I was not given an assessment, nor was I subject to a phone screening. After a simple online application (without a cover letter) I was directly invited by the recruitment coordinator to the final round interviews in Food Lion's (subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize) headquarters in Salisbury, NC. The flight and hotel were covered, so I went without knowing much about the program. I was flown in on Sunday afternoon and left on Tuesday evening. On Sunday, I was flown in. I rode to the hotel with another candidate. Given a meetup time, we (as a group of candidates) met in the hotel lobby to head out for dinner. As a product of that, we found out how many candidates were competing for the program. The breakdown went as follows. 26 total candidates, of which 14 were applying to two supply chain positions, 7 candidates were applying to one or two HR positions, and 5 candidates were applying to one IT position. The interview process was to take place on Tuesday and was formatted as a group interview. Our interview groups on Tuesday would consist of 3-4 candidates. There would be 14 interviewers (in groups of two), each with a single Yes/No vote towards our candidacy. The most Yes’s gets the job (rumor had it that our recruitment coordinator had the tiebreaking vote). With that information, off to dinner we went. The recruitment coordinator (who was from out of town) rode in rental car with the same 3-4 candidates throughout the weekend. Once we got to dinner, the recruitment coordinator decided it was an appropriate time to guess people’s Myers–Briggs Type Indicator. I heard our recruitment coordinator say “Oh, you are definitely an ‘I’ [Introvert]” to a candidate. We got back to the hotel, some people stayed in the lobby to talk, others went to their rooms. On Monday, we went through the details of the rotational program, which seemed great. Six months in the States, six months in Belgium, Romania, Serbia, or Greece (if you happen to be an EU resident), and another six months in either Maine or North Carolina. Twice we had two company HR people come speak about the program. Both times, our recruitment coordinator corrected the speakers, pointing to a candidate and stating that he was an EU citizen (and that Greece was thus an option for the program). This really struck me as unprofessional since his tone and demeanor pointed to him favoriting his carpooling “buddy”. We also got gained insight into what was expected of us for the interview process on the following day. “Expect questions related to initiative and the Ahold Delhaize values.” Also, one of the questions provided as an example was “Why would you hire the person to your right?” This gave everyone a bit of anxiety, since we didn’t know all 25 other people. After a tour of a local Food Lion, we came back to headquarters for lunch. Once we were done with lunch, we toured two distribution facilities, and went back to the hotel. We met up for dinner and went to a cocktail hour and sit down dinner. Here, I thought the recruitment process was done very well. At each table, a current member of the IGTP program sat with 2-3 candidates. At my table, conversation was rich and beyond simple questions about the program and our resumes. After speaking with the current members of the program, I was reenergized and ready for the interview process. After dinner, groups unofficially met up to discuss their past experiences and talk about strategies for the group interviews. The day of the interview, built up with suspense, went by relatively quickly. It was 7 hours, so that was kind of brutal. But overall, I thought the group interview was relaxing. There was only one question that required us to answer about other people in our group. Get ready to hear the same stories and punchlines from everyone in your group, yourself included. Afterwards, we were given a book based on a fun fact we supplied before getting to North Carolina. This was a pleasant surprise at the end of the interview process. We were told we would find out Ahold Delhaize’s decision by Thursday of that week. Off we were sent to the airport and the recruitment process was over. I was feeling positive about my chances after the interviews. On Wednesday night, I was denied from the position, for which I was disappointed. The recruitment coordinator left an opening for any questions and feedback. Over the past three weeks, I have received no feedback on my performance. This is where I really think Ahold Delhaize has failed. After spending over 72 hours traveling, touring, interviewing and traveling again, I have received nothing except bad odds to get a job. The job seems like a fantastic opportunity, however, the recruitment coordinator and the lack of feedback have given me a sour taste in my mouth (that said, I would still recommend applying for the job, because it is a terrific opportunity).