BASF Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The whole application process took about two months and included several rounds. The interview itself was spread over one day and consisted of five interview rounds. I had the opportunity to speak with leaders as well as my future colleagues and my supervisor. The atmosphere was consistently pleasant, but I was also asked challenging questions. Round 1: Conversation with HR. Round 2: Technical interview with two experts. Round 3: Exchange in a nice restaurant over a meal. Round 4: Conversation with my future supervisor. Round 5: Final conversation with another HR employee. The focus was less on technical questions and more on my personality and my motivation to work at the company and in the program. In addition, several languages were tested during the conversations. Sometimes the language was spontaneously switched during the conversation, which required some flexibility. On the same day, I received positive feedback. Two days later, I gratefully accepted the offer.

The interview process for this company was incredibly long and drawn out, taking about 9-10 months from application to offer. I applied directly through their career portal about 10 months ago. They did an initial screening about 9 months ago. The first technical round with the Team Lead happened 6 months after that. The second round was virtual and included heads from maintenance, electrical, HR, and one other person. After another month of waiting, I was asked to do a site visit, which was during COVID. During the site visit, they showed me machines for 3 hours while asking technical questions. On the same day, I had a face-to-face meeting with all the department heads. Two weeks later, a talent acquisition HR head contacted me for payslips. After I sent them, she called and offered a 15% hike that included verbal variable pay. Given all the effort and time I put in, this was the final offer. I declined, stating I had already received a 15% hike and had another offer. My advice is not to visit their site without knowing their offer first. They seem to prioritize people willing to adjust over technical skills. Management should improve their hiring and negotiation process to maintain the company's reputation and avoid making interested candidates feel bad.

After submitting my online application, which included basic info and three written answers about why I liked BASF, my reasons for leaving my current job, and my employment history, I waited about a month to hear back from HR. They called to set up the first round interview. Usually, there's a phone interview first, but I went straight to this one. It was scheduled two weeks out, and HR gave me great info on where to go and who to ask for. The interview itself felt really nice and welcoming, more like a chat than a strict Q&A with the two interviewers. It lasted about 2.5 hours, and I could ask questions anytime. Since it's a new, growing team, they asked about my ideas for improving processes, how my skills would help the team and company, and what extra skills I have that would make the team great. They mentioned I'd likely get a call for a second round. A week later, HR called on Monday morning to invite me to the second round. This time, I'd meet the hiring manager and two directors from the US and Canada. It was about an hour long, and only the directors asked questions. They were all behavioral since the hiring manager already covered the technical stuff in round one. After I finished, I got a call from HR within an hour with an offer. The full offer letter and background check came an hour after that. Just a heads up: send thank you emails after each interview, learn about the company (they asked me what BASF stands for, their slogan, recent acquisition, and last year's revenue!), focus on safety and teamwork in your answers, and everyone was super warm and welcoming, with quick responses.