Philip Morris International Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Mar 2009 in Neuchatel (Switzerland) (took 2 months)

Within 2 weeks of the application closing date, I received confirmation that I would be accepted for the first round of telephone interviews.
The first telephone interview (2 weeks after acceptance) was 30 minutes long and was with a human resources specialist. The conversation focused on me talking about my background, teamworking skills, examples of when I used creative thinking to overcome a problem etc...
The second telephone interview (4 weeks after acceptance) was 60 mins long and was with a recruitment specialist and senior scientist. In this interview they were more interested in my scientific understanding and how i could use my skills and knowledge in the job being offered.

One week later I was offered the opportunity to visit their site in Neuchatel, Switzerland for a second round interview. All travel expenses were reimbursed but not accomodation.
The interview consisted of a 30 minute presentation on a scientific topic of my choice followed by 30 minutes of questions from a panel of 10 scientists. After this there was a 1 hour panel interview (5 people) that focused on the same subjects as the telephone conversations.

My first impression is that they were very firendly and welcoming. I was quite nervous about doing the presentation but the session was very informal with people asking questions throughout. There was a constant emphasis on team working - a little bit too much in my opinion.

I was told that feedback would be given within 2 weeks of the interview but this did not happen. I have contacted them subsequently but to no avail. This for me was a big let down considering the number of weeks the application ran over.