IKO Industries Interview Questions
& Process

The hiring process was entirely managed by an external agency (HSS), completely disconnected from the actual company. It started with a phone interview and then an aptitude test. Honestly, I lost interest early on because the process felt incredibly outdated, like something from the mid-2000s. They use AI for recording interviews, but still make candidates do recorded math, arithmetic, and IQ tests without calculators, even for mid to senior roles. The biggest red flag was asking for my current manager's reference, which just doesn't make sense. I pointed this out, expecting to be rejected. Their response was that it's all part of the 'rules'. I went ahead with the IQ test just to see it through, and it wasn't impressive either. I would have backed out anyway because there were too many warning signs right from the start. The 'rules' alone were baffling. I can't imagine how I would have kept a straight face for the next two interviews with those rules in place just for screening. They seem to be looking for compliant employees, which isn't me. I won't apply to their openings again.

So I went through the interview process for a Service Desk Analyst Intern role at IKO Industries Ltd. in Brampton. It started with a screening call, then a technical assessment which I passed. After that, the HR team reached out, saying the Service Desk team wanted to meet me at the Brampton facility. I went there, and it was pretty relaxed. The manager was great; it felt more like a conversation than an interview. They asked me some troubleshooting questions, which I handled. They even offered some advice. Sadly, there were other candidates with more experience and skills, so I didn't get an offer this time. Still, it was a really good experience, and I'm optimistic we'll connect again in the future.

This was the most unprofessional interview experience ever, with unprepared interviewers who rush you and then ghost you. It started with the recruiter scheduling a Monday morning call for 9:00 am PST (12:00 pm EST, her timezone). I confirmed within 3.5 hours. Monday came, no call. After 10 minutes, I called her, and she said she didn't have it on her calendar, but then found my confirmation and said I responded too late. She did the phone screen then and told me to complete an assessment ASAP, which felt like it required doing problems without technology, something even onsite leadership called archaic. I finished it the same day. Within 24 hours, the recruiter rushed me to a call with the regional HR manager for the next day, giving me only 2 hours notice. A bit later, just under a week, she requested an onsite interview with 24 hours notice. Upon arrival, I waited 15 minutes past the scheduled time because the interviewers were double-booked for founders day. After the interview and a plant tour, the departing interviewer mentioned they were considering others and it could take weeks, which felt rude after the rush. I followed up for a timeline, and the recruiter took 6 days to respond with a non-answer about following up, then ghosted. 22 days later, I got a generic rejection email from Workday and a bland one from the recruiter.

The interview process was really bad. First, there was a phone call with someone who had a thick accent and didn't know much about the job, just asking standard questions. Then, I got an assessment a week later. After spending three weeks on it, someone else called and said I had to redo the assessment and come in for an interview. When I tried to ask some questions, she got annoyed and wouldn't tell me the salary, pushing me to give a number instead. I told her my expected salary, and she said it was too high for them and they were canceling the interview.