I applied through college or university. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Ascension (Saint Louis, MO) in Feb 2013
Interview
I first talked to a few Ascension employees at my university's career fair, one of whom was a recent graduate from my degree program and was scheduled for an interview with him the following day. The interview lasted approximately 30 minutes and covered pretty basic stuff, no trick questions or anything. Afterwards, I was told I did well enough to be given a 30 minute case study that would determine if I would go to the next step in the interview process. The case study was based on a fictional telecommunications company and was a little tricky but not too difficult by any means.
A couple days later I received an email asking me to take an Excel assessment. Ascension sent me some material to study over covering the different Excel functions that I'd be using and scheduled me to take the assessment the following week. I was given 30-40 minutes in order to take the assessment and it appeared much more difficult than I expected at first. However, after looking it over a couple times I started working on it and was able to complete most of it pretty sufficiently. I wasn't sure if I'd be invited to the next round since I didn't complete it entirely but was flown to St. Louis a couple weeks later in order to interview at their main site.
Everyone at the facility was super nice, although I don't really think the HR lady was the sharpest tool in the shed. I first had an interview with 2 people, the national manager and a guy on the contract design team. This interview was a little tougher than my initial interview and I felt there were a couple instances where my answers weren't good enough, but felt overall it went pretty well. My next interview was with a guy on the implementation team and I really felt like I nailed it. Afterwards I went out to an informal lunch with 2 women who worked as financial analysts for Ascension which was quite nice. Afterwards I talked with the manager a little bit again and let her know that I had a great time and she told me that I would hear back from them within the next couple weeks. I felt very good about my prospects and was optimistic that I would get the job.
That was the last I ever heard from them. I sent my thank you notes immediately and a couple follow up emails a few weeks later but never received a response from anybody. I consider this pretty unprofessional but this seems to be the norm nowadays for companies after interviews. Regardless it was definitely a blessing in disguise as I received a much better offer a couple months later that is more suited to my interests. If anything else the Ascension interview process provided me with good experience and I had a good time during my visit.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Name a time where you had difficulties working with a member of a team you were involved in?
I first heard about the position at my university career fair. I submitted my resume and cover letter, and they got back to me two days before the day they requested for an interview. I met with them on campus and I first had a business case (~30 mins) dealing with health care, and then a super informal behavioral interview (more just get to know you, what are your goals, etc.) Everyone was really kind and it was a great experience. I didn't feel very qualified for the job, so I wasn't surprised when they contacted me about a week later saying that the process would end here.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The case was kind of vague and confusing - I think I did pretty poorly on this part.
I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Ascension (Nashville, TN) in Aug 2013
Interview
Went through quite a process. First was a phone interview. Then there was a follow-up phone interview. Then there was an online live skills assessment complete with MS Excel testing and a case study presentation over the phone. Then there was the first in town in-person face-to-face interview. Then I was flown to company headquarters in St Louis to interview with many of the department heads and to see the operation. After a couple weeks, I had another phone interview with the boss of the VP I interviewed with the first time, who was no longer with the organization. Finally, there was a phone interview with the CEO of the company. Then I received an offer from another company, and when I alerted Ascension Health, they made a counter offer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They are an extrememly dynamic people organization. You must be prepared to explain every aspect of your professional life. You will meet with so many different people who all have their own thing they are looking for.