I never applied for this job; HR came courting me. It was against my better judgment to pursue a role with a company so well identified with cheap, tacky, inferior goods, but I was initially led to believe that my expertise was valued and that I would be instrumental in elevating the copy. Initial phone screen with HR was sterling; a follow-up call with a nervous-sounding hiring manager was less so. Company flew me from Oregon to California to meet 2 managers and a director, but none of them seemed prepared for my visit. The 2 managers contradicted each other as far as their visions of the department's role within the company: the first made it sound difficult to get copy approved in the "start-up"-like atmosphere of this global giant, while the second told me there was absolute freedom in writing product copy. The real nightmare began, however, with Interviewer 3, who showed up late and despite being the person with the highest level of authority, had no idea what I was there to interview for. "This is for an off-site contractor?" No, I told her -- this is for full-time on-site. Manager 1 had said I would write about a variety of products, a mix of romantic and mundane. #3 told me -- and this was implausible given that only 1 out of a new team of 4 writers had been hired -- that the products most in my line of demonstrated strength and proven ability were already "spoken for," that all I would ever write about were tool sheds and generators. She was very glib, she made the position sound awful, and then she asked me: Do you still want the job? She was the single-most unprofessional interviewer I've encountered at that level. I felt like I was being handed the Keys to Nowhere. I asked Manager 1 for clarification between her account of my duties and what this person was describing: she never responded. The entire debacle was an obscene waste of my valuable time.

Enjoyable. They flew me into Bentonville AR from DFW TX, provided accommodations and rental car. Two interviews over the course of two weeks. Met with Creative Director first, other copywriters second. Wanted a wide range of writing samples. Very concerned about meeting tight deadlines. Wanted the ability to write for several different departments, i.e internal and external clients.