I applied through a staffing agency. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Lennar (Austin, TX) in Feb 2015
Interview
I was contacted by a recruiter about the position on a Wednesday afternoon & went in for an interview the very next day. The first thing I did once she contacted me was go on glassdoor & check their reviews (ive failed to do this in the past & definitely paid the price for it). After doing my research I was a little bit skeptical about the opportunity & honestly considered telling the recruiter that I was no longer interested. Lennar's reviews left much to be desired to put it politely, but I followed my gut instinct & went on the interview anyway - a decision that I’m very glad I made.
The office itself was nice. Everything was pretty much brand new & it was a quick 5 mins from my house (which I loved). I got off the elevator & found the suite number quickly, but then was a little taken back because it appeared to be completely empty (literally couldn’t find one person for like 5 mins). A girl finally appeared from around the corner (out in the hallway, wearing a huge fleece & talking on her cell phone). I quickly got the vibe from her that she hated her life, her job & generally just having to be there. I decided to ignore this strange interaction & found my way into the conference room.
Once there, I was greeted by a very nice gentleman who introduced himself as the regional president i'm pretty sure (I was nervous so not sure ab exact title). He was very well dressed & had a good energy about him. I have been on A LOT of interviews over the years & I must say that this was definitely one of my better interview experiences. He seemed like a very honest, motivated, hard-working guy who really just wanted to make Lennar the best company it could possibly be. He didn’t BS me or ask me a bunch of loaded questions - which I really appreciated. We talked for about an hour & over-all had a very pleasant, natural feeling conversation. He asked me very easy, direct questions & seemed genuinely concerned ab whether or not I wanted to know anything in particular ab them (the company). We laughed & connected on quite a few points while talking. I left feeling really good about the entire situation. This was great b/c there’s nothing worse than walking out of an interview questioning whether it was the best interview of ur life or the worst. I received a call from the recruiter shortly there after (Angela from Burnet Staffing who is AMAZING might I add) & she informed me that my instincts had been right on & that they really liked me. I was thrilled! I am going back tomorrow to meet another one of the presidents & I’m really looking forward to it.
So, in conclusion: I had a wonderful experience at Lennar & I’m really glad that I decided to go on the interview despite all of the negative reviews. Not that the reviews are in any way inaccurate, I just think that you sometimes cant judge a situation until you experience it first hand & with my Lennar interview this was in fact the case.
Side note: I accidently brought up their negative glassdoor reviews during the interview & it was totally cool. He actually thanked me for bringing it to his attention & after reading a couple of them said candidly that the reviews were probably for the most part pretty accurate, but that he was in his current role because he hoped to change a lot of that. Looking at negative reviews as a challenge vs. a problem - that’s the kind of thinking that I can get down with.
I hope tomorrow's interview goes just as well as todays, but even if it doesn’t I can honestly chop up the whole thing as a great experience! SO take a chance & interview with them! I promise that it will not be the worst hour of ur life...may even be the best :)
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
He really just wanted to know about me - my experience, what I was looking for in a job, my work habbits, things I enjoy, etc. Nothing tricky or awkward at all
Pretty standard phone screening with HR rep. As she described it, it would have been a pretty lengthy interview process overall. I don't believe I was told which executive the role was meant to support.