The first red flag occurred during the application process when I was prompted to take a 100 question personality/behavior assessment. The assessment basically asks the same handful of questions over and over, but worded differently, to determine the candidate's level of honesty and consistency. Following the personality assessment was an abstract reasoning test where you have to guess the next shape in a series of shapes, and other similar questions. The whole process, which included filling out the online application and taking both tests, took about an hour-and-a-half. I actually paused mid-way through the assessment because I had just read an article written by a recruiter a few days prior who talked about red flags to look for in a potential employer, and personality assessments and tests are one of them. I've heard this numerous times over the past few years and was surprised that a large company like CarMax would engage in such antiquated pre-interview screening tactics. The last time I took a personality test as part of the interview process was over 20 years ago when I applied to Staples (the office supply store). I went through six interviews in total at CarMax (including the phone screen with the recruiter) and met with more than 10 people. Four of these interviews were panel interviews where you talk to two or more people at once for an hour each. The questions asked by the interviewers have nothing to do with the candidate's skills and experience and are all behavior-related. I read in another CarMax interview review that interviewers ask the same questions worded differently and the purpose is to determine if your answers are consistent because this is supposedly an indication of how "honest" you are (similar to the pre-interview assessment). My final panel interview included a question that stumped me because I could not think of an example in that moment and I was burnt out from interviewing for three days in a row. Also, during my panel interview that included two people from the SEO team and one additional male employee who had been with the company over 10 years, the guy zoned out and was looking at his cell phone the whole time while the two team members asked me questions. Anyway, I received an automated rejection email two days after my final panel interview on a Sunday morning around 12:30am. I estimate that I wasted over eight hours taking pre-interview assessments, researching the company, preparing for each interview, and interviewing - just to receive an automated rejection email with no real feedback. They mention during the interview process that they are looking for "the best of the best", but I think CarMax needs to get over itself. CarMax is really just the Walmart of cars, after all. I wasn't overly disappointed when I received the rejection email because I would have been taking a demotion anyway (going from a "Senior Manager" of five years to a regular "Manager"). I realize now that with 15-years SEO experience I was over qualified for the role. The part that kept me motivated is that CarMax pays better than my current company, even for a lesser role.