I was contacted by Zimmer in November and asked if I would be interested in a Finance Manager position. The recruiter sourced my name on-line as I had never previously applied to Zimmer or contacted them about a job. I agreed, and was scheduled for a telephone screen the following week. I spoke with the Zimmer associate for about 45 minutes. At the end of the call, he informed me that in all likelihood I would not receive a follow up call as candidates for manager and up positions are typically hired from within the ranks. I thought that was peculiar. After all, why contact me in the first place for a position that does not exist? In any event, I forgot about Zimmer until I received a call the following week to schedule a telephone interview with one of their directors.
I spoke with the director for about an hour about the job, and the following week received a call from HR to inform me that the position would be filled from within. But, there was another opportunity, at a less senior level, if I would be interested. I said, sure, I’ve come this far in the process, why not? The following week, I received another call and was scheduled to speak with another director. That call occurred, and apparently went very well, as I was invited to the Zimmer campus in Warsaw for all-day interviews. From my first contact by Zimmer to the appointed time of the interview, 2 months has now transpired.
Prior to my visit, Talent Acquisition called me and asked if I would like to meet with their realtors to look at places to live in Warsaw. I thought that was premature as I had not even received an offer as yet, but agreed to meet with their representative. In early January, I drove the 140 miles to Warsaw for my interviews. I met with a total of 6 individuals, from Manager to VP, for about 6 hours. It was not really a grueling day, however, as the questions were relatively easy, the usual boilerplate stuff, about background, experience and initiatives. I answered all the questions quite well but was a bit put off by the attitude of staff, which seemed generally one of disinterest. After all, I had gone through a lot in the entire interview process and drove a long way to speak with people, at least show a little excitement that I’m there!
My perception is that Zimmer is in a growing market, orthopaedic devices, and makes a lot of money. The people who work there know it, and realize they have jobs for life should they want them. Consequently, there is no real need to be motivated or show much initiative or even to treat an interview as a recruiting process. To them, it’s more of a task.
I then spent another day in Warsaw with the realtor. When I returned to Chicago, I wrote thank you notes to all the individuals I met at Zimmer, but did not receive even a single response from anyone. That, in itself, speaks volumes of the attitude of the people and the Zimmer culture. I then followed up with the customary telephone call after a week of being ignored by everyone, only to get a junior staff member on the telephone who possessed a definite attitude. She would only tell me, just wait for an email, that’s how we prefer to communicate. Well, that’s great if that’s how you prefer to communicate, but it’s also rude and extremely unprofessional. What if I had told the recruiter, prior to my interview, that I did not want to make a 300-mile, round-trip drive because I prefer to communicate by email?
In a few days, I did receive an email, but it was a rejection letter which was not even appropriate to my situation. It informed me that I had some good qualities, but that Zimmer had decided to go with other candidates who more closely matched what they were looking for. That’s really a stupid communication. Zimmer HR had ample time, 2 months, to evaluate my resume. I spoke with several senior people prior to my visit. Why then, can they only make a determination that my background is not a fit, until after my visit? It just did not add up.
I should note that I have been in the workforce for some time, and have the distinction of having worked for some of the largest consulting firms in the world. I also worked in Recruiting for two years at a very large consulting firm, as well as a year in Talent Acquisition at one of the largest computer manufacturers in the world. I know the appropriate protocols to follow, and none of them were followed in my situation. Things as simple as Talent Acquisition getting its act together and giving me a call to schedule my stay at the Zimmer Corporate Hotel, prior to my visit was never done.
The totally wasted day spent with a realtor, when I could just as easily have returned home that day. Then the lack of follow up, the lack of enthusiasm by staff and finally the wrong close out letter really made something very clear to me. Zimmer is definitely not a place I would ever want to work. They manufacture good products, but the people are a joke.