I applied through college or university. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at McMaster-Carr (Elmhurst, IL) in Oct 2017
Interview
The interviews themselves are each 45 minutes and very easy - my only complaint was that the day was too long (5 hours) and each interviewer more or less asked the same questions. Just know your resume well and ask good questions about their business. Perhaps look up how distribution centers work before arriving onsite.
My impression of the company is that it's a rather strange place to work. As other reviews have mentioned, they're weirdly obsessed with "brand name" schools and will hire soft majors from those as opposed to well-qualified engineers from a good state school. In fact, I don't believe they even recruit from non brand name schools. The work itself doesn't seem particularly interesting - it's more about making small improvements/tweaks to their business model. The employees seem more concerned with how great the work/life balance is and their pay and benefits (which frankly aren't as high as they think they are). Overall, I'd describe working at this company as "just a job".
I applied online. I interviewed at McMaster-Carr (Elmhurst, IL)
Interview
Incredibly drawn out and tedious interview process with 9 total “interviews” for the entire process, including 5 on the on-site final round. Open-ended questions about yourself and different processes/projects at the company.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why do you think X is designed like this, what are things you’d think about when implementing something like X
I applied through college or university. I interviewed at McMaster-Carr
Interview
Made it past phone call screening and had a one-on-one chat with a current manager before final round of interviews. Each round was 45 minutes to an hour long and questions were difficult. Have lots of examples ready. Have different answers ready for similar questions.
I applied online. I interviewed at McMaster-Carr (Chicago, IL)
Interview
The interview process was absolutely phenomenal from start to finish. I really appreciated that the discussions were fully behavioral, allowing me to naturally draw on my past experiences. Furthermore, the company truly goes out of its way to treat you like a VIP throughout the entire visit, covering a remarkably nice hotel stay and providing a generous stipend to ensure you are completely comfortable.