The hiring process at Steuben Foods takes an average of 1 day when considering 1 user submitted interviews across all job titles. Candidates applying for Marketing had the quickest hiring process (on average 1 day), whereas Marketing roles had the slowest hiring process (on average 1 day).
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I applied online. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Steuben Foods (Elma, NY) in May 2025
Interview
The interviewer did not like me. She said she was “sensing attitude,” from me because I was asking clarification questions. The entire interview lasted only 10 minutes. 10 minutes… glad it was only a Teams interview.
For the willing to work over 40 hours question (food facility that runs 24/7 and needing to come in early and work late) I asked what reasons would we need to come in more. This was a salary position. She didn’t know and said it depends on projects. I said that I would need more clarification from the hiring manager regarding projects to gain more insights. The interviewer rudely said, “I am the hiring manager!” I was confused as I normally see the boss of the person hired as the hiring manager, this person was not the reporting manager for this role. I asked “So, you’re the reporting manger for this?” The interviewer replied, “I’m sensing some attitude in this interview. No... I pass on my notes to the [boss].” I explained why I was confused but it didn’t help at this point she clearly wouldn’t say anything good about me to the rest of the hiring team.
Then she asked about salary and I wanted 20% more than my current salary as I’ve been working in my role that is in supply chain and have experience. She asked for a number and I gave a number (closer to what I currently make) and she didn’t like it as it was outside of their range. She asked, “Have you seen the posted range?” (58k-65k) I told her, “Yes, however, your job is looking for someone with 2-3 years of experience, and the job duties entitle both supply and demand planning skills, thus indicating a higher salary need for this role. The posted range is for an entry level job.”
We go back and forth and I ask if shes willing to negotiate and she said they really can’t. I declined to move further but she said I could reach out to her again if things change. I said, “Thank you, but it doesn’t seem like you’d want to talk to me anyway.” And she hung up without a word.
The interviewer was super rude and accused me of being rude when I was asking questions. I maintained my composure as best as possible, but accusations don’t help with interviews and clearly this person isn’t good at interviewing. I’ve interviewed at plenty of companies and when I ask clarification questions. They didn’t like me and got defensive.
There’s poor reviews for this company and they don’t pay competitively. I make 50% more already at my job than this role and I only do one supply chain function.
She wrote me off immediately and was extremely unprofessional. I tried to negotiate but it’s too early in the process and the salary was too low, plus then want to work you more than 40 hours a week. Run they don’t value you can I can tell just by a ten minute call.
I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Steuben Foods (Buffalo, NY)
Interview
I was told I would be reimbursed for travel, which was redeye with a changeover, leaving me dead tired. The hotel was very nice, although the area was quite isolated in the boonies. At the HQ, I was asked to wait in the foyer, which was freezing, despite asking to move to a warmer spot, then was asked to provide references and fill out an application by hand, which I had already done online. Like most silly recruitment experiences in 2024, I interviewed for hours with everyone from the lab tech to the directors, in an exhaustive search for the inevitable sourpuss to vote me out and to make the trip a waste of time. The managers were quick to inform me about their pedigree of patents, and generally felt like they were looking for something to dislike. On touring the lab facilities they had no significant instrumentation in use, and appeared to have no culture of innovation but were trying to sell it. Predictably, one mid-level employee decided to bring their work laptop and a chip on their shoulder, and then bristled when asked about their vision of the game-changer for food science. Response: that's not how I think you should think about things, you should just look at the data. At the end of the process, I was told I would be asked to provide 15 references at least, which was some kind of traditional hazing process, which I dismissed as unrealistic. Although I had rapport with the only two people that I thought were attempting to drive innovation, I was ultimately ghosted, and when I asked to be reimbursed for Uber travel my emails were ignored. Overall, I can't recommend this as worth a redeye plane trip.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why food science?
I added more words here because the prompt requires at least five words.
I was able to get an interview through a recruiter - Steuben Foods contacted me on a Saturday to interview for Sunday, the next day. It was a phone interview with 7 executives/upper management, including the CEO.
The interview was fine, just chaotic with so many people on the line. They also asked for a large number of references, I think around 7-10.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How does your experience contribute to this position?