Lakeland Bank Interview Questions
& Process

HR will contact you to schedule an interview at the main office. Your first interview will be with HR, followed by an assessment test covering math and general questions. Later that day, you'll have an interview at the specific branch you applied to, with either the branch manager or an assistant branch manager and the teller manager. If you aren't offered the position at that branch, HR will arrange an interview at a different branch. I received an offer on the same day as my second interview at a different branch. The company conducts background checks, credit checks, and verifies three references. New hires undergo an 8-hour paid orientation. Following this, there are two weeks of full-time paid training at their Operations building. Throughout your employment, you'll participate in regular training and monthly webinars.

The HR department is small and moves slowly. It took a month for them to call me back about the job, and then another month until my first day. They do a lot of checks: background, drug screening, and credit. If your credit is bad, they might ask you to write a letter explaining why. First, you'll interview with HR, then with the branch or office you're applying to. The HR interview is just you and the interviewer, but the branch interview usually has at least two people, including a manager.

So the interview had three parts to it. First, we had this group interview with about 8 other folks, and they were looking to see who could chat easily with others, even strangers. After that, they pulled people out one by one, and I ended up having a one-on-one. A few days later, I got a call back for an interview with the branch manager at the location I applied to. That one was pretty chill, mostly just wanted to make sure my answers weren't robotic and to get to know me a bit better. You still had to sell yourself and explain why you'd be a good fit, like in any interview.

The interview process involved an HR round where they asked about my past experience, education, and background. Following that, there was a technical round focused on credit-specific research, accounting, ratio analysis, and covenant monitoring. The whole thing took about a week, but unfortunately, I wasn't selected to move forward.