My interview experience was not as bad as some I have read on here, but there were still a few red flags that I noticed. Like many have stated on before here, I was initially hesitant to begin the interview process with Paycom due to some of the past reviews. However, it is an incredibly enticing outside sales opportunity for a well established company (pay, benefits, etc.), so I wanted to learn more about the process. Let me explain the steps:
1.) Recruiter from an outsourced company reached out to me from an outside source and we set up a phone call. Phone call went well (albeit a little long for a screening phone call, the process took close to an hour)
2.) A week went by and I did not hear a word until I was contacted by an internal recruiter to set up a video chat for the following week. Video chat goes well, lasted about thirty minutes, and the recruiter tells me that she will get in touch with me if Paycom would like to bring me in for an in person interview.
3.) Another week goes by and I receive a phone call from the recruiter to set up an in person interview at their office. We both agreed on the next Monday, but the recruiter tells me she will have to check with the hiring manager for their availability first. I then receive an e-mail saying the manager wasn't available that day and we would have to set up for the Friday. Not a major issue, but the recruiter should have known the availability beforehand, seemed like a lack of communication between the recruiter and the hiring manager.
4.) In person interview was on Friday, expect to fully suit up (You will wear a suit everyday in the position). The hiring manager was nice but the interview was interrupted twice (once because an employee had left their Ipad in the room, and another because the manager's phone had gone off). Again, this is not a major issue, but it signaled to me that they were not exactly prepared for my interview if they did not have the room set up prior to me coming. The interview itself is thorough, so be prepared to answer about your past sales experience, accomplishments, etc. Be engaged, energetic, and upbeat. From my impression, this company is incredibly corporate and they will look for somebody who is able to play the part and represent the company in a professional way.
Unfortunately this was the end of the line for me. From the other reviews I believe there were 2 more steps in the process after this (phone canvassing, final interview with VP of sales)
Overall: It was an OK experience; each phone call and interview was very thorough, and everybody I spoke with was pleasant. Two things that I would recommend to Paycom:
1.) Speed up the process! I know that there will probably be a response from Paycom that says we have a very thorough and detailed interview process to get the right fit. I get that. You are looking for a VERY SPECIFIC type of person, but I have interviewed with a lot of different companies and I have never had to wait a week in between each round to hear back that I was advancing to the next stage. You will miss out on some really awesome reps who will not have the time to sit and wait around for each step. I was incredibly unnecessary for me to have two recruiting calls to gather the information that they needed to gather.
2.) To speak about the in-person interview, it is courteous to the interview to be prepared and ready for the interviewer when they arrive. For most candidates, this is the most important thing on their agenda that day, so please have the room ready so there are no distractions.
Just to reiterate, I am not bashing on Paycom. They are a very successful company and they clearly know what they are doing. I am just offering some advice from my own personal experience as to what you could potentially do to make the interview experience more enjoyable from the interviewers' perspective. From what I have read on GD (and other sites) there is a recurring theme with lack of communication/no communication in your interview process. For a company of their size, this should be a fixable problem.
I would recommend to interview for this position to any salesmen who thinks that they can fit the Paycom mold. They are meticulous on who they select, and that definitely showed with the overall vibe that I received from each interview process. This company is as corporate as they come, so if you do not think that this is the kind of environment you want to be around on a daily basis, need not apply. Do not be frightened away by the bad reviews on the interview process, but be weary that there is relevancy to each of them.