Occidental Petroleum Manufacturing Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I first met some recruiters at an info session and then again at a job fair. After that, I had a quick 30-minute interview where they asked me some behavioral questions. The interviewer was super nice and let me ask questions at the end. They got back to me about two weeks later.

So I had an on-campus interview first. The recruiter at the career fair just took my resume and talked to me for like 5 mins and I wasn't sure if I'd get an interview. The on-campus interview had normal behavioral questions. I found out I got invited for the on-site interview the next week. The on-site interview involved a site overview, a chat with a current process engineer, and a tour of the site. The actual interview was a panel where they went over my resume and asked about my past projects. They wanted to know how I prioritize and tackle challenges. Make sure to be super specific about your experiences, like what took the longest and how you planned things.

The interview process started with an HR call to schedule. I traveled to Houston for the onsite interview. My interviewers were in a meeting, so I was asked to wait in the food court for an hour and then check in again. About 30 minutes after my second check-in, a group of 5-6 people arrived. They asked both personal and technical questions. The questions weren't too difficult, but they contradicted information previously given by HR. They also mentioned interviewing over 100 candidates for the role, which seemed inefficient. I felt like my time was wasted. HR promised to cover all travel expenses, but after 45 days and submitting all receipts, I haven't received reimbursement. My attempts to contact HR and accounting have been unsuccessful, and I'm frustrated about not being reimbursed. The interviewers acted arrogant, which was surprising given my experience building and selling multiple companies.