I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Merck (Montreal, QC) in Jun 2021
Interview
I was approached by the in-house recruiter via LinkedIn. The screening interview left much to be desired. The recruiter mainly asked questions that could be found by simply reading my CV. She was very concerned by the time and kept getting it wrong. She repeated that I would be subject to an educational background check 3 times, almost as if I had something to be worried about. I am part of a professional order - this should be nothing more than a formality as I obviously have the education that I am stating that I have. She left the call very hastily. She never provided more detail on the role or provided me the opportunity to ask a question. I never heard back. I was never even afforded the respect to let me know they had chosen to move forward with other candidates. It was the worst 30 minute interview that I had ever participated in. I was very disappointed by this experience given Merck's employer branding.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What university did you attend? (The universities were listed at the top of my CV)
First there was a 30 minute call with recruiter who reviewed my experience and outlined what to expect in next steps if selected to move forward.
Was scheduled to move forward which consisted of a 30 minute five person panel with the team. Questions included experience and situational/behavioral questions.
Giving a negative/thumbs down on the experience because there was a preferred internal candidate all along so it was a waste of time.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Take me back through your resume and describe your experience and how it applies to this role.
Hiring manager reached out and coordinated the full process. No contact with a recruiter / HR throughout. I thought that was interesting and created a stronger relationship. However, after the hiring manager arranged all the interviews including 2 panels, a 1-1 and a take-home presentation / analysis, I proceeded through all of them and then was ghosted. After so many hours of meetings and preparation, I was surprised there was no feedback, either positive or negative. I would have been fine with a rejection and a brief sentence or two of feedback considering the journey I've made and the fact that it was with a hiring manager, not HR / recruiting who I'm sure fields hundreds of such emails a day.
had 3 series of interviews with panels. 1 HR interview. the onboarding process was not great, it was very disorganized. Did not find HR to be helpful, very bureaucratic organization overall. good benefits but not enough health/dental.
