I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Alcoa (Carson, CA)
Interview
During my last semester, I applied in September 2012 for a manufacturing engineer 1 position that was posted on their website not thinking much of it. I got the first call in November asking to come in for an interview. I interviewed with HR and the Quality Manager. It wasn't anything technical. It felt like they were just trying to get to know me and see if I was a good fit to their culture. Typical questions were asked like "Why do you like engineering" and "what is it about engineering you like the most?" I got the 2nd call in December and this time I interviewed with the operational manager (whom I will be working for) and regional manager. Both managers asked questions and phrased in a way to see how I would respond to certain situation in group settings or how to deal with operational problems. Within a week, I was offered a position.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
"Would you prefer one machine that completed 4 to 5 operations or 4 to 5 machines doing a single operation?" I told them 4 to 5 machines doing one operation because it would be easier to pin point a problem and fix versus dealing with a machine that had many complicated features.