r/ChemicalEngineering • u/the_originaI • 26d ago
Job Search ExxonMobil, Career Fair Prep/Interviews
Hey everyone. I’m currently a rising Sophomore. Exxonmobil is visiting sometime late September during the career fair and confirmed they’ll be taking applicants the day of and interviewing only a select few the day after.
Anything I can do to stand out? How should I approach them? Any and all advice would be extremely helpful.
I have an okay CV, just a few technical projects and community service. I also have a 4.0 GPA.
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u/peasNmayo 26d ago
If they have any info sessions or what-have-you, outside of job fair, where you can meet the recruiters and then see them again at job fair, that's your best shot. Some companies do this, some don't, but that's how I got one of my internship offers.
Good luck though!
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u/the_originaI 26d ago
Exxon doesn’t unfortunately, but Lockheed and a few other companies do (which is nice).
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u/the_originaI 25d ago
Just figured out Exxon and Valero do. It’s only for my organization that I’m in as well. Any way to capitalize on that?
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u/jmg219 26d ago
I had an internship my freshman year summer, met with Exxon at my career fair and had a great interaction, and had a 3.8 GPA & still didn’t get a follow up. Good luck! (& I sincerely mean that).
They are competitive as one of the biggest names in O&G. Their name recognition means they will get top tier talent naturally (mostly upperclassmen) and they will pick from that top tier talent.
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u/the_originaI 26d ago
Thank you! I figured it’s really competitive. Did any of your peers get any offers? Like, did any sophomores even go? I sincerely doubt another rising Sophomore had more experience than you.
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u/jmg219 26d ago
I don’t remember any one my grade get an offer our sophomore year.
Also, I’ll add I volunteered with a high school ministry multiple times a week during the school year so had a ton of service hours too. No bite on an offer.
I don’t mean to make it sound impossible, I just want you to know how competitive the market is, even more so for a big name company.
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u/the_originaI 26d ago
No issue, haha. I know now. I’ll make sure to go to most of the companies there and keep my list of interests long instead of trying to airball the top companies there with no safety net.
Thank you so much. Best of luck.
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u/hauntedkitchen 26d ago
The 4.0 gets you in the door and helps you stand out. Be able to speak to anything on your resume (especially any interesting projects or unique service opportunities). Be personable (people like to work with people they like). Don’t be afraid to ask about what they do in their role, their favorite things about the company, and what opportunities could look like. Go in with confidence and I’m sure you’ll do fine!
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u/hauntedkitchen 26d ago
They generally recruit for co-ops at each grade level as well as seniors for full time. The further you are in your schooling the more detailed technical questions they may ask
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u/the_originaI 26d ago
Thank you! This helps a lot. I’m definitely going to prepare really unique questions beforehand just so the recruiter might remember me.
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u/the_originaI 1d ago
Thank you for the advice. I was just invited to an interview during this upcoming week.
Everyone else (for some odd reason) gave useless advice and put me down, lmao.
Anyways, I think I’m going to get the internship since they took us out to lunch already and really had a great time. Thank you for the advice, they did ask a lot about my resume and experiences and tied it into specific questions.
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u/Ernie_McCracken88 26d ago
Have a very high GPA, aim for leadership roles in actual productive organizations (poetry club is fun, but president of student AICHe chapter is more impressive)
Develop confidant and assertive (but charismatic) communication.
Practice delivering answers to technical questions in a thorough and organized manner. Show an ability to break down complex topics while still answering them in full and delivering a technically accurate answer.
Your personality, academics, extracurriculars and interview performance should set you apart as someone in the 95th percentile vs. someone in the 85th percentile.
I went to a strong school (Michigan) and that's my best estimation of the probably 5/100 of my class that went to work for Exxon. Maybe academics could slip to only 93rd percentile since the top couple of students (by academics) went to elite PhD programs.
I don't work for Exxon but I do a lot of cross org Commercial stuff and work with Exxon and Exxon employees a lot. I'm probably not smart (or disciplined) enough to work for Exxon and I like the wild West of a midsize organization. They are a very regimented organization with a "way of doing things".
Don't invest all of your emotions/self worth in one organization. Cast a wide net, develop yourself, do you best, and be happy to secure any internship (or in the future, full time role) that you do land. Life and careers are long and if you work hard things tend to work out in the long run.
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u/One-More-User-Name Petrochemicals/30 years 26d ago
Read the annual report, the Corporate Plan Update, and the Global Outlook to 2050 (all on the website). Ask questions about the projects discussed and the results of the Global Outlook. Understand the organizational structure and how the different divisions relate to each other (upstream, downstream, technology). Think about which divisions interest you the most and be able to articulate why. In other words, do your homework and show the recruiters you are interested in the company enough to have done the homework. Don't just walk up and say, "Gee, I've heard you're a big company. What do you guys do?" That will put you ahead of many candidates, including some seniors.
Also, ExxonMobil uses the STAR interview methodology. Do some homework on the types of questions you might get and think about how you might answer them.
One more thing--the recruiters will be engineers (generally). They will not be HR hacks. Don't be afraid to ask questions that have technical aspects, assuming you can formulate them as only a rising sophomore.
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u/hazelnut_coffay Plant Engineer 26d ago
honestly, career fairs are just a train of students one after the other….. after the 10th one they all look pretty similar. try to distinguish yourself in some way. if you don’t have the CV for it then try to portray yourself as personable and someone that people WANT to work with. cracking some appropriate jokes is a good way to go about it.
ask questions about the internship. like what kind of roles are available and what you’d most likely go into. we like people who WANT to be there. go figure.
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u/the_originaI 26d ago
Apart of that has to be coming up early to the table and being one of the first few then I assume right?
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u/hazelnut_coffay Plant Engineer 26d ago
not necessarily. after a stream of boring students, getting to talk to someone w a personality is a nice change of pace and sets you apart.
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u/Altruistic_Web3924 26d ago
Meet with the recruiters. Get to know them on a first name basis. Tell them why you’re interested in ExxonMobil. Ask what they look for in potential candidates.
Getting an internship as a rising sophomore is very unlikely. Most will be rising seniors with a few rising juniors. If they are taking Co-Ops you will have a better chance with that.
Final bit of advice for any company: Even though entry-level positions are for people without prior experience, recruiters will always favor people with some prior experience in a relevant field. The reason for this is that inexperienced candidates can require a lot of guidance and supervision, which takes away from other people’s time to work. You’ll want to show them that you will take the initiative to learn and contribute independently, but also have enough wisdom to know when to seek help.
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u/desertedcamel 26d ago
Making some connections is always good, whether you get it this time or not. It's helpful in the long term.
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u/Zetavu 25d ago
Sign up for any and all on campus interviews, sophomore year is a bit early but these days you are also looking for potential internships and its a two way discussion. They are looking at potential candidates for jobs and internships, and you are looking for feedback on specific areas of study that would appeal to them. Initiative like this gets a second look later on.
Start with the career office for your school (chemistry or engineering, depending how they break it up). Guidance counselors typically will coach you on your resume. Make it professional, bullet points, one page, not wordy but to the point. Like others said, as a sophomore you probably won't get called but you get your name there and next year may get better. I take it you get to talk to the rep when you hand in your resume, that is your interview. Talk internships, what classes best represent that field. Ask them educated questions to make it seem you have researched them and are interested in working for them but also the industry (if not them their competitors). Again, may not get chosen this year but they typically send same recruiters year after year (usually a graduate from your school) and if you make a good impression now they will remember you next year (and make sure you remember their name for then).
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u/Ritterbruder2 26d ago
Good luck lol