In summary, the hiring process for an accounting position at Chick-fil-A is time consuming, redundant, and attempts to gauge how pious you are. A more detailed description of my experience can be found below.
Application Process: The process started with a simple click of the mouse for an upload of my resume. That was followed by an e-mail a week later inviting me to fill out an even more detailed application, including 5 essay questions relating to qualifications, why you want to work there, and why in particular you are applying for that position.
Interview Round 1: Next I was invited to take the “general accounting exam”, which consisted of an hour long test on basic accounting material, done at a specified time on a specified day at the main Chick-fil-A campus (Only 9:00 am on Wednesday’s when I took it). I received a call about 2 weeks later telling me I had done well on the exam, and would be invited to the next round of interviews.
Interview Round 2: A skype-type round of 2 interviews via computer was scheduled next. It consisted of back to back 1 hour interviews with two people. Although the format was remote, again scheduling was extremely difficult. The interview consisted of standard behavioral type interview questions, mostly interested in resume material and personal background, including “who you are” and “what do you do in your spare time”.
Interview Round 3: The big day. I was to interview 5 different people over 4 hours. It started with lunch at the on-site Chick-fil-A cafeteria with two managers in the department I had applied for. They were very pleasant and personable, and the cafeteria is a very nice perk for employees. Later in the day I met with a higher level manager, and the head of the department. I ended the day with a representative from HR. The interviews consisted of standard behavioral type interview questions, mostly interested in resume material and personal background, including “who you are” and “what do you do in your spare time”. I was told that I would be notified sometime in the next few business days if I were chosen to continue the process. The HR representative called me 2 hours later (after business hours), and told me to call her cell phone. I did, and she told me they had met and agreed that afternoon I should move forward, and she was calling ASAP to schedule the next round of interviews so I could move forward in the process.
Interview Round 4: I order to keep the process moving, I had to meet again very quickly, or risk not having another interview for over another month due to scheduling concerns. This is due to the fact that you are required to interview with multiple high level individuals in the organization. The first two were much less friendly than those folks the previous rounds. Interview questions again focused mostly on resume material and personal background, including “who you are” and “what do you do in your spare time” and were both 1 hour in length. At this point I was becoming uncomfortable in the process, including the types of people I was meeting, and the “culture” of the organization as I was beginning to understand it. I decided to continue on since my next round of interviews was already scheduled for the following Monday.
Interview Round 5: The “Final Interview”. This was the 5th time I had been to Chick-fil-A HQ. The first interviewer was generally friendly, but very probing about my personal life. The second interviewer seemed un-interested before the interview even started, and failed to put much effort into it. Most interview questions were about my personal background, including “who you are” and “what do you do in your spare time” At that point based on the cumulative effect of all the interview experiences, I knew I couldn’t work in such a group-think organization. I had been through 5 rounds of interviews with 11 different people for 11 hours total, and most of the questions they kept asking me were redundant. Not sure if they don’t communicate, or were just trying to illicit a different response out of me.
Conclusion: 2 days later I received a phone call from telling me I wasn’t a “good fit”, no other explanation. At that point, I was relieved to be done with the process. In the end, the process was a waste of time, but has made me appreciate my current position much more.