Pros: They pursue their candidates, are courteous, and work to ensure a good fit.
Cons: Abysmal pay, drawn-out interviewing process. No, the 2% lower-than-national-average cost of living in Marinette will not offset that.
It starts with a simple phone screen from HR and then continues to draw out longer and longer. I didn't know my worth when I started interviewing, given that they promised a starting wage $25,000 below the national average and $30,000 below my most recent offer. Mind you, I got a rejection letter and an offer in the same day from Fincantieri because they cleared the system wrong.
I counted 3 times that HR called me in November, outside of emails and Zoom meetings (7 phone calls total). They will really work with you, so a lot of those calls were "we found a position that's a better match," or "just letting you know you could get an extra 5-10k if you sign up by February." I intended to fill the position around June.
You get a phone screen and send them all the goodies, like your resume, online application, and portfolio if you have one. Then, a month later, after they have moved your application around to a position they know will still be open, you finally talk to an engineer. There are a lot of calls, but they all seem to be adding value to the role, and at least they call before emailing updates. They do paint a clear picture of the position. Once you make it through the initial conversations you talk to an actual engineer you would be working under. This is helpful in understanding the technical aspects of the role and knowing if you would fit culturally. But HR can't make it to that meeting like they intended, so you have to set aside more time to talk with them later. They all have ideas as to how they can fit me into their company right away. I'm sure that has nothing to do with the fact that their starting wage is 20 years out-of-date.
Once I had a final talk with HR, I pressed and said I needed an answer by the following week, otherwise it would have been 2-3 more weeks for them to decide. They were kind enough to push it through. That is something that only half the companies I interviewed with are capable of doing: making a decision.