I applied online. The process took 6 weeks. I interviewed at Springer Nature in Aug 2025
Interview
Within a week after the deadline of the application, HR reached out to schedule for a initial screening. After the 30-min screening, in the following week, a one-hour interview with the team lead and a team member was scheduled. After two weeks, I followed up and received the feedback. The process and interview were professional and friendly.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Initial Screening with HR: Why do you apply for this role? What are your current skills and abilities that you want to highlight? What's your understanding about the xxx journals and the job description? What's your career plan?
Interview with team lead and team member (mostly senario-based questions & questions on publishing skills)
1. Tell me about what you do with your current job? 2.Why do you apply for this role? 3. What do you enjoy the most and the least in your daily work? 4. What's one thing that you do outside your core responsibilites? 5. What do you think is a good journal from the research community's perspective and from a publisher's perspective? 6. What tools do you use or what people you can talk with to understand the trend of the field you will cover? 7. Can you share an example where you used convincing skills or where shows your influencing skills (such as when the editor-in-chief doesn't agree on something, what do you do, propose a solution, etc.)? 8. What can you bring to the team? 9. How do you prioritize or organize your tasks? 10. How do you use data to support or inform decisions? 11. What's the biggest challenge in your work when interacting with editors, etc.? 12. Could you share an example where you solve a problem? 13. What's your long-term goal, and how does this role support and fit your long-term career goal?
(P.S. The questions asked mirror the skills, competencies and knowledge required in the job description. And if it's an associate publisher role, the team leader isn't necessary counting on you being very good at identifying and evaluating new journal opportunites or niche topics, which will be learned on the job and expected when you're in this role for the second year, so you don't have to worry about that as much when applying for the role or doing the interview. Editorial management, relationship building, influencing skills -- specifically knowing how to work with senior editors, and experience with journal publishing are the key.)
I applied online. I interviewed at Springer Nature
Interview
I only got through the initial interview before I accepted a job elsewhere, however I had a great experience. Humaira was such a pleasure to talk to, she kept me updated on the process and was super supportive when I requested accommodations. I have a very high view of Springer Nature and its employee and would recommend applying!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
General housekeeping questions, including why did I apply and a bit about myself.