I applied in-person. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Columbia Bank in Oct 2010
Interview
They were two very nice people. The general manager and the store manager. For me, it seemed easy because I'm one of those people that always shows up to work on time, does the job with a smile on my face, etc. They saw that and they liked it enough to give me a call back. I was unable to take the offer in the end (unfortunately) but they seemed like a really great company to work for. I would definitely recommend trying to work for them. I was disappointed that I couldn't.
I was contacted by Umpqua regarding the position. Process was somewhat disorganized as three different people reached out to me to schedule interviews. Neither were aware of what others were doing and I had to call and explain to them what was going on.
Typically companies pay for travel accommodations if candidates are out of footprint, but there was no offer here. I covered their interview expenses out of pocket because I was genuinely interested. Reading the room temperature, I'm also certain they had a decision prior to my in-person interview.
Interview process consisted of three interviews total. A 1-1, a panel interview, and a team meet-and-greet. Panel interview was interesting, unrelated questions regarding how they can attract talent (questions for the sake of asking questions), some very basic accounting questions, reading a financial statements and pointing out the obvious, nothing out of ordinary.... (Don't think forensic accounting like I did, this is a plain and basic bank interview)
Their pay appeared below market for the industry and the cost of living for their preferred location.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
General background/resume questions relative to the positions, mostly involved walking them through my day. You may come across a deal where you may not be in agreement with terms and pricing, how would you deal with that? How can Umpqua attract candidates like yourself? Do you think we are doing enough outreach?