I had interviewed with them before and the hiring managers liked what I had to offer, but they didn't think I was the perfect fit for the specific position. A couple of months later, another department called me and offered an interview for a different position, to which the 1st manager recommended me. I went in, 1st interview seemed to go well. They're extremely bureaucratic and mundane, but "nice" to deal with overall. It basically consisted of a series of 1:1 interviews, with the usual interview questions.
They called me back some days later and scheduled a second interview. This one was awful! As an entry level (recent grad) engineer, I have never had to go to 2 detailed interviews for the same position before. Most employers interviewed me on the phone, then in person, then made an offer. Panasonic dragged me twice through 4 hour interviews for the same position. Anyway, this second interview consisted of a simple aptitude test in which they basically asked me to do what I would be doing on a daily basis once hired. Although it wasn't difficult, it was unfair. Without any training or exposure to their line of work, or any "real" work as a recent grad, they expected me to do what someone in that job does on a daily basis after training and whatnot. The 1st test consisted of cross-matching one of their products to a competitor's product. It took me a bit of time to complete this, as they provided me with an incomplete specs packet for their product - which I later pointed out. The 2nd test was a hands on test. An engineer showed me how to test an electric part for faults/damage, then asked me to repeat the procedure. Following him was very difficult as I was nervous and thinking about the results of my 1st test, so needless to say, when it was time for me to demonstrate I had forgotten half of the steps! After this second test, the hiring manager and his supervisor sat down with me and asked me to analyze a complex schematic of parts that I know nothing about, because they're special to Panasonic. Again, a task that requires extensive training! And again, I don't think I answered correctly, especially after being so exhausted by the entire process beforehand. They let me know a week or so later that they're not interested. So a total of 2 interviews, meeting 4 people in each one, doing stuff I'm not supposed to know how to do = total waste of time.
This was the worst interview process I have ever had! I was interviewed by top global defense contractors, one of which I now work for, and none of them were even NEAR that gruesome! The people at Panasonic may be nice, but they might also be a little insane. An interview for a recent grad's engineering position should never be this awful. I wouldn't have minded if they had tested me on things related to subjects I studied in school, including extensive analysis of complex systems, but testing me on tasks that only trained engineers working in that specific organization know is just unfair.
There's no way I would've agreed to working for them had they made an offer. They are exceedingly demanding and routine. Not an ideal place to work if you're a recent graduate looking for an innovative and positively challenging organization.
