Nexen Interview

[urbannomad]

Hi everyone,

I have a nexen co-op interview coming up really soon, and was hoping someone has gone through the same process. I wanted to get some feedback on what the Interview will be like. It's for a spring position and i really don't want to mess it up, I really want to be prepared for this! Any help/guidance from you guys would mean a lot!
UN

[R-Audi]

Be ready for lots of questions about everything.. and bring a copy of your transcripts. I interviewed with them after graduation, and they were the only ones who asked about grades and exstra-curricular activities..

[Manhattan]

They were also the only company that started off the interview with "Tell me what you know about our company." It threw me off because I had a ton of interviews and nobody else had asked that.

[em2ab]

Google the company and find out some things you can discuss with the interviewer. If they just won an award for something or got recognition for being in the Fortune 500, mention it in the interview that you came across it.
Also get the name of the guy interviewing you and Google him to find out what he likes, play on that in the interview. I do that all the time, chances are he's interviewing you too. And don't leave your Facebook profile as public, they'll rake through it. I have a video on my profile of me doing a Rubik's Cube and when I got to an interview 2 years ago, they put one on the table in front of me and said, "Go."

But if you end up working there, let me know how you like using the software I wrote!

[FreakinPrince]

that is nuts!!! are you serious?!? they actually put one on the table and told you go?


fucken pricks

[em2ab]

Originally posted by FreakinPrince
that is nuts!!! are you serious?!? they actually put one on the table and told you go?


fucken pricks

Ya, but it was one of the Dollar Store jobs so it took me a little longer but I got it. Kind of funny actually.

[momofan]

facebook....it will come back to bite you in the ass

[turbotrip]

I know for the engineering co-op jobs they asked quite a few technical questions, so u might wanna be prepared for that.

[vtec4life]

Great company, I did a term there last summer and plan on going back in the spring!

Good luck on the interview

[malcolmk14]

Originally posted by em2ab
Google the company and find out some things you can discuss with the interviewer. If they just won an award for something or got recognition for being in the Fortune 500, mention it in the interview that you came across it.
Also get the name of the guy interviewing you and Google him to find out what he likes, play on that in the interview. I do that all the time, chances are he's interviewing you too. And don't leave your Facebook profile as public, they'll rake through it. I have a video on my profile of me doing a Rubik's Cube and when I got to an interview 2 years ago, they put one on the table in front of me and said, "Go."

But if you end up working there, let me know how you like using the software I wrote!

Which software?

[Dumbass17]

Originally posted by em2ab
And don't leave your Facebook profile as public, they'll rake through it. [/B]
funny
i just blocked access to mine
i have embarassing stuff on there haha

[urbannomad]

Great feedback guys!

HAHA, not to worry about facebook, I keep it minimalist. ;)

I am worried about what they'll ask me, i.e. grades. I have done pretty shitty for my first two years, and changed faculties and have done well since then. I'm doing something I like, but i wouldn't want that to hinder my chances.

em2ab, I'll keep a lookout for that.

[badatusrnames]

What type of position is this for? ENGG, Accounting?

[urbannomad]

Originally posted by badatusrnames
What type of position is this for? ENGG, Accounting?

It's ACCT/Marketing

[badatusrnames]

Originally posted by urbannomad


It's ACCT/Marketing

Good... you're not the competition. Lol

[urbannomad]

Originally posted by badatusrnames


Good... you're not the competition. Lol
:thumbsup:
What did you apply for?

[urbannomad]

Also, Suit? Yes or No? I kinda want to wear a suit, but have had people tell me just wear what the workers usually wear?

[w_man]

Wear a suit .. I contract out to various different oil and gas companies and I have seen many guys getting the axe cuz they were too casual looking/acting during their interviews. I remember for my job I showed up in a suit for a programming job but my manager was in jeans. It just shows that A. you are presentable if need be and B. you are taking this job seriously.

Just my .02

[ApexDrift]

why risk it do the suit... lets say you dont get the job at least you dont have to ask yourself if you werent dress accordingly :thumbsup:

[urbannomad]

Originally posted by w_man
Wear a suit .. I contract out to various different oil and gas companies and I have seen many guys getting the axe cuz they were too casual looking/acting during their interviews. I remember for my job I showed up in a suit for a programming job but my manager was in jeans. It just shows that A. you are presentable if need be and B. you are taking this job seriously.

Just my .02
YES!

A man who thinks like me.
Cheers

[turbotrip]

no suit!

[urbannomad]

Originally posted by turbotrip
no suit!
If you say that, Care to explain?

[em2ab]

I say no suit as well. You're going in for a summer co-op, not a permanent director position. I work in oil and gas and I wear to my interview what I no wear to work every day.....dress pants and a dress shirt with no tie and no coat. Oil and gas companies are not the most serious of companies, they're hardly serious at all. People have a sense of humour, Fridays are casual days (if you work at all) and most likely in the office things are pretty relaxed. We do a lot of work with Nexen and they don't seem to bad. I strongly suggest no suit.

Also take a spin by the place the night before to familiarize yourself with the route, where to park and even take a walk through to see what other people are wearing. Nobody knows what you look like anyway right?

And not having experience is not as important as being enthusiastic about the work/company. I never saw .NET in my life and never once opened Visual Studio, I didn't even know how to use it. Now that's what I do as a job and when I was asked in my interview how good I am with it I said, "From 1-10........zero. But the reason I'm here is because I've been wanting to learn it and I'm hoping this can help me with that." I ended up getting the job.

[em2ab]

Originally posted by malcolmk14


Which software?

Trango/Well/Geo Manager and also Expo. I know Nexen uses it.

[HP2133]

Clothes do not make one, but they sure can break one


If I see dreads, dirty fingernails, piercings visible, unclean clothes or shoes - those give me a glimpse into their lifestyle. Any employer that respects themselves avoid those in a candidate, as when one respects themselves they would treat work with respect also.

[em2ab]

Originally posted by HP2133
Clothes do not make one, but they sure can break one


If I see dreads, dirty fingernails, piercings visible, unclean clothes or shoes - those give me a glimpse into their lifestyle. Any employer that respects themselves avoid those in a candidate, as when one respects themselves they would treat work with respect also.
Unless you were born in the 1920s this shouldn't apply anymore. Piercings and dreads say nothing about a person's character, I have my helix, tongue and dathe pierced, all visible in an interview and I take my work very seriously. I know there are exceptions but I've never seen an instance where someone who fits your criteria just falls apart in the workplace.

[mdeluxe]

it will probably be a behavioral interview... like " tell me about a time when you..." "give me a example when you showed..."

its pretty informal as long as you dress nice and are confident in your answers... you should do well.


I had a Shell one a few years back.. and they asked those questions... just make sure you have an answer or make it up at the very least.

[bubbley]

You dont need to wear a damn suit...dress shirt/pants and tie will do

[mdeluxe]

Originally posted by em2ab
Google the company and find out some things you can discuss with the interviewer. If they just won an award for something or got recognition for being in the Fortune 500, mention it in the interview that you came across it.
Also get the name of the guy interviewing you and Google him to find out what he likes, play on that in the interview. I do that all the time, chances are he's interviewing you too. And don't leave your Facebook profile as public, they'll rake through it. I have a video on my profile of me doing a Rubik's Cube and when I got to an interview 2 years ago, they put one on the table in front of me and said, "Go."

But if you end up working there, let me know how you like using the software I wrote!

If you do it all the time, might not be the way to go then. ;)

[Eleanor]

MAKE THE INTERVIEWER LAUGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, I've done it every interview and I've never had an interview without a job offer following it. It doesn't need to make them snort milk out their nose or anything, just make a little clean joke or remark near the start and it relaxes both parties right off the bat.

I've found that technical skills are secondary to people skills for interviewers. They're not going to ask you about depreciation or any of that BS in the interview, they want to see how you deal with people.

And yeah, as other people have mentioned, find out about the company before hand. Just poke around their website before the interview and learn about what they do and what's going on in the company.

For clothes, wear dress shirt & pants, don't worry about a coat or a tie. And for the guy who said something about piercings, it doesn't really come into play. The guy I'm working for who's a regional manager at a big energy company has tons of piercings and kind of looks like the lead singer of Linkin Park. It isn't as big of a deal as it used to be.

[em2ab]

Originally posted by mdeluxe
If you do it all the time, might not be the way to go then. ;)
Funny guy!

Originally posted by Eleanor
MAKE THE INTERVIEWER LAUGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, I've done it every interview and I've never had an interview without a job offer following it. It doesn't need to make them snort milk out their nose or anything, just make a little clean joke or remark near the start and it relaxes both parties right off the bat.
I agree completely. I had an interview 3 months ago where the guy had Googled me and said, "Oh, you got a dead link on your website there, might want to fix that." I came back with, "Really? I liked the Christmas card you and your wife sent out last year." Three of us bust out laughing, I got offered the job 18 hours later. Making them laugh can't hurt and usually will put you ahead of people who know a little more than you but can't deal with people.

[xtrader101]

I say wear a suit for an accounting position.

In all my interviews with PetroCan, Encana, Syncrude, and CNRL, I wore a suit and I got offered by three of them. I am currently on work term with PetroCan and will start with CNRL next May. I respectfully declined Syncrude because it is in Fort Mac.

By the way, all the positions are in the accounting and finance field.

[kaput]

.

[idriveabox]

wear a suit and tie. It's an interview.

I've interviewed at Nexen for co-op as well.

[Civ2NR]

Tell them you'd like to apply for Charlie Fischer's old job instead.

Definitely wear a suit and tie. All my friends that work there wear tie's everyday so you won't look out of place wearing it in your interview.

[momofan]

are you kidding? suit and tie? Some of the IT bosses don't even wear suits and ties. It's all Haggar pants and golf shirts in the accounting and IT dept.

[urbannomad]

Thanks for the feedback. Really appreciate it, I really do! :thumbsup:

I had the interview, It was good, They didn't tell me beforehand that it would be a panel interview, but i've done them before. no biggie.
The people were great, and yes, I wore a suit. I told them that I really wanted the spot and was REALLY interested in the position. About 5-7 people interviewed or in the process of interviewing, let's just pray i get it. I talked about about fischer, Lake Long, they asked me If i knew anything technical, I joked about my dad frantically trying to pump info in my head, made them laugh (my ammo). They taught me a couple things, and it seemed like a good interview. Let's just hope for the best. Nothing really technical, :thumbsup:

Again, thanks for the input.

I chatted with some other CEO who had a meeting and was waiting in the lobby :bigpimp: , Now THAT was a boost in confidence prior to the interview haha.

[dr_jared88]

I always wear a suit and tie for interviews. As the saying goes, It's better to be over dressed, then under dressed. If you arrive early, which you should and notice that you are way overdressed and feel uncomfortable, you can always go back to your car and take the jacket and tie off. The thing I like most about wearing my suit is that I feel that I'm that much better then the competition making the interview go that much smoother on my end.

On top of that dressing up shows you are serious about the job and not just any guy walking in. I have never heard of someone getting turned down because he is too dressed up. The only time I maybe wouldn't wear a suit and tie is for a retail/fast food interview but even then I would wear a dress shirt and dress pants.

[Casa]

Originally posted by momofan
are you kidding? suit and tie? Some of the IT bosses don't even wear suits and ties. It's all Haggar pants and golf shirts in the accounting and IT dept.

always overdress than underdress. It shows you come prepared and you'll look much more professional.

[Eleanor]

urbannomad, were any of the interviewers wearing suits or ties?

[urbannomad]

Originally posted by Eleanor
urbannomad, were any of the interviewers wearing suits or ties?

The other "candidates" that i met with were graduating and looking for full time positions and they were dressed fairly casually (dress pants/dress shirts) from out of town also. I do not know how my compettition was dressed...well, because; I never met them!