Direct Travel Interview Questions
& Process

So, about a month after I applied on their old website, their Talent Acquisition Coordinator asked about my availability for an interview. I gave them some times, but they didn't respond. Two weeks later, they emailed again asking if I was still interested. I gave more times, and again, no response. A week after that, they emailed about negotiating salary, assuming I'd get an offer. I pointed out it was too early since I hadn't spoken to anyone yet. Still no response. A week later, I got an automated rejection email. Honestly, the recruiting staff seemed pretty unserious.

The interview process involved several stages. I had a face-to-face interview that required me to travel outside my region, which was costly and time-consuming with no reimbursement. In total, I spent three hours across three follow-up interviews. This process began in June, and despite multiple attempts to get updates via email, phone calls, and messages, I didn't hear back until September. At that point, I received a generic email stating the position had been filled. A major issue was the lack of a single point of contact to keep me informed. I was asked to invest more time interviewing with different people, which I did, but received no follow-up. This drawn-out experience, lasting four months, was quite frustrating.

I had a phone call with someone from recruiting to start. Then, the head of the department called me for a phone interview, which mostly served to set up an in-person meeting. I drove two hours for a very brief 15-minute interview. The department head mostly just talked about the job duties and how the training works. It felt really casual and short, like I already had the job. Afterward, I got a quick, automated email saying I didn't get the position. I emailed them asking for feedback since they didn't really ask me any questions and I drove all that way for such a short meeting. I never heard back. It was a really negative, confusing, and disappointing experience.

I chatted with the General Manager first, and they were really nice and helpful. They let me know that HR would reach out in a few days. HR did contact me and asked if I'd be open to a part-time role in addition to full-time, which I said I would. I sent thank you notes to both of them for their time. I got a job offer just 3 days later.