Applied online for a manufacturing engineer position at Raytheon Missile Systems. A few weeks later, I was contacted by the Industrial Engineering Manager to complete a preliminary general questionnaire, which asked primarily about my past experience, what my interests in industrial engineering were, and whether I was willing to relocate to the Tucson area. After submitting this questionnaire, I waited for two weeks before emailing the manager for a follow-up on the process.

Unfortunately, it seemed that they were having supplier issues which were slowing down the process. A week later, I had a phone interview to two Manufacturing Engineers which consisted mostly of basic behavioral questions and an overview of my resume and experiences. Another two weeks later, I followed up again, and was told that the manager in charge of the hiring was out of town and would be for another week.

I followed up two weeks later, and was told that although I was still in the running for the position, the higher-ups had instituted a hiring freeze (possibly due to the ongoing government debt ceiling problem), but that I would be contacted as soon as they got the go-ahead to continue the hiring process.

I am still waiting, and although the process has been rife with interruptions, the personnel has been very accommodating and informative throughout the entire process. Needless to say, if you are patient enough, it seems that there are at least some very nice people working there.

What facets of industrial engineering have you been able to implement in projects and school activities?

Explain a time when you discovered an unexpected solution to a difficult problem.