Elekta Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Aug 2010 in Schwabmunchen (Germany) (took 3 months)

After my initial application, I received an email from the HR Manager that the hiring managers wanted to conduct a telephone interview in the next few days. We agreed on a time and a few days later I was interviewed by the Senior Product Manager as well as the Director of Product Management over the phone. Over the next hour and a half we discussed specifics about my background. The first question was something to the effect of "Walk me through your experience\Tell me about yourself." As the interview progressed, there were a number of other "standard" interview questions, such as "Where do you see yourself in five years?," "Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult colleague," and "What would your former colleagues say about what it was like working with you?" Of course, the questions "What are your weaknesses\strengths?" appeared. Towards the end of the interview, there was a "mini-Case" where I was given the following scenario: You are the product manager and you have just been told by R&D that the product that is supposed to be released next month will actually not be ready for another six months. What would you do? I proceeded to ask a few questions in order to understand these questions, then analyzed the information and gave some recommendations with some supporting arguments. At the conclusion of the interview, I was invited to come to Schwabmuenchen in order to meet face-to-face, as well as interview with the other members of the "hiring committee." After a few days, I was emailed by an administrator who coordinated my travel details and hotel for me. I also completed an online assessment (a personality test) that was given by the HR Manager via email.

The next month, I flew to Munich in order to get to the interview. I was driven from the airport to a small hotel in the town where the office was located where I stayed the night. The next morning, I was picked up by the hiring managers who drove me to the office, gave me a tour of the building, and then coordinated the people with whom I was going to interview. These were: General Manager, Project Leader of R&D, Project Manager, Dir. Product Management, and Sr. Product Manager. Many of the interview questions in the face-to-face interview were essentially the same as those in the telephone interview, but sometimes more job-specific -and mostly revolving around dealing with the decisions a product manager must make in order to manage the conflicting activities of different departments in the release of new products. There were also a number of questions regarding my background in business planning and meeting deadlines.

At the conclusion of the interview, some of the Germans wanted to conduct the interview in German to assess my language ability, although it was not a requirement for the position. After this, I was left alone with the hiring managers in order to discuss my salary expectations.

Prior to leaving, I was given a final "look around" in the prototyping and research facility and I had an informal chat with one of the guys in R&D. I was then put in a taxi and taken to the nearest train station in Augsburg.

I was told to hear the outcome of the interview in 2 weeks. At the end of this period, I attempted contacted the HR manager, Dir. of Product Management, and the Sr. Product Manager who did not reply via phone or email. Finally, after 3 1/2 weeks I received an email from the HR Manager that I was no longer in consideration for the position. I thanked him for the opportunity and asked about how I can get reimbursed for my travel expenses between the train station and the office -hopefully, I do! :)

The best part was spending the day after the interview in Munich, eating Schweineshaxe and drinking an enormous beer!