Initial Screening/Interview organization
The interview process was not very considerate or organized. I initially recieved a screen call out of the blue with no notice by email. Primarily, there were questions based on work history, education, etc. After the screening, the HR rep. mentioned that there would be a referral for a second interview, or 1:1 interview.
Second Screening from HR
There was not email or contact information given after the call. I was not sure if I would hear from them again. One week later, I received an email from another HR manager, to schedule another screen meeting. The hiring manager reviewed my resume, but felt that I needed to answer additional behaviorial questions from an HR manager. This interview took an additional 30 to 45 minutes. As I am answering the questions, I had to wait for the HR rep to write down my responses. She in turn submitted my answers to the hiring manager and I finally got approved for a 1:1 meeting with the manager.
In-person interview
Once again, I received a last minute email from HR to interview with the hiring manager on the next business day. There was not structure given for this interview, so I had to prepare for everything. The 1:1 meeting turned out to be a group interview with another analyst. It was pretty grueling. There was additional behavioral questions, but additional questions were asked to explain in detail. After the questions, there was a surprise skills test on requirement gathering. There was an additional question for SQL query coding. However, the SQL code excersice was not basic, as it required an 'if, else clause'. The questiosn were directly related to the position, causing a challenge, if you were not familiar with the products or customers.
Interview Experience
The overall experience was annoying. There was no consideration of time or organization when setting up the interviews. The surprise element was not too fun. An unannounced test appeared to be a "gotcha" moment and used as personal entertainment, versus being used as an informative tool. I understood the managers' reason to be very particular, but I did not get the chance to get a true feel of the company. The interview was 95% about the job and their needs. I had about a 5% chance to ask questions about the company. Interviews are also marketing tools and that opportunity was lost on me. However, I believe that Philips is a good company. I chose to take the experience as a positive and use the experience as a tool to prepare for interviews in the future.