The interview was fairly straight forward. It started with a phone interview, mostly HR related, followed by an in person interview, which was also mostly HR related. I then met with various different managers within the organization who talked quite a bit about the org chart, but didn't have a whole lot to ask me about. The managers of the organization seemed very interested in how one felt about the culture of the group, but I didn't feel like they cared too much about my technical expertise. The group interview was mostly a chat session with not a whole lot of technical questioning. There were a few questions, such as - "whiteboard a method to take a string and return it's reverse", or "what is the difference between pass by reference and pass by value", but nothing more difficult than that. To be fair, this was a junior position I was interviewing for, and as such, I suppose they may have been going easy on me. The panel was made up of 5 developers which (to me) was probably the most difficult part. I felt like I was running into the gauntlet entering the room, but, despite the ties and conservative atmosphere, all of the developers were friendly and helpful. It's almost as if they liked me and wanted me to succeed. I only say this because, although there are many negative reviews of the corporate atmosphere of PACCAR, I wouldnt want a new developer to pass this up just because they felt intimidated. The people of PACCAR are awesome and fun people to work with.
Words of advice to a potential interviewee -
- Study up on the history of PACCAR. They are very proud of thier history and thier accomplishments. You will be asked questions about what PACCAR has done and where PACCAR is going.
- Be prepared to step out of your comfort zone on a regular basis.
- If you like facial hair, unlike it.
- If you dislike suits and ties, un-dislike them.
- Speak with confidence at all times.