I met with two members of the LIFT program's hiring managers (financial analysts) at my university's spring career fair. I was very interested in AZ, and spent a solid ten minutes or so carrying on 1-on-2 with them. I STUPIDLY forgot to ask for either of their business cards; however, I did leave a copy of my resume with them.
After I left the career fair, I reviewed the companies that I had spoken with, and relived that I had forgotten to grab their business cards. I figured my chances were extremely slim, as follow-ups have always served me well - but two weeks later I received an email from one of the analysts I had met, asking if I would be interested in setting up an interview. Needless to say, I said yes.
Following that, they connected me with a finance HR rep who ultimately was the one that scheduled the date/time of my interview. The HR rep also gave me directions as to which building the interview would be at (the AZ campus is very large - six buildings or so.)
Anyways, the AZ campus is very very nice, and I was instantly impressed by the architecture and professionalism of everybody who works there. The company culture is business casual; but, they EXPECT you to come dressed in full professional attire for the interview.
In terms of the interview itself, it consisted of a panel of all three LIFT managers. This was my first interview with a panel greater than two, so I was a bit taken back; however, they were very friendly - quickly calming my nerves. They remembered me from the career fair, and we had a brief (30s - 1m) casual conversation before the actual interview began.
They will ask you for a high level (very general) overview of your work experience on your resume, followed by many behavioral based questions - expected to be answered in the STAR format. If you are not familiar with STAR format interviews, you MUST Google them. ALL AstraZeneca interviews are done in this format. Anyways, after the STAR questions, they asked me about my Excel skills (vlookups/hlookups, pivottables, etc.,) and if I had any experience with SAP and/or Hyperion. To be honest, I had no experience with either, and I told them that. I also did not know vlookups/hlookups or pivottables, and I told them that as well. I told them that while I had no experience, I wanted to learn, and was a quick learner.
To close the interview, they asked me if I had any questions - which of course I did. I highly suggest that you come up with a list of at least five, genuine questions - they appreciate them. Just make sure that they are not bogus questions (just being asked to say that you asked some questions.)
Anyways, I was contacted about 2-3 weeks later with an offer (non-negotiable.)
