re: Interviewing as a process operator

French?

Nope. German.

I’m currently an operator at a major and was previously an operator at a smaller company.

I’m in my mid twenties and just got into the industry after finishing ptec about 4 years ago.

The interview will be majority behavioral based questions. They want to hear stories about how your previously reacted to certain situations that you might run into on the future.

Depending on the company, you might get a couple technical questions (Dow Chemical typically ask a few) if you don’t know be honest, they will know if you try and bs your way through. Just say you don’t know but would love to learn.

There are a few questions that have been asked in all 4 of the ops jobs I interviewed for:

Template: Tell me about a time when _ how did you react and what was the outcome

- You were given a heavy work load with a limited time frame that would not allow you to finish everything

- There was a workplace conflict between two coworkers, what did you do, what was the outcome

- A time when you saw something unsafe in the workplace, what did you do

- You had to lead a group on a project or task at work

- You had a difficult time learning/understanding a specific process or procedure in the workplace

- You had to troubleshoot something in the workplace

You will definitely get the “Tell me about yourself” and “Why do you want to be an operator”

Be prepared for a panel of 3-6 people that will likely be made up of operations, engineering, management and HR personnel. Just go in with the intent to answer questions honestly and you won’t be that nervous.

Bring a copy of your resume for each interviewer (can be up to 6). I always bring a binder with notepad and pen and write down a few details when they give me a chance to ask them questions (always be prepared to ask at least 2 questions)

quote:

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If you get the job, please be clear when you write the work order for a piece of equipment to be fixed, so I can at least go find it to plan for you.

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Our maintenance coordinator gets annoyed by my over detailed work orders. I often exaggerate and say it’s “unsafe” and is “drastically reducing production”

Good luck man.

Just remember most people miss on two or three interviews before actually getting the job.

I interviewed at Shell and Dow for internships when I was still in school and missed on both. That got me the experience I needed to ace my next interview with a small chemical company.

After a year moved up to one of the majors for the pay, pension plan and 401k match

quote:

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Pay and benefits are the reason you’re there. Don’t pretend this is charity work. Ask about them.

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It’s okay to ask about starting pay and how pay progression works. Just don’t put a lot of emphasis on it. You can find most of the info on Glassdoor anyway

frick em in the neck. Mother frickers

This is why my facility puts its best/most experienced operators on special assignment for shutdown planning

The hardest part of the job is being disciplined when it comes to the rotating shift work.

constantly having to “fix” your sleep schedule is a pain in the arse