I applied for the sales management trainee position. I received an email to set up a phone interview within a few days. The phone interview is just basic questions about your driving record and experience, and mostly explaining the position, hours and salary. They will stress the fact that you are expected to work at least 48 hours a week. The first in-person interview was with human resources. She was very pleasant and made the interview go very well. She asked a lot of questions about how I would react to specific situations and wanted to get a general view of how well I could think critically and communicate. The interview lasted an hour. I did a lot of research on the company and wrote answers to several questions, so that I would have something to reference. In order to make it more natural, speak slowly, eye contact, and allow yourself some pauses so that it doesn't sound like you're reading off the answers you typed the night before. I could tell she was happy with the answers that I gave because she would smile and reiterate the points I hit on the nail. In the end, she explained the management trainee track and invited me to do a second interview. I called her back that day to let her know I wanted to move forward and sent a thank you email. At the second interview, I went to the actual branch I would be working. I met with the area manager and branch manager. The branch manager asked me some questions and took me around. I met all of the employees and had a brief conversation with one of the them. Then, I was taken to the office where I was interviewed by both managers at the same time. They asked me SEVERAL questions, very similar to the first interview but more in depth. I could not read them very well and it was very intense but I answered all of the questions as best as possible. They explained more of what the job actual entailed and were very up front about the good and the bad. They told me they would get back to me. I was there for a little over 2 hours. I didn't get their cards so I did not send a follow-up email but I received a call two days later to set up the third interview. After the second interview, I felt much more relaxed because I'm sure they wouldn't send you to a third interview with the regional manager if they didn't feel confident that you were a good candidate. The third interview was with the regional manager. He was very welcoming and made me very comfortable. He asked maybe only 1 interview-type questions. I assume he knew that I'd already been asked those questions already. He seemed to want to know who I really am and whether I would be a good fit for the company. Furthermore, he really wanted to make sure I was in it for the long haul. I answered him genuinely and showed my interest. He stopped at about 30 minutes and told me, he thought I would do well and offered me the position. I accepted and sent him and the HR manager thank you emails. The interview process was very intense and took two weeks from beginning to end and everyone was very kind but straightforward. I didn't experience any intimidation tactics or mind games. Just be confident, do your research, anticipate questions, eye contact, show interest, speak clearly and relax!

Everything was really cordial and loose until the final interview with management. HR forgot to notify me that I had moved on after the first round of interviews and I had to call them to follow up.