Hello awesome people, I hope your week has been wonderful. I on the other hand have been busy with internship applications and guess what? I just had an interview yesterday morning, with none other than the famous oil services company, Schlumberger!
Now, I myself know fully well that I probably won't get a tough position as a SLB Intern, so I went to the interview feeling relaxed, calm and with the mindset of just experiencing the whole process :)
We had 3 stages overall:
- Self introduction which lasts about 3 minutes
- Group task where you had to build a paper bridge.
- Shortlisted candidates (alhamdulillah, I was one of the 12 shortlisted) will go trough a one on one interview.
Halfway through stage one, I started taking notes I gained from watching all 30 candidates undergoing the interview, and I decided to share it with you guys here. I hope you'll find it beneficial, not only for future SLB interviews but for other work related interviews :)
First is the Stage ONE. You see, stage one is where we had to introduce our self in front of everyone. Now that was unexpected, more so when I was the first candidate on the list. I got up and started stuttering my way through. They asked us to introduce ourselves, explain our strengths and weaknesses and the reason of entering SLB.
TIPS FOR STAGE ONE (introducing yourself):
- First impressions DO COUNT. Dress appropriately, choose subtle colours, make sure your tie matches your shirt, etc.
- Walk with confidence. One of the interviewers informed me that this is a crucial aspect in analysing a potential candidate. You have to induce an air of confidence when you present yourself. How? See #3.
- Practise what to say, be flexible and always keep an open mind to any possibilities. Stage one lasts 3 minutes, so you need to practise to stay on time, or else you will be cut off. Practise makes perfect, remember that ;)
- Have a loud voice projection, but not to the point of shouting. Just enough that you have people's attention.
- Know yourself well! Only you know what qualities YOU have that might benefit the company
- Once you've figured out #5, structure your points into organised sentences and repeat #3.
- To fully achieve #6, do relate your strengths to how you can apply it int he company should you be employed. I've seen my friend do this just now, and the interviewers (including the audience) were really impressed and he did get shortlisted for stage 3.
- Do background research on the company, see their mission and vision and how it relates to YOUR own aspirations.
- Shake hands with the interviewer prior introducing yourself. Of course this is just an action of respect and humility :)
- Don't be cocky or boast too much about your achievements, strengths, bla bla bla. It's annoying full stop
- Always smileeeeeee! Seriously. Even if you're blank and don't know what to say, just smile. It'll be less awkward.
Okay, moving on to Stage TWO!
They gave us materials and 30 minutes to build a paper bridge that has enough height and strength to withstand a toy car moving on it. Now this stage is a catch. No one really cares if you've achieved the target or not. What matters is your teamwork.
Are you dominant? Did you lead or follow? Neither matters, but your cooperation does. I didn't lead the team but I made sure I contributed ideas to complement others' ideas and made sure no one was left alone to do a job. I helped Kevin tore strips of tape while he stretched it out to make the task faster. I helped Nadia fold papers so Loo Sen doesn't have to wait too long to tape them together and I helped prepare tape (there were a lot oft tape) so we can put them on the bridge faster.
Things not to do during a group task:
- Never interrupt people when they want to give ideas.
- Never say their ideas suck (regardless of being in an interview or not)
- Never think you're better than everybody else. No one wants an arrogant person.
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| With my teammates. |
However, we failed the challenge cause we didn't meet the height requirement (short by 2 cm), but Loo Sen and I managed to get shortlisted for third stage along with another 10 students. I was shocked cause I didn't think I performed that well. I guess being relaxed and calm throughout the process helped a lot.
There was an intermission of 1 hour before the Third Stage, which was one-on-one interview. Each person had 20 minutes to be interviewed. Basically they asked us about our experiences being a leader for any event/projects and what we expected when working with SLB and are we willing to sacrifice working onshore for months without seeing our families and friends (this has been proven to be troubling for women). Have you worked under pressure? What would you do if you were asked to clean the floors of an oil rig when interning?
Basically they just wanted to see your commitment and interest in the company and what YOU can contribute to them.
Basically they just wanted to see your commitment and interest in the company and what YOU can contribute to them.
It's all about selling yourself and convincing them that you're worth it.
So that wraps up my SLB Interview Experience. It was really interesting and I learnt so much from it and from the other candidates.
I hope this post helps in your journey to finding your dream job. But remember, this is just what I experienced, and it differs for different people and companies. Hope it helps in some small way.
Good Luck ;)
