Robert Bosch LLC Finance Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Dec 2011 (took 2+ weeks)

Initial screening interview was by phone. It consisted of routine behavioral-based questions, supplemented by resume-specific questions. A few days after the initial interview, I received a financial case study. I had one week to prepare a spreadsheet concerning the case study. The case study included both quantitative questions and qualitative/analytical questions. A few days after submitting my case study, I received a follow-up question concerning the case. Two weeks later, I received an invitation to come to the corporate headquarters.

In preparation for the final day of interviews, I had to prepare a PowerPoint presentation to present my case study findings. They then flew me to the corporate offices for a day of activities. There were a mixture of MBA/graduate applicants for a managerial development program and undergraduate applicants for a finance development program. I was impressed by the quality of the applicants, though somewhat concerned that they were all men (diversity is important to me).

I presented the case study to a finance representative and an hr rep. In addition to a number of traditional one-on-one interviews, there was a small-group problem-solving activity. Two other applicants and I were given a mini case study and 20 minutes to discuss the situation and make a recommendation. We were observed in this process by four representatives of the company. I thought this was a very creative interviewing technique, clearly designed to show how we work with others, and I enjoyed participating.

We had lunch with a couple of new finance employees, then some of us were invited for further interviews with managers and mentors. By the end of the day, I believe I'd had five or six one-on-one interviews.

It became clear after meeting with so many people who'd been with the company a long time that there was something special about the company. I was delighted to receive an offer by telephone a week later. My HR contact asked how I'd found my visit. I expressed (honestly) how much I enjoyed the process and how remarkable I found it that so many people had been with the company 20 or 25 years. I then received the offer, which I had three weeks to consider.