BakerRipley Interview Questions
& Process

I had a panel interview with a group of people from different departments. Each person asked a few questions. They were all very nice and made me feel welcome. The team was well-spoken and culturally diverse. I did research the company and saw that employees seem to be unhappy and overloaded with work.

I had a group interview with three recruiters and a few applicants. They wanted to give us a sense of the "real work environment." The environment seemed very unprofessional. There were no formal introductions, and they didn't seem to care about getting to know us. While we did our assignments, the recruiters talked about other applicants from a previous session. The manager was not nice and seemed like she would be harsh in this role. They mentioned the onboarding specialist would handle paperwork for the entire company, assist with new hire offers, and support the recruiting team. This sounds like a lot of work and unrealistic expectations. At least they were honest, but I wouldn't want to work that hard for a rude manager. My advice to management is for recruiters to be more professional in group interviews and not discuss other people or applicants, as this might be part of the problem in attracting the right employees.

I applied online and then had a phone interview with the hiring manager that same week. After that, I was invited to a panel interview. In the panel interview, the interviewers asked questions one after another, mostly behavioral. Some downsides were that I was kept waiting for an hour. The hiring manager was new to her role and didn't have much experience in the department she was now leading, even though she had been with Neighborhood Centers for a long time. She mentioned the salary they offered with pride, but it was 20-30k below market value. Also, there was no flexibility in the work schedule at all; you had to work 8-5 sharp. This is unlike other companies where such a position would normally have some flexibility and isn't a direct customer service role where you have to man the desk. The combination of the low salary and the lack of schedule flexibility to avoid Houston rush hour traffic was enough for me to not want to work there. If you can't offer competitive pay, at least allow a 7-4 schedule, especially if someone is willing to work remotely at night and on weekends. They didn't follow up after the interview, and I never heard back. I didn't reach out to them either and would have declined any offer. The whole experience felt unprofessional and disrespectful of my time. I thought this organization would be more forward-thinking, positive, and employee-centered.

We had a zoom meeting because of COVID 19. I was on time for my interview, actually logged in early. But once the interviewers joined, things went wrong. I had to download the app on my phone so they could hear me, and the background on my computer made my hair look pink. I thanked them for still continuing the meeting with me. It's a bummer, I would have loved the opportunity, but I guess my problem solving skills weren't up to par that day.