First Step: Online application
Second Step: Online Test
I was emailed the link to take the online test within a week's time. The test consists of two parts. The first part is a personality tests (ca. 60 questions, no time limit) that requires you to assess your own skills (in comparison to others) and asks about how you behave in certain situations. While it is proclaimed that there are no right or wrong answers, it is fairly obvious that this is the first step to assess if the candidate matches the company's principles and values, or not.
(Tip: Take notes of your answers and make sure to answer interview questions in a way that is consistent with your answers in the online test)
The second part is a logical reasoning test (ca. 15 questions, 2.5 minutes per question). Example questions can be found at the P&G homepage. However, it should be noted that some of the questions I had in the online test were significantly more complicated than the ones that P&G provides for preparation purposes. I recommend to not click on “next question” after you have chosen an answer, as this will lead to the next question right away. Choosing an answer and letting the time run down will lead you to an intermediate screen and give you a break of about 2 minutes before continuing with the next questions.
Third step: On-site Reasoning Test
The reasoning tests takes place at P&G premises or at a recruitment fair, lasts 65 minutes and contains 40 questions that are separated in three categories (Numerical reasoning, Verbal reasoning, Logical reasoning). There is a practice test available at the P&G site. The real test, however, is harder than the practice test and I would recommend to not take the test without practicing the math exercises beforehand. The test is actually not that hard, but the time is fairly limited and you have to work very fast. The test is available in almost all languages and apparently most people (ca. 80%) that pass the online test also pass the on-site test.
Fourth step: Interviews
After successful completion of the test, I had two 1-to-1 interviews with two different interviewers. The interviews lasted about 1 hour, with time to ask questions at the end. Both interviews were very pleasant, with the second one being a little more probing than the first. At first I was asked to talk about myself and my CV, and questions were asked here and there about motivations and outcomes of certain stages (e.g. studies, internships). This was followed by typical behavioural questions. These included among others:
“Tell me about a time when…
…a project didn’t go as planned”
…when you had to deal with conflict in a team”
…you taught somebody else something. What was your approach, what was the outcome”
…when you successfully lead a team. What is leadership for you? What makes a good leader?”
To prepare for this type of questions, I recommend to think of your work and university experience, and to pick a few examples that clearly depict how you have managed situations in teams that have lead to tangible, positive outcomes. I would strongly recommend to use the STAR technique to answer all questions.
Final step: Offer
Originally I was told that I would have one or two more interviews to go through, but then I was directly offered a job after the second interview.
Conclusion:
I found the recruitment process to be straight forward, less challenging than I expected, and I was very positively surprised by the pleasant nature of the interviews which certainly made me more inclined to take
