I applied online. I interviewed at KAON Automation (Sligo) in Feb 2024
Interview
The interview process at KAON automation was a joke.
I was told I had to sit a quick competency test in person before my interview, and that the test could not be conducted online - I assume to make sure I didn't cheat during the test. I drove for 2 hours to be put in a room by myself and complete 4 separate tests without supervision - unsure why this couldn't have been done remotely. All 4 tests had complex diagrams that the questions referenced, but the quality of the black and white photocopied diagrams was completely illegible.
After the competency test, I was interviewed by 2 design engineers (with no HR representative). Unfortunately, both interviewers seriously lacked social skills. They obviously hadn't taken time to even glance over my CV before the interview. One insisted on grilling me about my lack of experience when I was fresh out of college after completing my degree - this was for a graduate position.
I was asked to bring a portfolio of work that I had previously designed, which I did. I was then grilled about every design choice made during each project I had previously completed. While trying to explain the projects completed and their deliverables I was interrupted numerous times with questions completely unrelated to the topic, such as "Do you know how a fridge works?".
I was then given a tour of what is essentially a big shed. Out the back they had 3 stations;
1. with a robot printing an arrow onto plastic cylinders - this was broken.
2. A robot placing microchips into printer ink cartridges - this was also broken.
3. Two girls dismantling old broken TVs manually to "try figure out how to recycle them".
The entire interview process and tour took 2.5hrs and was a massive waste of both mine and their time. But they didn't seem to mind as there didn't seem to be a lot of work to be done anyway.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Talk through previous projects you've worked on and designed.