Occidental Petroleum It Interview Questions
& Process

A staffing agency reached out to me and I had a phone screen that they called a "culture" screen on Monday. Then they set me up for an on-site interview on Wednesday. Oxy has group interviews where they put you in front of two teams of two employees. The first team had two managers and the second had two technical people. Each interview lasted about 30 minutes. The managers I talked to were pretty friendly. I ended up recapping my background for the second manager because I had already told the first one on the phone. The only question that threw me off was when they asked for the date of my college degree. They said the reason for this question was because a 4-year degree is required for employment there and some candidates just list their college years without actually graduating. I still found it a bit odd because it felt like a sneaky way to figure out how old I am without asking directly, which is illegal. I'm not sure if it was ethically or legally okay, and their explanation felt like a convenient excuse for their real motive, which they could probably just get from a background check. Ironically, most of the guys I spoke to seemed older than 40 themselves, and I'm 56. I answered the question directly, but I can see how it puts older candidates in a tough spot. If you answer it, you might get filtered out for age after the interview. If you hesitate or refuse, you might seem uncooperative or like you're hiding something. I really think Oxy should get rid of this question. It might be legal, but it sends a bad message to older candidates who make it to the interview stage.

The interview was done at my university campus. Really pleasant interview and easy going interviewer. First he described the role of interns at OXY then he began to ask me a little about myself. Then at the end he asked me a few behavioral questions. Waiting to hear back from them.

The IT organization held an on-campus panel interview. It was non-technical, focused on assessing team fit. They looked for good rapport, eye contact, and smiles. Prepare STAR examples to showcase the value of your results and how you understood the need behind the situation. Be ready to discuss a time you failed and what you learned from it. The next step is usually an HR interview, but a strong performance might lead to an immediate offer from HR. If an offer is made, you'll use a portal for new hire paperwork. Good luck!