned out.’’ – Caterpillar Supply Chain Planning Engineer ( SAP IM WM ) Interview (East Peoria, Ill.)

23. Guidewire, Foster City, Calif.

Average difficulty: 3.3Positive experience: 62%Negative Experience: 21%Length of interview process (in days): 30Company satisfaction rating: 4.6What candidates are saying: “Overall it was a great experience and has undoubtedly developed my technical interview skills as well as understanding of some more obscure areas of Java.’’ – Guidewire Solutions Consultant Interview (Dublin, Ireland)Tough interview questions: “What is difference between optimistic and pessimistic concurrency?’’ – Guidewire Senior Implementation Consultant Interview (Toronto, ON)

22. Facebook, Menlo Park, Calif.

Average difficulty: 3.3Positive experience: 72%Negative Experience: 14%Length of interview process (in days): 30Company satisfaction rating: 4.8What candidates are saying: “The second phone interview . . . I told her about my future plans for Facebook, she said it wasn’t much different from what they have now. (It is, but she was apparently expecting more than my already unconventional ideas).’’ – Facebook Product Manager Interview (Menlo Park, California)Tough interview questions: “Where do you see the future of Facebook?’’ – Facebook Product Manager Interview (Menlo Park, California)

21. Informatica, Redwood City, Calif.

Average difficulty: 3.4Positive experience: 83%Negative Experience: 11%Length of interview process (in days): 19Company satisfaction rating: 3.9What candidates are saying: “Most of the interview questions are related to algorithms, problem solving, and critical thinking. Interviewers are very friendly and do make one feel comfortable. They focus less on coding and more on general design skills.’’ – Informatica Principal Software Engineer Interview (Redwood City, California)Tough interview questions: “Describe yourself in three words.’’ – Informatica Senior QA Interview (Bangalore, India)

20. NVIDIA, Santa Clara, Calif.

Average difficulty: 3.4Positive experience: 81%Negative Experience: 7%Length of interview process (in days): 22Company satisfaction rating: 3.8What candidates are saying: “Even though you answer all questions over phone and get shortlisted for an onsite interview, you will not get a full-time offer unless you have an internal reference.’’ – NVIDIA Compiler Verification Engineer Interview (Austin, Texas)Tough interview questions: “Name as many uses for a brick as you can in one minute.’’ – NVIDIA Campaign Manager Interview (location unknown)

19. Citrix Systems, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Average difficulty: 3.4Positive experience: 56%Negative Experience: 26%Length of interview process (in days): 29Company satisfaction rating: 3.8What candidates are saying: “We discussed approaches to specific challenges, when asked for examples of providing solutions to a business group, I targeted both my tactical and strategic examples to demonstrate my range.’’ – Citrix Systems Mobility Program Manager Interview (San Jose, Calif.)Tough interview questions: “What is the role of PDC emulator?’’ – Citrix Systems Technical Support Engineer Interview (location unknown)

18. Sapient, Boston

Average difficulty: 3.4Positive experience: 76%Negative Experience: 13%Length of interview process (in days): 12Company satisfaction rating: 3.4What candidates are saying: “They will send you an interview package email before the 1:1 interview, so make sure you read all the links in there. There are some Harvard and Yale Business Cases I found in there and they were very helpful.’’ – Sapient Senior Associate Interview (Boston)Tough interview questions: “Write pseudo-code for a method and then create a full database schema for the proposed senario.’’ – Sapient Associate Consultant Interview (Arlington, Va.)

17. BlackRock, New York City

Average difficulty: 3.4Positive experience: 61%Negative Experience: 21%Length of interview process (in days): 24Company satisfaction rating: 3.0What candidates are saying: “Pretty robust, though I expect it varies depending on the team. Failed an interview the first time I applied, passed the second time. As a person with a non-finance and non-programming background, I had questions ranging from general knowledge to puzzles to project management to my extra-curricular interests in coding. “- BlackRock Analyst Interview (New York)Tough interview questions: “How would you invest $N in, say, (insert tech giant like Google/Facebook/Apple/Yahoo/Microsoft) ? What options would you take — stocks, bonds, etc.’’ – Blackrock Analyst Interview (New York)

16. Microsoft, Redmond, Wash.

Average difficulty: 3.4 Positive experience: 70%Negative Experience: 14%Length of interview process (in days): 29Company satisfaction rating: 3.7What candidates are saying: “Process was driven very professionally by HR who took an active role through out . . . Good balance of discussion between my experience, skills, and my current and future interests.’’ – Microsoft Engagement Manager Interview (location unknown)Tough interview questions: “What do you do when there is no answer?’’ – Microsoft Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) Interview (Redmond, Wash.)

15. Avaya, Santa Clara, Calif.

Average difficulty: 3.4Positive experience: 86%Negative Experience: 10%Length of interview process (in days): 30Company satisfaction rating: 2.9What candidates are saying: “The on-site interview lasted 6 hours and was interviewed by eight different people throughout that time. The people seemed ‘normal’ for the most part but there were areas with the nerdy and quiet stereotypes.’’ – Avaya Systems Engineer III Interview Interview (Westminster, Colorado)Tough interview questions: “What kind of car do you drive and why?’’ Follow-up question, “There are a lot of very affordable, high quality used cars, so why would you drive something that expensive?’’ – Avaya Territory Account Manager Interview (Denver)

14. Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati

Average difficulty: 3.4Positive experience: 77 %Negative Experience: 8%Length of interview process (in days): 50Company satisfaction rating: 4.0What candidates are saying: “Really it’s a company with strong values and they are looking for people with good personalities and character. So their interview process is all about filtering people through to see who can drive results, who can have fun, and who is competent enough to compete within.’’ – Procter & Gamble Process Engineer Interview (Iowa City, Iowa)Tough interview questions: “Describe a time when you had to do something you didn’t want to do.’’ – Procter & Gamble Brand Manager Interview (location unknown)

13. Teach for America, New York City

Average difficulty: 3.4Positive experience: 73%Negative Experience: 10%Length of interview process (in days): 55Company satisfaction rating: 4.0What candidates are saying: “Long, tedious process. . . . All of the interview questions fall into three categories: 2 questions on why TFA, why teaching etc., then half on whatever leadership position you wrote about in your app, and half about how you overcame challenges and difficulties.’’ – Teach for America Teacher Interview (location unknown) Tough interview questions: “How do you measure success?’’ – Teach for America Corps Member Interview (location unknown)

12. VistaPrint, Venlo, Netherlands

Average difficulty: 3.5Positive experience: 43 %Negative Experience: 38 %Length of interview process (in days): 29Company satisfaction rating: 3.2What candidates are saying: “I was interview[ed] by seven people for the job. A very lenghty interview process where one was technical interview, the other are normal HR and behavioral and another on QA process etc.. . . Process was lengthy but wait time was short for a decision.’’ – VistaPrint QA Test Lead Engineer-sap Interview (Lexington, Mass.)Tough interview questions: “How [would you] find the index and value of a missing element of an array of 5,000 numbers?’’ – VistaPrint Software Manager Interview (Lexington, Mass.)

11. Paycom, Oklahoma City

Average difficulty: 3.5Positive experience: 35%Negative Experience: 52%Length of interview process (in days): 12Company satisfaction rating: 3.9What candidates are saying: “Interview process is tough. It’s a five-step interview process and you need to be at your best every step of the way.’’ – Paycom Sales Representative Interview (Denver)Tough interview questions: “How do we know you’re not going to give up when it gets tough?’’ – Paycom Sales Representative Interview (location unknown)

10. Hubspot, Cambridge

Average difficulty: 3.5Positive experience: 62%Negative Experience: 27 %Length of interview process (in days): 20Company satisfaction rating: 4.1What candidates are saying: “Initial phone screen with HR, phone screen with sales recruiter, followed by a VERY LENGTHY (took me two hours) test which included six parts (personality, vocabulary, situational questions, analogies, math, and word problems), followed by a phone screen with the sales manager.’’ – Hubspot Account Manager Interview (Boston).Tough interview questions: “Teach me something.’’ – Hubspot Inbound Marketing Consultant Interview (location unknown)

9. Stryker, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Average difficulty: 3.6Positive experience: 64%Negative Experience: 23%Length of interview process (in days): 35Company satisfaction rating: 3.3What candidates are saying: “The interview process was intense, but it makes sense why the company is incredible successful and an industry leader. Be prepared to meet with several people and have your resume/background torn apart for accuracy.’’ – Stryker Marketing Associate Interview (San Jose, Calif.)Tough interview questions: “What kind of people do you dislike the most?’’ – Stryker Sales Representative Interview (Orlando, Fla.)

8. Google, Mountain View, Calif.

Average difficulty: 3.6Positive experience: 62%Negative Experience: 21%Length of interview process (in days): 37Company satisfaction rating: 4.3What candidates are saying: “The process and interviews were difficult and unusual but clear, informative and logical. It included a sales mock up pitch via the phone which is the hardest stage. You do need to understand the industry and local market and be up to date with related technologies.’’ – Google Inside Sales Manager Interview (location unknown)Tough interview questions: “Tell him how many people watch YouTube in my country last 1 hour?’’ -Google Search Quality Analyst Interview (Singapore)

7. ZS Associates, Evanston, Ill.

Average difficulty: 3.6Positive experience: 72%Negative Experience: 17 %Length of interview process (in days): 29Company satisfaction rating: 3.5What candidates are saying: “The interview process consists of 1 written round, 1 GD round, 1 case study and multiple rounds of interviews. The interview process is one of the most rigorous that I have heard of.’’ – ZS Associates Business Operations Associate Interview (location unknown)Tough interview questions: “What is the total surface area of a Boeing 747?’’ – ZS Associates Business Operations Associate Interview (Pune, India)

6. Rolls-Royce, London

Average difficulty: 3.6Positive experience: 86%Negative Experience: 10%Length of interview process (in days): 46 Company satisfaction rating: 3.5What candidates are saying: “It is VITAL that you know your stuff about the company; I was quizzed heavily about some very specific aspects of the business. The day was completed with the group exercise.’’ – Rolls-Royce Graduate Scheme (Leadership) Interview (Derby, England)Tough interview questions: “How would you build an engine from scratch?’’ – Rolls-Royce Manufacturing Engineer Interview (location unkown)

5. Bain & Company, Boston

Average difficulty: 3.7Positive experience: 84%Negative Experience: 0%Length of interview process (in days): 28Company satisfaction rating: 4.5What candidates are saying: “3 rounds with progressively higher level managers, 2 interviews each round. One case each interview. They were tough but fair.’’ – Bain & Company Associate Consultant Interview (New York City)Tough interview questions: “Try to estimate the revenue from sale of tickets at Olympics 2012.’’ – Bain & Company Business Analyst Interview (Gurgaon, India)

4. Gartner, Stamford, Conn.

Average difficulty: 3.7Positive experience: 62%Negative Experience: 19%Length of interview process (in days): 35Company satisfaction rating: 4.0What candidates are saying: “Very intensive interview process. They get very personal and spend a lot of time trying to understand your “sense of purpose.’’ Essentially what they are getting at is — do you have something that drives you to make a lot of money’’ – Gartner Account Manager Interview (Fort Myers, Fla.)Tough interview questions: “You have 30 seconds; list as many uses for a baseball bat as you can think of…’’ – Gartner Client Partner Interview (Fort Myers, Fla.)

3. Boston Consulting Group, Boston

Average difficulty: 3.8Positive experience: 74%Negative Experience: 12%Length of interview process (in days): 32Company satisfaction rating: 4.3What candidates are saying: “Overall relaxed, though it was tough to get a good read on the interviewer. Definitely brush up on basic math, especially multiplication and division and practice in front of someone as it simulates the pressure you’ll have. It seems like even a simple math error can doom you, so practice.’’ – Boston Consulting Group Consultant Interview (Boston)Tough interview questions: “If I took your resume and removed the name at the top, what line on your resume would make your friends read it and recognize you?’’ – Boston Consulting Group Consultant Interview (Philadelphia)

2. Thoughtworks, Chicago

Average difficulty: 3.9Positive experience: 73%Negative Experience: 14%Length of interview process (in days): 43Company satisfaction rating: 4.1What candidates are saying: “The hiring process is really thorough at ThoughtWorks. Even for an operational role I had 7 interviews. While this is exhausting it’s also really helpful because I got to meet lots of people I would be working with, and ask questions — and get really honest answers. It seems to be as much about whether you want to work there, as whether they want you.’’ – ThoughtWorks Marketing Interview (location unknown)Tough interview questions: “Tell us a story which the title is Green Hat.’’ – ThoughtWorks Software Engineer Interview (Chicago)

1. McKinsey & Company, New York City

Average difficulty: 3.9Positive experience: 77%Negative Experience: 12%Length of interview process (in days): 39Company satisfaction rating: 4.3What candidates are saying: “All the way, I met very interesting and capable people, the process itself was grueling — training for case studies in parallel to a full-time executive job is not easy — but also very motivating.’’ – McKinsey & Company Management Consultant Associate Interview (Chicago, Illinois)Tough interview questions: “How would you calculate the annual carbon emissions from electric versus gas vehicles in the EU?’’ – McKinsey Business Analyst Interview (Boston)