Celonis General Intern Interview Questions
& Process

Applied online and got a quick email back. First was a recruiter chat for cultural fit, super relaxed. Then a presentation round where I showed off some code I did. Pretty chill overall, but nerve-wracking. Expectations aren't too high though, so being self-aware, curious, and doing your research helps a lot. They seem to like when you can talk about what you did, what you might do differently, and what you'd add later. Explaining your thinking and being open about where you got info is key. It felt easier than other places because they use PQL (Celonis' SQL), so they don't expect expert-level skills after just a week of work. The interviewers were nice to chat with.

First, I had a call with HR about basic stuff. Then, I got an extensive challenge that I had to work on. The last interview was with the hiring manager. The HR and hiring manager were very jolly and nice. It was a bummer because the challenge took a lot of time, like 12+ hours, and I didn't get any feedback. I don't know if this is usual, but if it is, they will lose good candidates. I won't go through it again. It's better to reach out to your network if you want to work there. They get a lot of applicants, but they should remember that applicants have hopes. Leaving them in the dark after asking for a big commitment is wrong. They should do better.

I went through 2 Zoom interviews. The first was with a recruiter in Madrid who seemed unprepared, asking about skills outside the role's scope and giving incorrect salary expectations. The second interview was with two managers and was more pleasant and relaxed; the team was friendly and put me at ease. I successfully passed all stages, including a case study challenge with the managers, and received a contract offer. However, the offered salary was significantly lower than what the recruiter had stated, leading me to decline the offer. When I raised this discrepancy, the recruiter offered no apology.