Anadarko Petroleum Petroleum Geologist Interview

Interviewed Sep 2011 (took 2 days)

I attended the AAPG RMR Student Expo in Wyoming. Prior to departing to the convention I submitted an abstract and my resume for all oil and gas companies to look at. I received a phone call by one of the Anadarko recruiters and had an interview set up before I arrived. The first interview was with two recruiters. A 30 minute interview block was set aside. The first 20-25 minutes these asked basic behavioral questions and asked about my thesis research/background. Typical questions were 'How do you relate your skills into the oil and gas industry?' or 'What leadership qualities do you have?' 'How do you work in a team environment?'. After these question, I was given 5 minutes to ask any questions I had. Make sure to research the company prior to this and have 3-4 well thought out questions to ask. Example: "I've recently read online that Anadarko received the 'Houston Top Work Place Award' from the Houston Chronicle, can you please elaborate on the 'pros' of the work environment at Anadarko, but also some cons that you would like seen addressed from management levels'.

After the first interview I received a second interview. This was a 1:1 interview. Here, the recruiter had more specific questions about my thesis research and made sure I could talk 'technically'. He/She also mixed in behavioral questions.

After the second interview I was approached and was asked to go out to dinner with 7-8 recruiters with 7-8 of their top candidates. I'm sure this was to see how acted socially as well as professionally. The next day I was making my way back across the country and received a call in the airport that I was one of the top candidates. A 3 month internship was offered with a 3 week deadline. I accepted the offer.

Overall: Be confident, be yourself.