Nestlé Purina PetCare Sales Internship Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Oct 2009 in Saint Louis, MO (took 2 days)

I learned about the position through a fraternity alumni who worked as a recruiter for Nestle Purina Petcare (Purina). After applying through nestlepurinacareers.com I was asked to participate in a phone interview. The interview consisted of mostly behavioral questions and touched on my knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (nothing too difficult). After the 30 minute conversation, I was asked to fly to St. Louis to interview at their corporate headquarters.

In St. Louis, I was put in a wonderful hotel (with a direct view of the Gateway Arch out my window). In the morning I arrived at the headquarters. I got there about an hour early and observed people getting into the office. Two things amazed me: 1.) Those videos you see with everyone bringing their pet to work with them... it's true! 2.) Almost everyone going into the office was smiling and seemed happy to start another day at work.

The interview process lasted throughout the morning (8:30-12:00) which seemed long for an intern position. The personnel interviewing me were employees with 20-26 years experience and they each had about 45 minutes with me to ask behavioral questions. Some questions were good but most were repetitive. For example: "Name a situation when you had to convince a reluctant group to see things your way." "Describe a situation when you encountered resistance from a group to accept your view." There were at least 4-5 questions along that same line. When you are asked to not repeat any answers, this can be an annoying part of the process. Ultimately, the people interviewing me seemed to really enjoy the company and treated me very respectfully throughout the process.