Pella Careers and Employment

I had developed carpal tunnel in both hands from working here. I'm not allowed to go back, and probably wouldn't if given the opportunity. Every position is too much pressure

Production Operator in Murray, KY

on July 31, 2022

Good solid place to work.

Pella has been a good solid place to work. If you have good attendance and a good work ethic you can move up easily. The only downside to advancing is that the training is a little lacking and rushed.

Logistics in Pella, IA

on July 25, 2022

Worst company I’ve ever worked for

There is zero room for advancement at Pella. All department managers are hired off the street. HR continually lies to new hires about the required amount of overtime. I was told the most Saturdays a month I would have to work is 2. I’m scheduled for 3 every month plus 10 hours everyday. Employees are treated subhuman. I became extremely sick at work and had to go to the ER. Leaving halfway through the shift counted against me for getting my sign on bonus. If you have to leave for a medical emergency, don’t expect a raise at the next evaluation. The turnover rate is staggeringly high for a reason.

Department Manager in Carroll, IA

on July 21, 2022

The worst job I’ve ever had in my life but good stepping stone

I have been wanting to write this review forever but I am not typically a “Karen” who bashes or complains about a work environment so have avoided it, but I have time today! Now that I have been away for a bit I can really appreciate how miserable this job truly was. If you’re looking for something to get your career started, make a decent amount of money for the area, and learn the basics about manufacturing THEN get the heck out, this is the perfect place. To be fair, most of my working experience was at the height of COVID so my experience was probably worse than most but there are still so many things that could have been improved/changed that will definitely not change now that COVID has lessened.The work-life balance was absolutely zero, I would constantly get calls/texts when on vacation (which I had to use for simple tasks such as getting my hair cut) because I was expected to work 6 days/week, 12 ish hour days. When interviewing, the recruiter really pushed the fact that we would have 4 10 hour work days (M-Th) with occasional over time which appealed to me along with the salary +OT promise. We MAYBE worked 4 day work weeks twice in the 2 years I was there, I was definitely working every Friday and almost every Saturday as well. I have heard from others that they finally drew the line and decided to stop with the OT due to turnover but they pulled that trigger way too late and lost a lot of supervisors and hourly employees. (The ones that they hired and could afford to just get up and quit left within months).The best way to describe the work environment was “cry in the bathroom weekly” toxic on all levels and included emails throwing each other under the bus and pointing fingers/calling people out in large meetings frequently. Looking back, this behavior was encouraged by the plant manager and I believe he preferred the environment to be a little more cut throat which is not always bad but to add COVID stress/complication on top of it, it was a lot for many. It was obvious if he had a distaste for people as he would criticize their every move until they finally just quit (I was not one of these people luckily, but I saw it happen a few times).The expectation was 80% floor time, 20% office time but we were given more like 40% office tasks which forced us to come in early or stay late to get these tasks done. There were a couple other good supervisors and operations managers that would talk us off the ledge but it was obvious the operations managers, HR staff, and other employees were just as miserable as the supervisors.With all of that being said, this is a job I learned a TON from and would not be where I’m at now/making the kind of money I’m making now without this stepping stone. The department managers have a lot of autonomy and say with their employees which is nice and not something I have seen in other big companies. This job made me tough and truly appreciate the good places (like the one I’m at now) SO much more. If you express interest in learning and want to get some management experience in, this is a great place to do it. There are a lot of seasoned supervisors/managers/engineers that want to teach others and I gained invaluable knowledge working here. Overall, I am 100% positive this is the worst job I will ever have in my entire life (did I mention all of this on top of no air conditioning on the floor and jeans all day long?) but I am also appreciative of the experience and feel lucky I will never have to go back.

Machine Operator in Pella, IA

on July 19, 2022

Poor management and no work/life balance.

Expected 50-58 hours every week, they reprimand you for leaving work for family emergencies, management will step on you to make themselves look good.

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Insights from 137 Indeed users who have interviewed with Pella within the last 5 years.

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Interview Questions

All behavior based interviewing, for instance... "Tell us about a time that you've been frustrated when things didn't go well." "How did you handle it"

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Equipment and pay

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