I applied through a recruiter. The process took 7 weeks. I interviewed at ADM (Decatur, IL)
Interview
I first met the recruiter at a college fair. He asked me generic questions about myself and took my resume. A week later, I went to the local ADM grain elevator and the recruiter (who ended up being the elevator manager) and another merchandiser spoke with me for about an hour in a very casual, laid back interview. The point was to see if I could hold a conversation and to understand my strengths to see if I would be a good fit for the company. Two weeks later, I got a call from HR inviting me up to their headquarters in Decatur, and they paid for the hotel and all my expenses. Once up there, I met with two vice presidents of different divisions and they spoke with me for about an hour. Questions were very typical, "Why ADM", "What are your strengths", "How do you feel about relocation", "Why the Ag industry", etc. They didn't ask any questions about the job other than those. Again, they were looking for a reason not to hire me.
The only complaint I have is that HR is very hard to reach. They seemed understaffed and I called them at least 3 times without a response before my interview, as I was unsure if I was even still supposed to be interviewed.
Offer was $50k starting off with a $2,500 signing bonus and potential for a 5% cash bonus at the end of the year.
My advice is to be very aggressive. If they see you're aggressive in the interview, they will want you on the trading floor even more.
I applied through college or university. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at ADM (Decatur, IL) in Sep 2012
Interview
So far, I have completed one campus interview and will be heading to Decatur, Illinois for the remainder of the process in November. I met 2 gentlemen at a career fair and they invited me for an interview the next day at the Business School. The interview was pretty awesome. They told me about themselves and their career path at ADM then they asked me (1) why I was interested in working at ADM. (2) if I could describe an instance where you had to resolve a conflict and how you handled it. (3) would you be comfortable with relocating?
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
if I could describe an instance where you had to resolve a conflict and how you handled it. I anticipate the interview in decatur will be a lot more difficult
The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at ADM in Feb 2010
Interview
My first contact with ADM was submitting my resume online through their career website. I was then contacted to have a phone interview. Two merchandisers called me and asked the basic questions: what do you know about ADM, why ADM, why commodity merchandising, a few behavioral questions. Basically they want to here that you are interested in agribusiness and ADM especially. Convince them that ADM is the only company that is for you and you'll get a second interview. I was they flown out to Decatur for a day interview. We had a meet and greet at the local hotel with some senior managers/ merchandisers. The next day we went on site and got 3 or 4 presentations from current employees and these people didn't really pull any punches. They tell you exactly what its like. During the presentations, the candidates go in an interview rotation with 3 panelists (management) who are basically looking for fit with the company and that you can relate with the business. THERE IS NO TECHNICAL QUESTIONS OR ANYTHING ABOUT THE ACTUAL JOB. They are basically trying to find a reason to not hire you and to find out if you are willing to work in a town with 300 people. They found one or two problems with me.