This process is too long to consider if you aren't 100% certain to get the job.
First, you have to fill out an application form, pretty standard. It's plastered with warnings that they do not hire smokers, if that's an issue for you - it's not for me, so I continued.
Then, I had to complete an online IQ test style assessment which takes TWO HOURS (remember this part). Then there was a skype interview, which was average, standard questions - they forward your answers to an in-person interviewer if you make it that far.
Following the skype interview I was asked to complete an "ethics quiz" which was an agree/disagree style survey that asks whether you agree with inane statements such as "Most people succeed in business because of nepotism" or "Someone was caught smoking cannabis in their lunch break. They should be fired". I completed it, then received an email from the recruiter saying either I had given conflicting answers or I hadn't given strong opinions on enough statements for the result to be accurate. This meant I had to do the entire quiz again.
After all of that, I was invited to an in person interview in Birmingham, UK. Now, bear in mind that Birmingham is a 3 hour journey for me - something the recruiter remarked upon during my skype interview. The scheduled interview date was far enough in advance that I could get a good price on train tickets - but then the same recruiter asked me if I could come in and meet with a manager before then, with the date only giving me a few days notice. I declined.
Remember that online asssessment? Turns out they don't trust you! I had to set up a webcam showing my screen and myself so someone in the USA could watch me complete the assessment AGAIN. Might I add these have no impact on anyones ability to do the job I was applying for. Anyway, I apparently did well enough to still be invited to an in person interview (they give no indication of how you fared)
At this point I was wondering if the whole thing was worth it. The day of the in person interview came, and I was pleasantly surprised - I was interviewed one on one, separately, by two senior software/product managers who told me their evaluation would be done independent of each other, then sent to the recruitment people in the USA for a final decision. It wasn't a particularly technical interview - languages, frameworks and the like were discussed but it was an entry level position, so no coding questions etc. Overall, I thought the two interviews went reasonably well, but unsure. It seems as if the hiring managers get very little say.
So, what do I get for 5 weeks of diligently working through their process? An automated email that stressed it was being sent from an address that didn't accept replies; so no chance of feedback, and two sentences:
"Thank you for your interest in employment opportunities with Reynolds and Reynolds. At this time, you have not been selected for the next steps in our process."
I'm sorry I wasted days of my time with a company that has such disregard for people they might hire: I took multiple days off of work to jump through hoops for them, and they didn't have the decency to explain why they said no. Would this behaviour have been accepted if it was the other way round? I think not.
Please, if you value your time, find a company that doesn't expect a performing monkey.
