You've only applied to six positions? Take another number. I've applied to several internally and just can't get through. It's like the recruiters just swipe left on my resume and I have no recourse and no understanding as to why (with one in particular who's remote and who doesn't respond to calls, emails, or teams messages).
At this point I'm mentally checked out and just coasting until something else comes along, even at a slight pay cut. Northrop seems to love to gatekeep it's own talent from moving upward, unless you're cr-p and then you float. It's funny, because before I started applying internally I really loved working at Northrop....and now that my career seems stifled I just can't care about the work anymore.
The company just can't keep engineers; one area I worked in during 2024-2025 saw 150% engineer turnover, with a couple of those guys staying as little as 8 weeks. Only the engineering manager and project managers stayed on. Manufacturing itself is either feast or famine, and they just can't keep anything steady between supply chain issues and programs having almost literal g-n duels in the hallways over who gets access to the machines and the workers who ultimately produce everything (many programs share manufacturing space, sometimes even a dozen or so programs sharing the same lines for example).
And management overall? Well Northrop seems to love to pick over the flotsam left behind by companies like Nestle and Amazon who seem to hop over whenever layoffs at those places are imminent. Sounds benign right, don't they need jobs too? Well those are high-volume, low-value-add companies; but Northrop builds low (or low-ish) volume products with very high value add. The style of management getting pulled in externally just doesn't mix, and many of these people have degrees (criminal justice, psychology, kinesiology, etc.) that just don't make business sense. Northrop almost refuses to promote from the manufacturing floor, even experienced people who have degrees. Don't get me started on the car guys from the mid-2000's who came over after ruining Crysler and GM.
But I guess talent stagnation is the norm now. With AI the worker just doesn't win, and you almost need 3 separate resumes: 1 to get past the AI, a 2nd to get past the recruiter got an HR degree from a party school and who has no connection to the work that anyone does, and a 3rd resume for the hiring manager.
All the above assumes that they haven't already selected their buddy, cousin, or are helping some other friend's family member secure a job and the application process is just a wasteful formality. Nepotism and cronyism run absolutely rampant at Northrop Grumman and it may even be so bad that it's a legit national security issue. Maybe the board and shareholders take notice one day, but mostly likely things will just stay the course.
Happy Veterans Day 2025, and that's another gripe too, for a company that supposedly loves its veterans, and who it claims to have as representing roughly a quarter of the company's headcount, we sure are underrepresented in management roles (maybe only 3% versus 25% overall).