Your interview, the assessment centre and our selection criteria
Your interview, the assessment centre and our selection criteria
If we are won over by your application, we would like to get to know you personally and also give you the opportunity to find out more about the position and us. At Volkswagen, we do this by conducting on-site interviews or video interviews over the Internet as well as our recruitment days (assessment centre) for experienced professionals and applicants for our trainee programme.
Nice to meet you
We typically invite you to come to us. As soon as we have arranged a suitable date with you for the interview, you will receive an online invitation from the department or the responsible personnel officer. This invitation also contains the location of the interview and generally a description of how to get there. Please register with the staff at the security checkpoint on the day of the interview by simply showing them your printed invitation.
This is what happens
Your conversation partners are from the relevant department and Human Resources. During the interview your attention will be drawn to special assessment criteria, starting with you introducing yourself by describing your career. You have 3 to 5 minutes to do this. Biographical-related questions follow, for example in relation to successes/failures and how you dealt with these. You will frequently be asked for specific examples of how you reacted so that we can get an insight into your decision-making ability. We would also like to know a little about your professional goals. Depending on the department and future role, criteria-based questions are then asked, for example on the topic of team work.
What is important to us
When selecting applicants we like to see who best suits us both technically and personally. To do this we want to find out some things about you like ...
- … which values you are typically guided by.
- … whether you approach topics a little differently than the norm.
- … how you interact with others.
- … how you manage complex situations.
- … whether you can take on responsibility and challenge yourself.
In addition, we always expect all of our employees to act with integrity.
Recruitment day
Candidates who have impressed us particularly during the application procedure for the StartUp Direct and StartUp Cross programmes will be invited to a special recruitment day, known as the assessment centre. This one-day assessment centre (AC) generally takes place in Wolfsburg and is conducted in German or – if the position is of an international nature – also in English if appropriate.
Prepared for anything: 10 professional tips for your interview
Go through questions with friends or relatives that could be put to you in an interview or that you might like to ask yourself.
Have a good breakfast, but don’t eat anything too heavy. Professionals recommend bananas for example.
Leave plenty of time for travel so that you are more relaxed when you arrive. Take account of train delays or traffic jams, such as a family of ducks waddling out onto the road.
Read your favourite book or listen to music while travelling. This can help you calm your nerves.
Water is best.
And now: breathe deeply. For example, take a little walk as part of your journey to the interview.
Make sure that you freshen up again before the interview. This will improve your concentration.
Be aware that everybody at Volkswagen was also once in your position – this includes those conducting the interview.
Remember that you have been asked for an interview on account of your qualifications.
And finally: your interviewers are professionals. They know that being nervous is all part of the interview process.
