I submitted my application online (back when we had to directly send cover letter + resume to an HR email address, unlike now) and received a phone call the next day. I'll preface my description of the interview process by saying that: a) I hadn't applied to a specific job because I was overqualified for everything that was posted on their website (in terms of education, not experience), and b) I'm convinced I was contacted by mistake... or that the HR person didn't read my cover letter at all and just saw the word "design" somewhere on my CV, assuming I was a good candidate.
That being said, my phone "interview" was with the mechanical design manager. He called on time and seemed a bit confused as to why he had gotten my CV from HR, but asked me a few questions to get to know me, as well as my motivations and goals. My background didn't really fit with what they were looking for, but he was interested to meet me nonetheless. I assumed (wrongly) that this would be an informational interview and we setup an appointment, 2 days later.
Before the interview, I was greeted by the HR person and he led me to a very small room, without windows, decorated in some sort of 70's fashion. The first part of the interview was with 2 people from the mechanical design group (manager and a senior designer). They sat down and said: "So today, we'll interview you for a mechanical design engineer position". At that point, I realized I wasn't there for an informational interview, but for a real one and I should've read more carefully the job descriptions on their website...haha. They first asked questions about myself and my CV (basic, easy questions), then they moved on to more technical/behavioural questions. "What are the main tasks of a mechanical designer?", "What do you do if you can't reach a solution with the electrical and structural engineers?", "What is the biggest issue for composite materials in space?", "Where do costs come from when budgeting for a specific project?", etc. The interviewers were nice and patient, giving me time and hints to answer questions if needed, but they ended up replying to their own questions if my answers were incomplete.
The second part of the interview was with the HR recruiter. He read questions from a list and wrote down my answers. He was very friendly, though, so it didn't feel like a chore at all. Most of these questions were typical (strong/weak points, what would your friends say about you, would you be willing to work over-time, how's your English, what salary do you expect, etc).
On the same day, I was also supposed to meet with people from the manufacturing and structural analysis groups, but only the manager from the latter showed up. He took one quick look at my resume and asked "Why are you here? You don't fit at all." That was... strange, to say the least. After 5 minutes, he wished me good luck and suggested other companies I should apply to.
After my interview, I clearly felt like I didn't fit there at all, so I wasn't surprised when I never heard back from them. (The end of the story if that they called me again a month later to schedule a second interview with people from the manufacturing group, saying that I didn't get an offer for the mechanical designer position because they were looking for a senior designer (considering my education).)
