I applied online. Within 20 minutes I was called to set up an in-person interview. A little questionable, but this job has been posted for well over 8 months, so I thought the prompt call was to fill the position in a timely manner. The process involved taking several assessment tests. Uline will not release the results to candidates. This is a red flag. Perhaps this company constantly interviewing for creatives for two simple reasons. One, to generate creative ideas without paying for outsourcing from candidates who apply, and two, to process personality profiles from creative applicants.
I was very impressed by the facilities, a really nice location and building. The woman who interviewed me was very nice, too. Didn't really ever look me in the eye, but that's ok, it's an interview. She was formidable and made me feel comfortable during the process.
The position was for the print team, generating catalog covers and directing photography. The design sensibility is a bit dry, so I didn't go overboard in the cover creations I was asked to generate. Since I had to design 3 cover options, I used the website to familiarize myself with their offerings. The website is problematic. It has problems with its search capabilities. It's not very user friendly. The terms don't match up with catalog terms, so searching online with a catalog in hand ended up generating zero results in several instances. Also, the files sent to me were corrupt, and crashed my mac several times. No biggie, but something to be aware of if you have any other files open at the same time. They were also dated 2016, so they've been using the same files for several years for design testing.
After interviewing, I did a little online research. The online presence seems problematic. I had no idea there is a large movement on social platforms to boycott this company for its belief systems. People are trashing the catalogs and hash tagging negative reviews, offering up competitors for alternative resources.
While these issues were not much of a concern to me, personally, it may affect their business model down the road, and if you're interviewing for a role in this organization, it's just something to be aware of. They are probably not concerned with loosing business from small organizations, due to their capacity.
They passed on me, and rather quickly, without a solid explanation. I did ask several questions regarding the assessments, and perhaps they are not interested in a candidate who is interested in their own assessment results. I wish the best of luck to whomever chooses to accept their catalog print position.
