Hiring and interview process was even longer than other defense industry companies were. It appeared that no one could make a decision without a staff meeting and email discussions. Even the manager said there are “a lot of company hoops we have to jump through.” The phone interview was unprofessional. I was given a number to call in for a conference call, but there was no answer. I tried repeatedly. After talking with the recruiter and reconfirming the number, I called again. A manger answered and said he just connected to the conference call line and the other managers wouldn’t make it. Despite this situation, I still moved to the in-person interview. The in-person interview was uncomfortable. The building was old with uneven floors. Looking back, I think the building was modular trailers linked together. The temperature was warm and the room was cramped. I’m glad I brought my own water because there wasn’t any there. The interview was a few questions that were pre-printed and given to me. I had about 5 minutes to look them over and come up with my answers. The questions were not what I expected. The questions were too specific for a job that I only had a job description for. I assume the hiring manager came up with the questions he was going to ask all the candidates without regard for company experience or familiarity with the position. Overall, the interview was very uncomfortable even though I was extremely qualified (based on the job description). It took over a month to hear that I was not selected.

I received phone call from recruiter about 3 weeks after I applied for position on line. The interview was scheduled for 9 days after my phone call. This was the second position that I had interviewed with Northrop for. I did not get the first position because Northrop did not win contract that the first position was contingent upon. The job was a program manager position that involved modifying sensors on military aircraft. This interview was a sit down interview with 3 people at table: the hiring manager, the chief program manager, and the same HR representative that I had in my first interview. Interview lasted 45 minutes long. Most of the time, they would ask a question and expected a story/example to go with my answer. Overall I thought I did a great job and my skills matched the position very well, but I received a call 3 weeks later saying that they gave the position to an internal hire.