Alcoa Software Engineer interviews, decoded.

I applied online. Then had a phone screen with HR. I followed up after a couple weeks and they scheduled an onsite interview. I went in for a half day and met with about 6 people. Before that, I had to take a personality/skill test and complete a web-based reference check.

I applied through an engineering career fair and got interviewed on the spot. Then, I had two more phone interviews scheduled with the hiring managers. The interviews were pretty standard and had standard questions. I think I sounded nervous over the phone interviews and couldn't really show my true self. Plus, there was a one-hour time difference, so I was expecting a call an hour earlier than I got it.

It was a full day interview. It started with a technical presentation for PhD level candidates. Then there were 6-8 one-on-one sessions with management and HR. The presentation sets the tone for the whole day, if it goes well, the rest of the conversations are easy. The hiring manager and his boss were happy with the interview. An offer was given and accepted in two days.