Consolidated Graphics Associate- LDP Interview

Interview Details – I discovered CGX's LDP program through a college career fair. The opportunity seemed promising. I interviewed the next day with the president of the local CGX company and a former associate. Two weeks later I was notified which branch wished to interview me further (it was actually in my hometown). I did a phone interview that week and scheduled an on-site interview 7 days after that. The interview was conducted by recent hires in various stages of the associate program. The president popped in, interrupting the interview, and grilled me with rapidfire and intense questions regarding my background, goals, strengths, experiences, etc (typical interview fare, if you are prepared properly). His aggressive style caught me off guard, but we actually hit it off well. The associates had very few questions. I think it is more to see how you interact with the group, as the job will be "team" environment heavy, and they need to like you. My notion of the position is the more (and well thought out) questions you have for them, the better. I would additionally advise anyone applying to stress their adaptability, flexibility and ability to exceed expectations WITH EXAMPLES. It is very clear that this job requires all of those to be successful (and it is something they're looking for). The rest I think you should figure out for yourselves. We also toured the plant and met most of the employees running the equipment and machines.

Reason for Declining – I declined the offer for a couple of reasons. if i had no other offers, i would have been thrilled to work for CGX. i think that if you are willing to dive in headfirst and overapply yourself, you could see rewards in the future. you certainly would learn the business from the ground up. there is definitely a sense of associates reflecting the business as a whole, and they want you to succeed. however, i did have another fantastic offer which really helped illuminate the weaknesses in CGX by comparison. a) the salary and benefits package didn't even come close to comparing. salary was a good 10K less than my other offer, and the gap in benefits was even greater b) there are no set hours (again, they expect full commitment; you will leave everything you have on the table) and late nights and weekends are expected c) reading between the lines, i picked up interesting vibes from the associates. tensions with existing long-term employees (often older and decidedly blue collar) as well as hellish tasks and mindnumbing repetition. all seen as something you schleck through to reach the "management opportunity" level. there are some others, but these were what were most obvious to me. again, if this is the only real lead on your horizon, it IS a good opportunity. i am just not convinced it is the BEST or ONLY opportunity.