I applied for a Corporate Counsel position at Evonik's headquarters in Parsippany , NJ. Although I currently live near Philadelphia, PA, I am actively exploring professional opportunities in NJ as I am licensed to practice law in both PA and NJ. Parsippany is approximately 2 hours from Philadelphia. Several weeks after applying for the position online, I had a telephone interview with an HR representative (who was located in Florida). The questions were fairly straight forward - Why are you looking for a job? What are your salary expectations? During the phone screen, I advised the HR representative that I was in Philadelphia, which is 2 hours from Parsippany, but was interested in the opportunity. Several weeks after the phone screen, I was again contacted by HR and invited to be interviewed by the Legal Department. Again, I advised that I was driving from Philadelphia and asked if that would be an issue for the Legal Department (i.e. Are they aware that I am coming from out of town? Will they object to my candidacy simply because I'm "not a local"?). I was assured that the Legal Department/Hiring Manager knew I was coming from Philadelphia and were fine with it. Upon arriving at the in-person interview, it was abundantly clear that the people who were interviewing me NEVER looked at my resume until I arrived. To add insult to injury, they were SHOCKED to learn that I was not a "local" candidate (though that was clear on my resume/application and I had previously and repeatedly pointed out that I was from Philadelphia to the pre-screeners). My interview consisted on questions about Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania job market, NOT about my skills and abilities. Unsurprisingly, I received a rejection e-mail from the company several weeks later. However, the company did not hire anyone as the job was re-posted shortly after my rejection. This re-posted job does not indicate that "local candidates are preferred". Save yourself the trouble and tolls and think twice before applying.