Fortune Brands Innovations Interview Questions
& Process

I had video interviews with the hiring manager SVP, the VP I would be replacing, the GM of the business unit, the CTO of the business unit, and a VP of HR. Most went well because I had relevant experience and good rapport. One interview was iffy because I realized there was a mismatch in how the exec expected a strategy to be undertaken versus my initial assumption. I followed up with an email to the exec clarifying that I understood his viewpoint and could follow his preferred approach. After these interviews, the recruiter told me I was one of the final two candidates and, since I was local, in the lead. I then had a face-to-face meeting with the hiring manager. He asked how I thought the other interviews had gone. I explained the iffy interview and that I'd emailed about it. We paused the interview for my video conference with the HR VP. After that, the SVP abruptly ended the in-person interview, saying he'd let me know. A few days later, I emailed the SVP and recruiter my 30- and 90-day plans. After two weeks with no response, I emailed asking for status. He replied they were still working things out. A week after that, I emailed mentioning I had another offer and needed to know soon if FBIN was making one. I never heard from them again, not even an acknowledgement or thank you. This is unprofessional for a VP role at a Fortune 500 company.

The interviewers seemed ready for our calls and stayed involved. They asked good questions and kept things conversational rather than like an interrogation. The recruiter was professional and open, and sped things up.

The first interview went really well, I felt a good connection with the interviewer and was optimistic. The second round was a surprise though. I was told it would be virtual, but they asked me to come onsite with very little notice, and that wasn't communicated clearly, messing up my schedule. I met with the team and they asked a lot of detailed questions about Workday. It seemed to go well, they even said it was a great discussion. But then they told me I didn't explain my expertise enough, which was weird because I felt like I went into a lot of detail about my experience. It was a frustrating and disappointing process overall because of the inconsistencies and lack of transparency, making me question their professionalism. I expected more clarity and respect for my time.

I applied for an Executive Assistant role in January 2025 and had a really bad experience. The first HR recruiter was unprofessional, using inappropriate language twice. Even though she said she'd advocate for me, things changed when I mentioned other offers. She set up an interview with the VP of HR, which was okay. Then I had an interview with the SVP and GM, which was worse because he seemed dismissive and uninterested. Both interviews got rescheduled, with one changed only two hours before. I was supposed to hear back the next week but never did, even after following up twice. The whole hiring process was poorly managed, with bad communication and no follow-through, which made me feel negative about the company.