Essentra Interview Questions
& Process

Applied online, then had two phone chats and two in-person meetings. It took up a lot of my time, juggling it with my job. First, a phone call with HR, then an in-person with the hiring manager, followed by another phone chat with the head of HR in Europe, and finally another in-person with two senior staff members. The interviews were chill, but the company really keeps candidates hanging until they're the last resort. Asking for an update just gets you the same 'still interviewing' response. It felt really unprofessional, so I've decided to steer clear, no matter the outcome. The online reviews should tell you enough.

It was the standard graduate hiring process. Essentra works with an agency, so I had two phone interviews with them first. Then, I had to complete an online assessment with verbal and numerical tests. Following that, I was invited to an assessment day in London with about 5 other candidates. We started with introductions from Essentra and the agency. Then, we were tasked with a team challenge where we had to build something out of paper based on given requirements. Afterward, we were divided into 3 smaller groups to rotate through different assessment activities. I had a one-on-one interview for an hour where they asked me competency-based and job-specific questions. Next, we were given some material to read and take notes on for another hour. Finally, we each had to individually present what we read to one of the recruiters, who then asked follow-up questions. We then reconvened as a group to work on a consulting-style task for a business idea they presented.

I was contacted by HR about a week after submitting my resume. We had a general chat about the position, and they screened me to confirm my interest. Later that week, I had a phone interview that lasted a bit over an hour. We discussed my current role, responsibilities, and successes, and I was asked questions like 'tell me a time.' This interview was with HR, and my info was then passed to the hiring managers. About half a week later, I was invited for an in-person interview on-site. This was with a senior sales leader and a sales manager together, lasting just under an hour. They introduced the company and the main job functions, then asked a lot about my career experiences and background and what I could bring to the team, along with a couple of situational questions. A week after that, I moved to the next step, which involved a lengthy online aptitude test. A few days after the results were processed, I was offered a final interview with the regional sales director. This interview is usually in person, but the director was traveling, so we did it over the phone on a Friday morning. The final interview focused more on the company, the team, and was largely driven by my questions about the position.

The company was quick to get me in for an interview after I sent my CV, considering I have 4 years of experience that matches the job description. However, when I got there, the interviewer was quite rude and didn't make me feel welcome at all. I showed them my portfolio, but they pretty much ignored it. It felt like I just wasn't the right fit, and they responded negatively to everything I said. Unsurprisingly, I didn't get the job in the end.