I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at ACCO Engineered Systems in Dec 2018
Interview
I applied to ACCO Southern California on their website November 2018 and received a call from the Engineering Manager 3-5 days after. I was then scheduled for a interview 2 weeks later at the headquarters where I met with (4) Senior ACCO Employees. They took me to a nearby restaurant for lunch and did an informal interview to get to really know me. It was more of a typical conversation where we talked bout my goals, background, my interested in HVAC and vice versa. After lunch, I was brought back to the headquarters where I met with the individual employees where they asked a series to technical questions and behavior questions. One ACCO employee even made me do a pipe stress analysis problem on the board which I DID NOT KNOW but i asked questions and we worked it out together. After the interview, I was toured the office and met some of the other employees. The total interview process took about 2 1/2 hours and about a month later. I received an offer for a full time position which i accepted.
Tips for those who have an upcoming interview:
1. Be yourself!
2. Truly have an interest for HVAC because they will ask why.
3. Your technical skill is important but it is not everything. (Review the refrigeration cycle & thermodynamics)
4. Your soft skill I believe is most important. You will be talking and working with a your employees 8 hours a day. They want to make sure you fit in.
I applied through college or university. I interviewed at ACCO Engineered Systems (Pasadena, CA) in Feb 2026
Interview
Two meetings were part of the interview process: one was devoted to behavioral inquiries, and the other featured a technical question. All in all, it was professional, doable, and a worthwhile educational experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked to teach something we've learned in class. It could have been anything you learned but I recommend something correlated to the position.
Met at a job fair originally, where I answered some technical questions and was offered an interview. At the actual interview I was asked about my interest in the field, as well as being asked to explain a technical topic to them.
We spoke with 3 rounds of interview people in person at the Pasadena headquarters (this was before COVID). We also toured the office and got to meet the workers there.
Design Engineer applicants have rated the interview process at ACCO Engineered Systems with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 100% positive. To compare, the company-average is 67.2% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Design Engineer roles take an average of 19 days to get hired, when considering 10 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at ACCO Engineered Systems overall takes an average of 21 days.
Common stages of the interview process at ACCO Engineered Systems as a Design Engineer according to 10 Glassdoor interviews include:
Group panel interview: 33%
One on one interview: 17%
Background check: 11%
Phone interview: 11%
Other: 6%
Drug test: 6%
Skills test: 6%
Presentation: 6%
IQ intelligence test: 6%
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