Mattel Interview Questions
& Process

I can't believe I am writing this, but the interview experience was unprofessional, biased and not the expected standard from a reputable brand such as Mattel. The Head of HR in France decided to pick up her phone during my interview for 10 minutes and she didn't even bother to read my CV, or application. She also tried to discourage me from the role and process as the company is going through a "tough time". No follow-up (unless you pop an email through), and no clarity of interview journey. I had done 3 stages within a 7-week period. The silence between interviews from Mattel was a shocker, I thought they would be professional. My advice: People prepare, travel and give their all during an interview, you could at least keep candidates updated on interview stages and you could at least read a candidates application. Give them an experience of Mattel that leaves the company in a positive light. Representing Mattel well should be the focus for all interview panellists, it helps with employer branding and the employer value proposition (themes of inclusion, wellbeing and competence). The highlight was the Head of HR in France, she did not know the organisational strategy, I asked questions about it, and there was no clear answer during the interview, also please ask her to turn up to all interviews, just to make it a fair process, as one of the HR Heads in England said they could not answer certain questions as the Head of HR in France needed to be there. I am shocked, and can't believe I am writing this review.

I applied for the Consumer Products Coordinator role at Mattel Malaysia. I was excited about the role and thought I was a good fit. The recruitment process was very disappointing and took too long. The good parts were that the role was interesting and I got to talk to both local and global teams. The interviews were professional and I got good feedback. The frustrating part was that the whole process took over 2 months (3 months if you count from when I first applied), with long waits between stages. This made it hard to plan or consider other jobs. No one told me what to expect next, even when I asked every week. I never got a final answer, not even a rejection, after putting in time and effort. The hiring manager was late for the first interview, making me wait 15 minutes. I think basic communication and letting people know the outcome is important, especially from a big brand like Mattel. A more organized and respectful process would have been much better.

There were 4 stages and 5 interviews total over 6 weeks. It included an in-office interview with 2 managers. On the same morning of the in-office interview, I was told one manager was WFH and I would still take it in-office and had to bring my own equipment to host. The interviews themselves were half good half bad. One interviewer was aggressive. After a few interviews and being in the office in person, it had a corporate vibe. 4 weeks later, no update. I was told they were hiring ASAP and didn't hear anything back even after following up with the recruiter, not even a rejection. The job posting was gone then reposted with a different title. Unprofessional and inconsiderate.

It was a pleasant experience because the team really cares about the brand and are interested in who you are as a person, not just what you can do for them. The process had 3 stages: an initial call, an in-person presentation, and a final call. I spoke with 6 people in total, and they were all very nice. The last stage was a bit more analytical than I expected and caught me off guard, so definitely be prepared for that! I didn't get an offer, but I would still consider interviewing or working there.