I was doing some browsing for a job / internship opportunity for the summer. I believe I saw the position for a "management trainee'' on linkedin. The qualifications education wise, and experience wise seemed doable so I gave it a shot. I have lots of retail experience so I figured it would be a decent fit.
I heard from one of their recruiters 11 days later. He thanked me for my interest and requested that I schedule a short phone interview. We exchanged a few emails and I ended up doing the phone interview 9 days later. I was not too nervous about the phone interview, it is the face to face action that gets me nervous. But he basically started off asking very simple yes or no questions, like "are you a US citizen" "do you have a license" "how many driving incidents?" "can you physically do this, this or that" "ok working full time?". Then after all the preliminary qualification questions he asked about experience and how it would apply. Asked about accomplishments. Customer service. How did I hear about this? Location, so they could match me up. Wish I could remember more, but it was not too intense. After 10-15 minutes he let me know that regardless or their decision they would be in touch.
5 hours later I received an email from one of their HR people saying that after speaking with the recruiter and reviewing my background, she wanted to set up an interview. I set the interview up for a date 5 days later.
I really did not know what to expect. The receptionist was not the nicest most perky individual so that threw me off. Plus I did not get interviewed until about 35 minutes after I was scheduled. But once I got in, it was great. My lady was very cool and down to earth. Did not even really feel like an interview. It was a more like a natural conversation. The fact that it was so natural makes it hard to remember the type of questions she asked. I think she started off by asking me what I am about. I explained college student with retail experience. Wanted to know how I found out about it, and why enterprise. She wanted to know what I knew about enterprise and why it would be a great fit. We talked about customer service, and accountability. She really gave a ton of info about the position. What Enterprise expects etc. She wanted to know if I had questions, so I asked a few. She asked where do I want to be in 5 years, which kind of stumped me because I really don't know. But she acknowledged that it is hard and no one really knows. Really great interview, and she let me know asap that I was moving on to the next round. This interview would be with the branch manager and area manager that I would be working directly with. She recommended, and we both agreed that it would be better sooner than later, so I requested 2 days later and she said she would get back with me to confirm.
This last stage is an observation and then an interview.
After the observation I interviewed with the branch manager and the area manager. The branch manager was a very laid back guy. He has a great sense of humor, and with no disrespect, was a clown. But the area manager was a lot more intimidating. He was actually kind of nice and laid back too, but you could tell he meant business. The fact that it was a 2 on 1 interview made it a little nerve racking. Compared to my interview before, this was a lot more like an interview. He asked questions, I answered. Not much discussion. The branch manager didn't even ask questions I think. But it started out with info. The area manager let me know it is not easy. Basically said it sucked in a way. I did appreciate how straightforward he was though. He asked how I heard about it? Why do I want it? Why do I think I could sell rental insurance? He asked about customer service. Asked about a time I dealt with a difficult customer. What will I do to meet sales? Tell me about a time at work I met or exceeded sales? Asked where I see myself in the future? This time I was very prepared for that question. They then opened up for questions. At this stage I felt like I could not know any more about this job, but I managed to work up a few questions. They thanked me and let me know that I should hear something within a week. I really did not know what to expect, but I ended up getting an offer that night, missed the call actually, so I did not get the offer until after the weekend.
I ended up accepting. although I was not excited about the long hours and how demanding it would be. I would have no summer. But I told myself that A) I need the money. B) It is only a summer. and C) It will look good on my resume. And who knows what will come of it, because the branch manager at my location was once a trainee.
I really enjoyed their interview process though. Was not too long, and the communication was great across all levels. Guess that could depend on who you are dealing with, but everyone i dealt with was great