PPG Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Mar 2010 in Circleville, OH (took 2 weeks)

I applied to PPG for a "Production Associate" position, after seeing an online employment posting by the company on "Monster.Com". The instructions left by the PPG posting indicated that the company would be accepting applications online (on their web site) on a certain morning, starting at 8 a.m. and that only a limited amount of applications would be accepted that morning. It also indicated that this was the sole method applying for the position and that no phone calls or resumes would be accepted. So I made sure to apply exactly at 8 a.m. and submit my application as soon as possible.

Upon logging into their system and submitting my "application", I was quite surprised that no actual employment application information was asked for at all. The initial online process consisted of a brief personality / scenario test and some other brief (and very general) questions regarding part employment. The only personal information that I provided was my name, address, phone and email.

At the end of the initial online process, the final screen indicated that I had successfully completed the first stage of pre-employment screening and that I was invited to proceed in the interview process, onto phase two. The screen indicated that I would be contacted by a PPG Human Resources Staff Member shortly with details.

Approx. two days later, I received a call from PPG HR. The phone cal consisted of a very brief phone interview in which I was asked to tell the HR person about my prior work experience. This lasted about 2-3 minutes at most. The HR person invited me to proceed onto the next phase of the process which was to visit their pre-employment screening center. I was giving directions, a date to show up and was asked to bring 2 forms of identification (preferably a drivers license and social security card). The call ended once the instructions were given.

The date was set for 3 days in advance and I showed up at the appointment. The "Recruiting Center" was situated at a Bible College, were PPG had leased/rented/appointed some space where they could conduct their pre-employment screening on site (campus). When I arrived, I was greeting by two friendly HR staff members. Although they were friendly, I got the distinct impression right away that both staffers were "new" at recruiting. I'm not sure if it was because they don't normally recruit at offsite (non plant) locations or they just don't "hire" too often. Nonetheless, they were friendly and knowledgeable enough to guide myself and the rest of the candidates that showed up, through the rest of the process that day.

Speaking of other candidates, there was a total of 19 that were invited to attend. 18 candidates showed up on time and they dismissed the 19th because he/she was late. We were all given two number (#2) pencils at the door, as well as an employment application. We were then instructed to proceed to a certain room and have a seat at an available computer. Once in the room, I seated myself and began filling out the application.

Testing consisted of numerous scenario type questions and questions about integrity, honesty, reliability and more. It also consisted on a fairly challenging array of skill tests in which you had to be interactive. One such test had me monitoring 6 pressure gauges and a word problem simultaneously on one screen. The goal was to keep all of the gauges needles out of the "red zones" while answering as many word problems as possible. It was obviously a test of multitasking and dexterity. It was challenging at the least but nonetheless, I got through it with no problems.

The testing also included an array of math problems in which you had to figure the answers based on a scenario provided. A calculator was provided for use. Math skills consisted of percentages (mainly) and utilized division, fractions and multiplication from what I can recall. Not too terribly challenging but the non-mathematically inclined may have gotten stuck.

Following the testing (which I completed in 1 hour 15 minutes and was the 4th person done) we were asked to wait in the hallway and we would be called into private conference to talk one on one with a staffer. We were called individually into a private room and told whether or not we passed the test and IF we were invited to proceed onto a future interview date. I was told that I had passed and an interview date was scheduled 3 days out.

The final phase that I was involved with was appointment to interview at the Circleville PPG Plant itself. I was told to check into he guard shack and inform them that I was there for an interview. I checked in 15 minutes early to the guard shack.

As of this writing, I am awaiting (same day as interview) a call from PPG HR, as to whether I'm invited to drugscreen and background check. If I am invited, I will try to update this posting/review.