I started the interview process with CAT in September of last year after speaking with them at my school career fair. I then had a screen interview that was all STAR-based behavioral questions. I received positive feedback following the interview, but was told that the recruiting team was reviewing potential openings that align with my interests and experiences. Follows a long chain of emails with the recruiter to check on the process of my application, where the usual answer was "the recruiting team is reviewing potential openings that align with my interests and experience." I was then able to secure a second round interview at a big career convention in March after prompting the recruiter. I was told the timeline to hear back is usually two weeks; however, I did not hear back and had to reach out again. I sent a last follow-up email, and the recruiter told me they don't have any updates to share. I was able to discuss my interview performance with one of the interviewers and had good feedback. The problem seemed to be that they just did not have any position to offer.
The interviews themselves are not the problem, but 6 months in between interview rounds is unacceptable for an entry-level position. I had to go out of my way to even be able to secure the 2nd round interview. It seems like the recruiting team has some communication issues, and the company interviews candidates without knowing how many spots they are able to offer.
Accepted offer
Positive experience
Average interview
Application
I applied through university. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Caterpillar (Peoria, IL) in Oct 2023
Interview
Great. They were really nice and gave me time to answer each question and the questions were not too tough. They also had a very positive outlook on their work .
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What was a time when you had to work with someone who was underperforming
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Caterpillar (Aurora, IL) in Nov 2021
Interview
2 interviews
1st interview with hiring manager STAR method (slightly technical based on your projects)
2nd interview with a group of engineers for best fit STAR also they asked technical questions based on my engineering experience