ISN mostly recruits at the university level, looking for interns and Associate (entry-level) candidates about to graduate. On-campus interviews are conducted across a large number of schools across the US and in the local markets where they have offices.
Top performing candidates in the US and Canada are brought to Dallas for a second round interview Dallas. Those travelling from more than a short drive will be flown in and picked up at the airport. All candidates not living in the immediate Dallas area will be offered hotel accommodations. The accommodations are very nice (Omni, Westin, Sheraton or similar).
The night before, candidates are brought into the office for tours and a happy hour. This gives the entire ISN team a chance to interact with candidates and is the first opportunity for the ISN team to establish if there is a fit.
The following day interviews are held off-site typically a large hotel downtown to accomodate the number of recruits (100+). Recruits are split into groups and following an informal breakfast and opening address, they are sent to various breakouts or interviews.
The breakouts are led by a variety of team members from junior level to mid-level employees. Having some junior level employees in the breakouts give candidates the opportunity to see and hear from people who have recently gone through the process. The breakouts cover different areas of the business and include a panel session Q&A. Recruits are encouraged to be active participants by asking questions. The members of the team leading these sessions, even the junior level employees, report back to the management team on candidates that stood out in the breakout sessions.
The interviews are held in a large ballroom and often been equated to speed dating. All senior team leads and above are positioned at tables throughout the room and hold short (< 5min interviews) back to back throughout the day. Most interviews are one on one but occasionally candidates are paired up for an interview. Every candidate will interview with the company president, typically 3-4 candidates at a time.
At lunch, a number of other employees (mostly mid-level) will come over for join everyone. Each table will include 3 or 4 ISN employees along with a number of candidates.
Early afternoon interviews and breakouts will wrap-up. The senior management team will say a few words to the group as a whole and then the candidates are shuttled back to the airport.
The management team (senior team leads and above) reconvenes for a few well-deserved drinks and review the aggregated interview feedback. The lowest performing candidates are reviewed first and managers given the opportunity to "champion" candidates they believe were unfairly scored or simply had a bad day of interviews. The middle of the group creates the largest part of the discussion as opinions for some candidates fall into polar opposites. The group has a rough target of the number of candidates that can be accepted but a policy that they won't turn away high quality candidates that are a good fit for the organisation.
Offer letters and regrets are sent within a day or two. Some candidates where a final decision was not made, may be offered a position if a number of candidates decline the offer.
Candidates can expect a wide variety of interview questions, on top of the standard questions you hear routinely. The majority of managers have come up from within the organisation and have very little formal training on recruiting. As a result, you may get some questions you'd never expect. For example, "If you had a theme song, what would it be?" or "If you stacked quarters, one on top of the other, how many quarters would it take to reach the top of the empire state building?
Remember you are always interviewing. On the office tour, at the happy hour, during coffee/breakfast before the official kick-off, in the breakouts, at your lunch table, and during the breaks in-between. The team often catches candidates getting "overly casual" at the happy hour, candidates falling asleep during breakouts & checking social media, saying inappropriate things to other candidates when they don't think anyone from ISN is around, etc., etc.
Be yourself, have fun but don't get too relaxed. And make sure you get some sleep the night before, it's a long exhausting day.
