I applied through an employee referral. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Philips (Amsterdam) in Oct 2021
Interview
4 rounds of interviews starting with HR next Hiring manager and 2 Head of Departments which the role falls under. The most difficult part was the final interview with the 2 Heads who went into details of Operational budgeting processes and some accounting treatments.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?
I applied online. I interviewed at Philips (Cambridge, MA) in Jun 2020
Interview
Philips surprised me with the quickest 1 week turnaround I have ever seen in the recruitment process, and this is during the height of Coronavirus pandemic in May/Jun 2020, which impressed me and was a deciding factor over another role. (I have had hundreds of interviews and maybe even over a thousand applications over my 20+ years career with job search during various transition periods in my life; and previously worked at two Fortune 500 companies before Philips, with internal and external interviews.) It took Philips only exactly 1 week from when HR reached out on a Monday, through a few rounds of immediate phone/virtual video interviews, to an offer the very next Monday; with various prompt replies and informative communications during this 1 week (and after into onboarding).
In contrast: Almost all other companies/opportunities panicked/scrambled during the pandemic, having cancelled last minute (one other company even confirmed the day before the interview, I showed up after almost 1hr drive away, and as I was walking towards the front door... one of the interviewers came out in a rush to tell me they changed their minds about in person interview, please turnaround and they'll look at rescheduling)... Or kept rescheduling and dragging the process out by weeks or even months (another company cancelled/rescheduled 3 times and dragged it out over several months)... Or just not easily adapted to moving to virtual recruiting process as quickly and as seamlessly (one company even resisted technology and still kept holding out hope, keeping candidates waiting with "maybe we'll see about in person interviews soon" then weeks and months pass and they still continue to express interest but were unsure how/when to proceed next steps, even after I was already employed otherwise, I heard back a few months later asking if I was still interested that they're still trying to figure out next steps)... Or ended up in limbo/nowhere/stalled, disappeared and went silent (got "ghosted"....
Philips was different, very efficient, and that really stood out! Interviews were fine, fairly easy/average - Nothing overly technical on the questions. They knew what they were hiring for and had great urgency in filling the role, and it was mutually good timing. The conversations and Q&A after going over resume and prior experience (if at all) were more around culture and fit, future expectations.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
This is the most impactful statement/question from one of my interviewers -- I want to give someone a career with Philips, not just another job... what are your thoughts on this? What are you looking for in your next role or in the future in your career? (This is one of the deciding factors for Philips and this role over other opportunities, as the hiring team indicated this would be a long-term career even during interview process, and an environment that supports that, whereas other places it's very hard to tell -- that even if the role might be higher pay the is higher risk that it might have ended up being more of a short-term stepping stone job vs career move).
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Philips in Apr 2017
Interview
Round 1 - Aptitude Test
Even for employee referrals, there is an initial aptitude test. The test is online and lasts for 45mins.
Round 2 - Skype Interview with HO
This is a basic interview with stakeholders at Netherlands. A simple interview to assess the capabilities. Possible questions will be around the resume.
Round 3 - F2F with offshore Manager
An in-depth interview. Questions will be mostly on technical aspects. As the interview progresses, behavioural aspects will be checked with scenarios.
Round 4 - Briefing call from Onshore
This is more or less a introduction and role briefing call. The aspects of business and the structure will be informed.