CNA Corporation Interview Questions
& Process

I had an initial chat with HR about admin stuff and clarifying job details, which was super helpful for understanding the role and expectations. Then, a virtual meeting with the hiring manager, also mostly admin but touched on qualifications. The main event was a full day of interviews: a panel with managers from different areas, I presented a past project, did a case study where I had to outline how I'd approach a research challenge, and finished with two one-on-ones with senior managers. It's a tough process, but it ensures you're joining a company with really solid, long-term people.

Got an email for a screening interview from HR a few months after applying, which HR admitted was a bit late. I replied with availability, but didn't hear back for about 2 weeks until another HR person contacted me after someone tried calling me. They wanted to interview the next day, which was weird given they asked for availability weeks prior. The HR person was late and had bad call quality. She read a job description I didn't apply for and asked generic 'tell me about a time' questions, but interrupted me after 20 seconds to summarize into one sentence. She said I passed to the next round. Later that day, I got a call about my name change, but I missed it due to the earlier screening and sent an email with forms and explanation. I didn't hear back until I followed up twice weeks later, and the interviewer only responded when I CC'd the original contact. The interviewer seemed supervised by the first contact, whose tone was professional, unlike this one. The interviewer didn't know about the company benefits or what the company/role does. Based on the emails, I shouldn't have continued. Also, the pay is $80k-$90k, which might be tight for a single person in that area.

Recruiter reached out in Nov 2023 about a Scientist role. The salary was much lower than expected, and there were many red flags throughout the process, some from HR and one from the hiring manager. The hiring process felt over the top, including writing a personal statement, submitting a 30-page writing sample, writing a 7-page case study, meeting with a director, giving a 90-minute presentation, and a 4-hour onsite interview. I stopped after the presentation; if it had been a reasonable 15-20 minutes, I would have continued. The case study took many hours to research and respond to, and preparing a 90-minute presentation would also take many hours. I enjoyed talking to the director, but it felt like too much unpaid work was requested.

So, I went through three interviews: first, a technical screening with a staff member, then a panel interview with project leads and management, and finally another panel interview with management. It was more about my domain experience than pure technical skills. They asked a lot of standard questions to check my character and work ethic. The interviewers were really professional and friendly, and I got plenty of chances to ask my own questions and learn about the job. They were also great in helping figure out the best position for me, since the one I applied for wasn't a perfect match. The whole thing took about a month and a half from the first chat to the offer, which felt a bit long, but I think that was just scheduling issues on their end and probably not typical. It probably also took longer because they were focused on finding the right role for me.