Bank of America Banking Center Manager Interview

Interview Details I applied online through the BofA careers site.

About a week later I received a system-generated email with a link to a personality test. I followed the link and took the test. I have taken these types of tests before and they say to always just be honest. They really can tell if you are not being truthful. I answered honestly and apparently passed, as I received an email the same day with a link to an online Management Assessment.

The online management assessment test was pretty straightforward. They give you scenarios where you have to deal with employees not getting along or not meeting quotas. You have 5 multiple choice options for each scenario. You pick what you believe is the best and what you believe is the worst option for each. The scenario continues on based on your response for about 5 questions (kind of like a 'choose your own adventure' book). There are about 5 of these scenarios, so probably around 25 total questions. Again, I think I did well because I received a call from a recruiter that same day. (This was my first human contact with them)

The recruiter invited me to come to an in-person hiring event. The event took place at the 2nd floor of one of their branch offices. It was scheduled to start at 10 am, but they did not begin letting us in until around 10:15. Most of us had arrived a few minutes early, so we were left waiting outside in the cold for about 30 minutes. There was no coffee or water offered.

There were too many people crammed into the little room, as they were hiring for all positions, from teller to sales to management here. They were signing in everybody and reviewing qualifications as we entered, so it took about 25 minutes just to get us all in the room. When we finally got started they spent 15-20 minutes going over basic information that is readily available on the BofA careers site that any prospective employee should already be aware of. They then spit us into separate rooms, based on which jobs we were applying for.

Our room for management applicants contained 7 applicants and 2 local area branch managers to conduct a group interview. 4 of the 7 applicants already worked for the company. They did not ask us any questions, but just asked us to get up in front the group and tell them about ourselves and our experience. There was no prep time given. I went first and gave a summary of my work history, followed by all of the other candidates. The 4 that were already with BofA continually name-dropped various managers in the region and people that the interviewers knew. After we all spoke they gave us a 15 minute break. When we returned they stated which 4 people would be staying. To none of our surprise, the 4 people already with the company were the 4 asked to stay and continue.

In speaking with the others as we left, we all felt that we never really had a chance, considering that the 4 internal hires were already recommended by various branch managers in the region. This was a complete waste of time. I don't have an issue with an initial group interview, but this was handled poorly. Including internal candidates with outside candidates in this scenario makes no sense.

All-in-all a poor experience.