I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 6 months. I interviewed at Danaher (Chicago, IL) in Jan 2010
Interview
Initially contacted by a head hunter who did the initial interview. a couple of weeks later I did a phone screen with an HR person who did a very extensive hour+ interview over the phone. The process was 100% focused on what she was looking for and 0% focused on what I wanted to know as a candidate. Two months passed with no word from the company and the head hunter called me on a Thursday evening and asked if I could interview all day that Saturday. The logistics where fine. I met with about 5 people and the experience was like one long interrogation. Sharp pointed questions followed by a ridiculous level of detailed follow up questions (as if trying to "catch me" on some inconsistency). Another month passed with no feedback. Then I get a call from the headhunter who said that they want me to meet their industrial psychologist for several hours at an airport conference room. I met with the guy and he was all business. Ran me through a bunch of gmat-like questions, psychological tests, an in-depth interview. Another month then I was asked to come back and interview with some of the same people asking the same questions. I ended up going back a total of 4 times before they started talking about offer. Not a lot of "selling" through out the process.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Psychologist asked me - about my relationship with my mother and father growing up. What was I like in 1st grade. All interviewers asked - tell me about your three biggest failures in life. Why did I fail and what did I learn? Walk me through your thinking and analysis for a bad decision you made.
Very drawn out. I have never interviewed with a company who expected you to devote 4-5 hours filling out an online personality assessment and online job interview. This was all expected after sending a resume and having multiple phone interviews. This all happened PRIOR to an on site interview. Didn't leave me with a good first impression. Pretty high expectations for someone who is simply interviewing!
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
I had no issue with the types of questions, only with the assumption that a candidate can devote all of that time prior to even having a no site interview.
fair interview process. very direct and to the point. seems they were looking for specific type of worker. all in all, good interview process because both interviewer and interviewee get a better feel for each other.