I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at BAE Systems (Preston, North West England, England) in Feb 2019
Interview
Graduate Development Framework - Operations / Manufacturing & Production - Air - Samlesbury/Warton.
Video interview to pre-recorded questions, 30 seconds to prepare, 3 minutes to answer. Very general questions (not technical at all) and answer with confidence as that is what they are looking for. Write notes to help in the 30s but don't script as they can tell when your reading and it won't come as natural/confident. The 6 Questions they asked;
How do you keep up to date with advancements in your chosen field?
If you spot an issue, how do you decide to raise this with others?
Tell me about some everyday activities?
Do you think that your leadership always produces a good result?
How adaptable are you to change?
How do you feel when you face difficulties?
There was one question to start that wasn't assessed to practise in front of the camera. On the interview day they ask you a general question that isn't assessed, this is to gauge how confident/honest/personable you are and they use this as a baseline answer. They then score all these attributes in the rest of the strength-based questions from the baseline answer.
A really good interview atmosphere with friendly staff and interviewers. Just a strengths based interview followed by a technical interview taking roughly 40 mins each (time flies by). These are done in sequence in a room by two panelists (1 strength interviewer and 1 technical interviewer). Strength based you cant prepare for apart from having anecdotes about times you have shown certain attributes. Be genuine and have clear examples followed with what you thought of the situation reflecting back (good or bad). The panelists will probe you if needed which helps with confidence and to stop you panicking!
Everyone was friendly and make sure to chat with the other interviewees as people can always take note (receptionists etc) if great performance. There was a tour of the facilities followed by lunch and then home time. No group interview as they had changed the format that year. A shame as this is always a good opportunity to get involved. Again everyone was friendly and, as this was my first interview, was nowhere near as scary as I thought it would be, even for a company as big as BAE.
I would rate the interview as easy AS LONG as you have done your preparation about the business, your key skills and how they fit to the company, and the area your working in (as best you can). The interviews are more focused on you and how you fit in the company (this was all from the feedback i got from the company), but technical knowledge is required although this is not the 'be all and end all'. Its all about being personable and integrating into team with enthusiasm about the job.
Interview questions [6]
Question 1
How do you keep up to date with advancements in your chosen field?