Church & Dwight Interview Questions
& Process

So the interview process was like four rounds total. First, there was a quick phone call with HR, then a one-hour Zoom panel thing with the department managers. After that, I had to do an in-person case study, it was about a packaging brief. The last step was another HR interview to check if I'd fit in with the company culture.

I applied online in September through the Workday system. My application status shortly afterward showed “not under consideration,” so I assumed the process was over. Surprisingly, about six weeks later in October, I suddenly received a phone call from Church & Dwight, asking if I could do a very basic HR prescreen. There was no prior email confirmation, no invitation link. The next day Church & Dwight HR called and asked for some basic information. Overall, the recruiting process at Church & Dwight felt very confusing and disorganized. Communication was poor, scheduling was unclear, and the entire experience gave a negative impression of how the company manages candidates.

I got the first interview really fast, HR got back to me in a couple of days after I applied. I kind of ignored that they didn't offer health insurance or really any benefits, but I interviewed out of curiosity. The first interview was with my potential manager and it felt off from the start. It was supposed to be 30 minutes, but they were almost 20 minutes late and barely apologized before jumping into experience questions. The meeting still ended on time, and they didn't seem to care if I had other commitments. I got the vibe the company is really short on cash and that standard functions like CMI are missing. They kept saying how 'lean' they are and that I'd need to 'hit the ground running' (which I think means they're understaffed). It was also weird when I asked the hiring manager what they liked about working there, and they basically said 'nothing' with a bunch of vague answers. Then, the next day, HR emailed saying the manager wanted me to move on to the next stage. This involved coming to their office AFTER 5 PM to give TWO PRESENTATIONS, each lasting 40 minutes and 20 minutes respectively. One was about a product I managed from start to finish, and the other was about a potential new product for Church & Dwight. (This felt like they were mining ideas for free!). The craziest part? They wanted me to do this THE NEXT DAY, giving me less than 24 hours to prepare two strategy decks. It was late afternoon when I got the email, and I was supposed to drop everything, work all night, and then come in after 5 PM. They were pretty firm on the timing, like 'deal with it'. I withdrew my application immediately. The whole thing felt disrespectful and unhinged.

I had a phone screening with the recruiter, which was fine, though she sounded a bit robotic. Then, the recruitment coordinator set up an hour-long interview with the hiring team. The two interviewers were nice and we had a good chat about the role, their challenges, and how I could help. I didn't get the job, but what happened after the interview is why I'm writing this. I emailed the coordinator on Oct. 6 for an update. No reply, so I followed up a week later. After four emails and looping in more people, almost a month after my first follow-up, I got a generic rejection email. The coordinator didn't even bother to reply to my update requests. I feel like if I hadn't been so persistent, they would have just ghosted me.