REI Systems Program Manager Interview Questions
& Process

First a phone screen with a headhunter/screener. Then a face-to-face with a company big wig. Then some quality screeners/interviewers. Appears that the people that come in at the end might be the most knowledgeable and receptive to what the job actually is. Unfortunately, it appears ONLY the big-wig is the one making the hiring decisions, so if he does not like you, you are done. You might even impress the final people, but does not matter if the big-wig has any issues with you.

First, there was a phone screen. Then, I had in-person interviews with four executives/program managers that lasted 4 hours. After that, I had a second round of in-person interviews with two executives who weren't available for the first round, which lasted 2 hours. Then I had a second meeting with an executive who planned to make an offer. Finally, I got a verbal offer, and the next day got an emailed offer letter, and a hard copy letter arrived in the mail. Throughout this, the HR recruiting director was in touch immediately, explained the next steps, answered my questions, and helped me feel ready.

I got my resume to REI through a friend who works there, and they sent it to HR and hiring managers. A recruiter from REI reached out pretty fast and did a phone screen, then set up a phone interview with a senior leader. Right after that, the HR recruiter contacted me again and scheduled a bunch of meetings with execs at the firm. It turns out a few different business units were looking for senior program managers. My first set of interviews lasted about 4 hours, but it was totally worth it. I met with exec leaders from different business units, and some of their senior managers too. HR got back to me and said the interviewers liked me and my background, and they were figuring out where I'd fit best. They wanted me to come back to talk more about it and interview with corporate execs. In both interview sessions, the questions were pretty open-ended and exploratory – they wanted to get a sense of what kind of leader I am, my thoughts on developing staff and engaging clients, that sort of thing. They also asked specific questions to check my knowledge and experience with management stuff, budgets, and proposals. I also got plenty of time to ask my own questions. After the second round, HR called and invited me to have lunch with a business unit leader. If that went well, it would mean an offer. We had lunch, chatted more about a role the exec had in mind for me, and I accepted the offer. HR quickly sent a formal offer letter and benefits info. The whole thing took about three weeks from the first interviews to getting the offer.