I was contacted in early Jan 2011 by an HR recruiter via email, to setup up the first ph interview. This ph interview took appx 25 mins and was very informative. They actually told me what the interview process entailed, the starting salary and also some of the benefits/perks. It wasn't until 2 wks later that I was contacted again via email to setup another ph interview, this time with a Sales manager. This call took about an hour and was very STAR formatted. These questions are obviously read off to you. This particular person was not very personable and was writing down each of my answers (which made for awkward pauses). I was then contacted for an in person interview that next week with another sales manager. I drove about 20 mins away to a hotel lobby and this interview took about an hour. This person was very nice, very easy to talk to and personable. exact same format, although this time I was given more background from my interviewer and we also covered more personal stuff, like my goals, my hobbies and interests, etc. I was contacted the next day by this person to schedule a field day - this happened the following week. I met a sales rep at a store and spent the entire day with them. I was instructed not to help with the physical aspect of the job and only observe. I hit it off really well with this person and she even told me she'd be giving me an excellent review. I was then contacted for what i was told would be my final interview, scheduled for over the ph that next week with the District Area Manager. This ph call lasted about 40 mins and also went really well. again, very personable and lots of STAR questions. I had been asked time and again throughout this process if i was willing to relocate - which i was, but not immediately because i own my home and would need time to sell (or financial assistance to support the move from Hershey). We spoke at length about this - my intentions to move in the future, etc. This manager explained that the person this position would report to would be starting his new job in a couple of weeks and he wanted to hold off and let the decision be his on who would be hired. So...my final FINAL interview did not take place until two weeks out from that. This was a very casual setting - not formal at all. only a few questions. The District Area Mgr and the new Sales Mgr were there. The new Mgr seemed very new, a bit nervous, a little awkward with the questions and perhaps intimidated? Not sure, but I was told that the decision would be made by the end of the week and it was down to myself and one other candidate. Before midnight that same day, i rec'd a form-letter email stating that i was not selected and the position was closed. I felt crushed, dissappointed and annoyed - while never was i given any promises, i was also never given anything but encouraging feedback and after 3 mos of enduring this process (and spending lots of my own time off of my present job), I just couldn't believe it didn't work out.
One thing to note: on my field day, the sales rep told me that the trend of the past couple yrs with the company was to hire very young, straight out of college people who wanted to advance and move around. This made sense to me after being asked about my relocation options so many times.
If you are in this process...Be patient and good luck!