These interviews with Eli Lilly took place on my college's campus. I signed up for the first round interview with Eli Lilly through my on-campus career center. The first round consisted of two Lilly employees from the region near my university. They each had a computer in front of them. One of them read off basic interview questions consisting of my greatest accomplishment during my college career, why I wanted to work for Lilly, and what difficult decision I had to make during my college career. The other interviewer typed up notes on my responses and asked questions whenever she wanted clarification. This round was laid back and they were friendly and welcoming to my comments and answers.
They told me I would receive a call either later that day or the following day about whether or not I had made it to the next round of interviews. They also told me the next round would take place the following week. I did not hear back until about five days later when a campus recruiter who worked in the career center emailed me to schedule my second round interview some time that week.
The second round interview was obviously more difficult and not quite as laid back, however, the Lilly employees were still friendly. The lady in the career center told me that usually there were three interviewers during the second round, but this time around there were only two and she did not know the reasoning for that. At the beginning of the interview the two employees explained to me that they would have to come to a consensus over me as to whether or not I would move on to the next step in the hiring process. Throughout this interview, the employees again asked me basic interview questions, but they also pulled out specific items or sections from my resume and recommendation letter and questioned me on them. One of the interviewers even somewhat undermined my reasoning for wanting to work for Lilly and my degree choice. They also focused a lot on relocation and did not agree with my choice to want to stay in the region near my home. These interviewers really took all of my responses to their questions and turned them around to ask more in-depth questions. It was definitely more nerve-racking than the previous interview and was a little uncomfortable at times, but I understand that it was designed this way to test my ability to handle difficult and somewhat uncomfortable situations.
In the end they complimented my qualifications and interview ability and said that I would hear from them later that day in regards to whether or not I would be receiving a job offer. I did not hear from them until the next morning when I received a call. The gentlemen explained to me that he had enjoyed talking to me and felt that I was an extremely qualified candidate, but they, unfortunately, could not come to a consensus over me and were unable to offer me a position at this time. I was disappointed to hear this but cannot say enough about the quality of the interview process and how much respect I have for the company as a whole for calling me to let me know I would not be receiving an offer.
Overall, it was a well-structured interview process and an amazing opportunity where I received great take-away interview experience that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my job search.
