On Wednesday 4/13 I was called to come in to an interview the following week on 4/20. Since I was in college they were very willing to adjust that date but it was their typical hiring day and they were planning on bringing in a number of candidates so I agreed on that date. The phone conversation was very informal telling me about the company, asking if I had any questions, and letting me know that my resume was narrowed down from 50+ to about 7 so I should feel proud. The interview day consisted of first, a company/area overview. My girlfriend is from Pittsfield, so knowing a little bit of information I could tell they were really trying to talk the area up advertising there was virtually "no crime". Next, the group split up. There were about 5 of us so 3 went to our individual interviews and the other 2 went on a tour of the facility. The interview was with 2 supervisors and was slotted to be an hour long. It could have easily gone past that but they were definitely on a schedule. The interview consisted of going over my resume and asking me a lot of questions. There wasn't anything on there I wasn't asked about. From projects and courses to jobs, internships, and volunteer work. I asked a lot of questions about day to day operations, further schooling opportunities, what they wanted to see change throughout the company, stuff like that, so I kept them talking for a while as well. The final question I received was one of the interviewers said he wanted me to make him a flashlight and how would I do that. My first response to give me a second to think was "carefully" but I don't think either interviewer was amused. I went on to explain that I would need to know what exactly he thinks a flash light is, what will he use it for, how long will it need to be on, is he talking about a light to illuminate the entire room or a key chain light. At that point he interrupted me and said that is exactly what a systems engineer does; they go to the customer and ask questions to get down to the specific technical information they need to know to complete the job. He said it was the exact right way to answer the question and he's got some crazy ass answers and schematics in the past. Following the interview I went on the tour of the plant with a 2 other candidates that was led by an employee in the Engineering Leadership Program. This was pretty informal and I actually had the opportunity to drive the littoral combat ship simulator. The day wrapped up with a small meal from Panera Bread and a HR overview presentation. This was my first experience with how... strange the company operates. The same engineer that did the initial presentation did the HR presentation while 3 HR reps sat in the room with us so they could learn about the presentation. In fact, one HR rep was asking questions to the manager because she was unclear of all the aspects of the benefits package! Isn't that their job. She's the one offering the job packages and engaging in negotiations yet she doesn't really know what she's offering. After the interview I sent a thank you letter asking when I would find out about the position and I received an e-mail back Friday (2 days later) saying that they originally thought they were going to open up 4 positions but they're only opening up 1 now and I was their second choice because they felt I would be a better fit within the hardware group. I'm not sure how things change within 2 days... especially when during the presentation they said they were looking to hire 90+ people as quickly as possible and the following Monday they put another position up on their website for the same job opening. It just seems a little strange and like they were pulling my leg. After some correspondence, I was offered the opportunity to come in and interview with the logistics group but by that point I had already accepted another position with a company that blew their benefits and salary out of the water where the work was a bit more technical and interesting which is what I was looking for.