Johnson Controls Interview Questions
& Process

The job is in the US. I missed the recruiter's first call which was super early. Then their AI assistant Emma scheduled a virtual interview via email. The recruiter didn't show up for the interview without any warning. I waited on the call, emailed, and called but got no reply. It was really hard to get hold of anyone using their Wisconsin number, and a quick search showed they're actually in India. When I finally got through to the recruiter a week later, she said the reason she missed the interview was because we hadn't spoken before. (Seriously?) Then she asked some standard screening questions, told me the actual maximum salary is at the lowest end of the posted range, and that Emma would email me to set up an interview with the hiring manager in a few days. All I received was an automatic rejection email.

An old co-worker told me JCI was hiring, so I got a referral link and applied on Thursday. HR reached out Friday, and I had my first interview Monday. It was a really fast process. They initially told me I had an offer, but then said there were more interviews, which was a bit of a bummer, but they said it was a mistake. I interviewed with a recruiter, my direct manager, a group of managers, and then one more manager who couldn't make the panel. I got the offer the day after the last interview. All the interviews were non-technical, focusing on my past projects and experience. No tricky questions, just a casual chat, which was nice.

The interview process was pretty chaotic and the HR team didn't manage it well. The communication was all over the place and sometimes downright wrong, like when I got a fake reason for an interview update, and then they just ignored me when I asked for clarity. It's really unusual to see such unprofessionalism. The actual technical interviews were okay, but the HR coordination made what should have been simple a really annoying experience. My advice to the management would be to make sure HR is upfront and polite with candidates. Being clear and honest really helps a company's image.

The initial contact was with AI, which was very easy. Then I had an interview with two people, one of whom was a peer. I usually like interviewing with peers, but not in the first round. The hiring manager was really unprofessional, swearing a lot and bragging about himself and his qualifications. He kept talking about how he wrote the job description and asked if I liked it. Whenever I asked direct questions about his leadership style or the role, he'd pass them off to the 'peer' interviewer. He asked vague questions, and when I answered, he'd just repeat the question, like he wanted me to change my answer. I've interviewed and hired many people, and I really think the manager for this position needs some interview coaching.