The Garland Company Interview Questions
& Process

The recruiter initially contacted me to give me an overview of the company and the position. After submitting my application, I had to go through some very long and exhausting personality tests. The interview itself was held at their Etobicoke office and was in-person. Initially, there was one interviewer, but then another joined. Afterwards, the first interviewer left, which was a bit unsettling. I didn't receive any feedback after the interview, so I had to follow up after three weeks and was then sent a rejection that felt like an automated response.

So the first thing was this online psychometric test, it took like 3 hours and apparently not many people pass. Anyway, before I get into the details, the last 5 mins of the interview got weird. One interviewer said I didn't have the experience for a £55k job. I pointed out the job spec I got was for £40k, so they were clearly confused and interviewing me for a senior sales role instead of the apprentice one I applied for. By then, it was too late. No time for chatting or for me to talk about my background and achievements. It was basically two tough interviewers against me. The very first question was aggressively asked as "what you on right now?" and it pretty much set the tone for the whole 45 minutes. I answered truthfully, but it seemed like the wrong answer because most of the interview was about money. They saw my current salary as a sign of failure. Each interviewer took turns bragging about their own success, like one being the UK MD and the other being on the sales team, claiming they work crazy hours because only money drives them. One of them even said guys on his team make more than the Prime Minister. I pushed back when they threw out exaggerated figures, like account managers making 100k in their first year. I also called out who was responsible for me interviewing for the wrong role, which led to the classic line, "There's no need to get aggressive!" I also mentioned that money isn't the only motivator for everyone; for me, happiness at work leads to better productivity. My advice for sales people is to be nice, and people will be nice back. I kind of expected this because of online reviews and warnings from the recruiter, so I actually chuckled at one point; it felt surreal. The interview ended with the MD saying it's not going to happen for me today but admitting I seem undervalued in my current role.

My experience interviewing with The Garland Company was great. They are really selective about who they hire, looking for top performers. Right from the first phone call to the last in-person meeting, I felt respected and was kept informed about what was happening next. Even though I didn't get the offer and they chose someone else, I felt like I had a real chance and it was a fair process. The overall experience was really good. Just be ready for some unusual interview questions and make sure you know why Garland is the right place for you, because they like candidates who've done their research.

I had three different interviews and they all went pretty good. The first one was offsite with the recruiting team and then the next two were at the corporate office (plus I had a phone chat with someone who wasn't around when I was at the facility). I really liked everyone I met and thought they gave me a realistic idea of what the job entails.