To clarify, this position was for two lumber mills in North Carolina, not headquarters. A recruiter contacted me after seeing my credentials in the system; this was not a position I applied to on my own.
The initial interview occurred in August via conference call with the Regional HR Manager, current HR Manager and another HR Manager from a mill in Mississippi. The questions were all standard related to experience, past contributions in my field and my willingness to relocate out of Texas. I easily passed this step and was scheduled to interview with the Lumber HR Director, again via phone the following week. This was another standard interview with similar questions. After passing this step, I was scheduled for a site visit in early September.
The site visit included a tour of one of the mills, an interview with management, another interview with the HR manager and regional manager and a role playing exercise. Much of this process was redundant and somewhat unnecessary considering how much information we had covered over the phone. In speaking more in depth about the transition from the current manager to the new manager, it turned out that the impending retirement was not happening until 2014 and the new manager would only be supporting one mill. I found it interesting that they were planning on having two managers for the next six to eight months since the workload did not appear to require more than one person. In terms of the role playing exercise, I was given a union scenario to resolve, but the instructions were very muddled and I was unclear as to who was playing what role. Even the mill managers were confused by the process and kept looking to the HR team for assistance. There was clearly a disconnect with what they were trying to accomplish with this exercise and how it was executed.
Their main concern during the interview process was my willingness to relocate. It came up numerous times throughout the weeks of speaking to various individuals. I explained that although I was excited about the possibility of moving, I was concerned about the limited availability of job opportunities for the person whom I'd be relocating with and also the lack of diversity in that particular area of NC. This seemed to put them off a bit, but it was obvious in doing research and speaking to some of the locals that these issues could be a deal breaker for me.
Despite going through a month of interviews and a site visit, no one has contacted me to officially say I was not selected and I would not have accepted even if they had been interested. The overall environment was uncomfortable and for a Fortune 500 company, I was shocked at the outdated technology and run down appearance of the offices and break room areas. Based on my experience, I would not recommend this particular mill to professionals not accustomed to working in an industrial complex.