Rio Tinto Graduate Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process started with a Situational Judgemental Test from shl.com. They advised to take it alone and without help. Round 2 was a telephonic interview with normal HR questions, focusing on communication skills and thoroughly reviewing the resume. Round 3 involved Numerical, Verbal, Logical, and Personality Tests, also from shl, with a time window for completion. The advice was to not aim for a perfect score but also not too low, ensuring analytical skills results aligned with personality test results. Round 4 was a group activity where 6 people discussed a case study about a mineral called riotintonite and its extraction plant for about 70 minutes. This included reading a booklet with facts, focusing on production lines and worker types, and checking 'Key Indicators of Preceding Shift,' 'Outstanding Issues,' and safety problems. They had 40 minutes to discuss and plan production levels and operator assignments, adapting to dynamic information about accidents. This tested team spirit, and participants were advised to remain calm. A 15-minute summary to the supervisor followed. Round 5 was a Technical Interview with basic questions about the chosen field, like cavitation in pumps or pump behavior in different conditions. Round 6 was an HR Interview, repeating questions from the telephonic interview to check for consistency. Round 7, the FINAL ROUND, was a Panel Interview that began with a technical interview covering internships and projects. Candidates were advised to express interest in a techno-managerial profile rather than overly focusing on a specific technical area. This was followed by normal HR questions.

The hiring process has four steps: online games, a video interview, an online assessment, and then an in-person interview. I was in the interview process for 8 months and made it to the final round just to be rejected. I was talking to a recruiter on LinkedIn the whole time who kept telling me they were close to deciding for months. Eventually, the recruiter told me to stop contacting them, and I got a rejection email. The HR department's conduct was really unprofessional, and I regret wasting my time applying to this company.

Before COVID, I had an initial interview on campus with a recruiter and a current grad engineer. They asked me general questions about why I picked my degree and why I applied to Rio Tinto. The second interview was a Zoom meeting. I spoke with the superintendent I would report to if I got the job, and also the superintendent from a different part of the group. Both superintendents were great to chat with and were really open about the role.