The interview process for an entry-level role was ~7 weeks, consisting of a detailed online personality/work style assessment (Wonderlic), multiple writing assessments, and numerous interviews. One early morning interview was canceled 30 minutes prior and rescheduled for that afternoon. They were aware that I was a college student commuting from over an hour away; I had to cancel other obligations to make the rescheduled interview. My impression of the work environment was that it was strict and emphasized individual work with close monitoring by managers. I don’t believe collaboration was discouraged, but it didn’t seem to be intentionally encouraged either. The environment very much adhered to strict traditional ideas of how a corporate office looks and functions. The people I interviewed with said little regarding what they liked about their job or the company. The eventual offer came with a salary ~$5k under industry average; the benefits package was mostly pretty standard, but did have some unique health-focused perks. There seemed to be some nice opportunities for community service. After consideration of the work environment and salary, I was unsure whether I’d accept; that became a non-issue when the offer was later rescinded, as they found nicotine on the drug test unexpectedly administered at the 3rd or 4th interview. I immediately apologized, explained that this was a very unfortunately timed one-off occurrence, and offered to retake the initial test and continually take drug tests as a condition of employment. I was informed there were no exceptions and that I should have been aware of the policy, as I had marked on my application (two months prior) that I was “not a smoker.” I don’t recall whether the question asked about smoking specifically or broadly about usage of nicotine products, nor do I recall it being clearly laid out anywhere that either of these things would be a strict disqualifier for employment (I assume it was buried in fine print somewhere). This work environment may be suited to someone who desires a strict separation of work and personal life (other than in terms of health-related personal choices, which are evidently monitored to some degree); needs or wants to be assigned and evaluated upon specific, measurable tasks; or much prefers individual work but is ok being closely monitored by management. Based on my impression, I would not recommend it to anyone who prioritizes flexibility, having a greater allowance for independence from management, or a more casual work environment.

Everything leading up to the interviewing process was exhausting. First they schedule you for on site testing, but before that they require you to fill out a lengthy application that includes about five or six different online questionnaires. This part took far longer than any other application I had filled out previously and it was so long that I showed up to testing already annoyed with the company. Next came the testing where you are tested on patterns, vocabulary, and word problems. In many ways it was like a watered down GMAT, which took about 30 minutes. After the test, you then wait in the waiting area watching a company video, which is the about the equivalent of a hotel's channel one, which attempts to sell you on the amenities of the establishment. If you pass the test they then interview you with your basic interview questions and whatnot. The whole company, from the process to the building to interviewers themselves, gave me bad vibes and in many ways I was glad to not move forward with any further interviews because I doubt I would accept an offer to work there.