* let me just begin by saying that Merck will waste your time.
you have been warned.
i was contacted by an internal executive recruiter. very personable guy and informative. he presented to me a position that was really out of my arena as my specialty lies in manufacturing. this particular role was more in facilities, facilities management over a rather large campus. this sent an alarm in my head as to why this recruiter would reach out for this role, but hey, stranger things have happened in my career.
in any case let me cut straight to the chase.
i went through at least five video interviews, some of which had multiple interviewers.
setting up the interviews was a hassle unto itself.
let me just say that to anyone who is considering a job at merck, ask the golden question or "silver bullet." ask if they are considering any internal candidates, if they are, dont waste your time, as the decision has already been made and you are just playing a game of charades to give recruiters something to do, schedulers something to do, etc etc. the sad fact is this is a bad reflection of merck, as they are obviously wasting their employees time as well.
although the executive recruiter was a pleasure to speak with, and my feedback was positive, it was obvious i was a "diversity candidate" data point to prove they are "color blind " etc etc
in review, although the interviews were a pleasure, the wasting of my time (and theirs for that matter) for a pre-selected candidate is really at the root, an unethical and completely frowned upon practice.