Rio Tinto Interview Questions, Process, and Tips

Round: Test
Experience: Do not try to copy others’ answers in either round. It happened in IIT Kanpur, and, as a result, Rio Tinto did not recruit anyone at all.

Round: Group Activity
Experience: They provide a dynamic case study to a group of candidates and they are supposed to discuss the same to reach to a consensus.
Tips: Whatever happens, do NOT lose your cool. You’ll be chucked straight out. If arguing, be reasonable but assertive, and support with facts. If you see someone is quiet, ask them politely to speak up. It will be noted and appreciated. Remember, the topic can be pretty daunting, but it will be daunting for all. Don’t let this take away your confidence.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Wide array of HR questions are asked. (HR question details are available on DC++). Unlike some companies, RT does not take stress interviews. It will be friendly, but professional.
Tips: The importance of clarity in English cannot be overstated. Do not lie. Lying leads to hesitation, which leads to discomfort, which leads to losing of cool, which drastically increases your chances of screwing up.

General Tips: Once again, whatever you do, do not bluff. They are professionals, and have dealt with students across the globe. Moreover, in the scope of things, your impression and knowledge would matter way more than your resume. If you lie, not only will you be definitely caught and humiliated, but you would mess up the insti name and prospects of future grads.
Skills: Speaking skills, English proficiency
College Name: IIT KHARAGPUR

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I stressed a lot my internships that I did in Japan and Germany. I wrote about the impact that I had through my work on the company during my internship rather than getting into the technicality of the work. I just applied in one company and therefore prepared only one resume.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: In the first telephonic interview I was asked questions like:
Why do u want to join Rio Tinto?Why should Rio Tinto hire you?How will you help Rio Tinto develop sustainably?

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Then next we had our first face to face interview. It was mainly an HR (Human Resource) interview. Questions pretty much similar to those asked in the telephonic interview were asked again, in addition however they enquired about my family background, our strengths and weaknesses. The interview lasted for not more than 20 minutes.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: The next interview was kind of a technical plus HR interview. They were asking questions about Rio Tinto and about life in general, asking my view about certain facts. They asked me questions like ‘What do you do when you get up in the morning?’ and ‘What is the first thought that crosses your mind when you wake up in the morning?’ and so on.  The people who had come to interview us weren’t metallurgical engineers I guess and hence were not quite aware as to what to ask. They were not interested in recruiting a metallurgist.
In the next telephonic interview I was interviewed by a metallurgist from Australia. He worked in a diamond mine in Australia. He gave me a brief idea of what work does he exactly do there. At the end he asked me if given an option which sector would I prefer working in; optimization, team management or leading a team. I chose optimization because even during my internships I worked in this sector. This practically summarizes the whole telephonic interview.

In the last Interview, they asked me about my internships. They asked me to explain the work I did there. They asked me whether I was interested in a field job or wanted to venture into research. I made a mistake by replying that within the next 5 years I see myself working in research and development sector. This is why they waitlisted me, but eventually I got selected. The company recruited 6 people from IIT Roorkee.
Tips: People generally make a mistake by laying a lot of stress on their extra-curricular activities – this is what the company is not interested in knowing. Mentioning about these does help in a way, but one should lay more stress upon what impact you have had on the society and the on the institute through your activities. Also lay greater stress on your academic projects.During the interviews always ask questions to the interviewer which showcase your inquisitiveness and interest in the company.If ever in the interview you are asked whether you would go into the research sector, always reply with a no.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: I knew about the company before but not in great detail. I did not attend the pre-placement talk held by the company because I was almost convinced that I did not stand a chance to getting selected. Also I did not fulfil some of the pre-requisites set by the company like having industrial experience (during the internship) and also a driving license. Hence initially I did not find it necessary to know more about the company or the profile.

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I used only one resume for all the companies that I applied in. I mentioned about my extra-curricular activities and my projects with the projects relevant to the profile on offer getting higher priority.

Round: Test
Experience: The first round in Rio Tinto was an online written test. It was simple and had questions related o different situations and the response we will give to them. It was to check our personality.
Tips: The questions were sometimes tricky and would be repeated in a different format at a later stage in the question paper. So one should remember the answer he had marked earlier and should not contradict it.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The telephonic interview was mainly an HR interview. Since the posting offered would be a foreign posting the interviewer wanted to know the reason for my keen interest in joining Rio Tinto and whether my parents would approve my departure to a foreign land. Next the interviewer asked me about what I knew regarding the kind of work Rio Tinto was involved in and also the visions and goals the company aspired to achieve in the near future.
Then the interviewer asked me one question on my final B.Tech thesis project. The interview lasted for about 20 minutes.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The final round was the personal interview round. I was the first candidate to be interviewed. In this round again I was asked mostly HR questions, though some of my friends were grilled heavily on technical grounds as well (this I came to know about later). The technical questions asked to them were based on their areas of interest.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: I went through the company’s Wikipedia page and their website before appearing for the recruitment process of the company. Before appearing for the recruitment process of the company, make sure that you are aware about the company. Get to know where the headquarters are and what different businesses the company has.

Round: Test
Experience: Everyone who had applied was allowed to appear for a psychometric test. This was a test to determine whether the person is suitable for the position or not. A psychometric test is a way to analyze test taker’s personality traits by analyzing whether one’s response to a situation remains same if the same question has been put differently.
After the psychometric test there was a written test for the selected candidates. The test was simple and not so tough and had general questions from verbal ability, quantitative ability and logical reasoning. You just need to make sure you don’t commit silly mistakes and you will be able to clear the test easily.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: Next round was a group discussion which was like a group case study. The general theme of the case study is mentioned below.
Case Study based on the production capacity of a plant. Various variables were given along with target production of that day. The group had to discuss upon various issues and use the most optimum conditions keeping a right balance between target and safety requirements.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The personal interview had HR questions. The HR questions were nothing extra ordinary but the normal ones that are expected in any personal interview. They included details about me, my strengths and weaknesses, my long term and short term goals. Also they also asked me whether I would be able to adjust to field life easily.
Besides these questions they had few plant related questions. This was about the working of the plant and about how you are going to respond to a certain emergency situations if they arise. These were related to production, work culture and working of the labour union. Besides this there were questions about extraction of metal and in my case the metal was copper.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: Resume gives you an opportunity to provide information about yourself and also highlight those points which you want the company should focus upon.
Tips: When you prepare a resume scratch out all the irrelevant stuff because such irrelevant points might act as a hindrance in your selection. Thus have only relevant matter in the resume and also ensure that your project descriptions are very concise.

Round: Test
Experience: I did not prepare much for the written test. I gave very few written tests during the recruitment season. The written tests that i appeared for were logical reasoning and aptitude based tests.
The first step was to apply in the company. In the application form we had to write a short account of certain instances in which we worked as a part of a team and also to explain the importance of team work. There was a question in which we were asked to state as to why we wanted to join Rio Tinto. Lots of students applied to Rio Tinto – amongst them only 60 got short-listed for the interview rounds.
Tips: Be very truthful while answering these questions because these same questions would be asked to you during the telephonic interview as well as the personal interview. If you fake something in your application it becomes really difficult to cover it up during later stages.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The questions asked in the telephonic interview were based on the knowledge about the company and the different business sectors the company was involved in. One of the questions I was asked was ‘What does safety mean to you and give a situation where you were in a troubled situation but managed to avert any damage.’ The questions about the team work similar to the ones in the application form were asked. Lastly the interviewer asked me to specify the reason as to why I chose electrical engineering stream. No technical questions were asked in the telephonic interview.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The first personal interview was a one on one interview. It was more of a conversation than an interview. They repeated some of the questions from the earlier rounds like ‘Why do you want to join Rio Tinto?’ and ‘Why did you choose electrical engineering stream?’ Then the interviewer asked a very strange question, he asked me to share my knowledge about Australia.
Then they moved over to asking me question like would I be able to survive the intense climatic conditions in Australia and whether my family would allow me to leave India and work in a foreign country. They also asked me to specify in what sector I would prefer working as an electrical engineer – (power sector or the maintenance sector).

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: The second interview was taken by a panel of interviewers. They asked a few technical questions like ‘How would you compensate for low power factor?’ The technical questions were asked from the points and projects mentioned in the resume. Since I had been working on power quality, majority of the questions were asked from that topic.
In my resume I had specified an event; one of the interviewers asked me that if I had to revisit that event then what changes I would incorporate in that event to make it better.
Tips: For technical questions I gained some basic knowledge about the fields in which the company was involved in. For instance, if one is applying in a company which is involved in machining activities then the person should have a good knowledge about electrical machines.For HR questions I ensured that I remain cool and calm during the interview. I knew that during the HR interviews simply blabbering out some prepared answers would not be conducive to the chances of my selection, but on the contrary I’d have to put my confidence on showcase while answering these questions to make an impression.
Brush up on knowledge of AC and DC machines, power quality and circuit breakers.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: The profile offered is not very clear as of now. But the work would be that of an electrical engineer. The work as far as I know has mainly to do with PLC programming, stuff involving SCARTA and maintenance work.I went through the company’s Wikipedia page and their website before appearing for the recruitment process of the company. Before appearing for the recruitment process of the company make sure that you are aware about the company. Get to know where the headquarters are and what different businesses the company has.

Round: resume shortlisting
Experience: You need to answer 3 questions as a part of application process. Spend a lot of time answering those questions. You’ll also be sending your CV in this stage. I was asked various questions like why Rio Tinto, what are the products of Rio Tinto, where is it operating in India, etc. There was also a question based on sustainability development in mining companies.
Tips: The last thing you would want in your application is a spelling mistake. Review those 3 questions as many times as possible. Be very specific in your answers. Go through the company website, wikipedia and other material for information about the company. Your answers should show that you are genuinely interested in the company and that you have done research about them beforehand.

Round: phone interview
Experience: All the questions were HR oriented.
Tips: Be very loud and clear during the call. If you don’t understand anything, don’t hesitate to ask the interviewer to repeat the question. Give an alternative phone number along with your mobile number and make sure you have that mobile also with you during the stipulated time of the interview.

Round: Test
Experience: They are very easy when compared to other companies. You need not worry about them. There will be a big personality questionnaire that you need to answer.
Tips: Don’t lie much but make sure that your personality that you are projecting matches with the company’s requirement.

Round: Interview
Experience: Almost all the questions were HR oriented. My interview lasted around 45 mins, though it was quite less for others. A few questions are the same as the phone interview. Most of the questions asked were test the personality of the candidate.
Tips: Don’t be nervous and shy during the interview. Be honest, don’t lie. Try to show that you can adopt to new environments very easily. Talk about your foreign intern or any other international experience you have had. Mention your leadership and team work skills wherever possible. Prepare for HR questions. Talk to as many alumni as possible and make sure that you mention it during the interview. The interviewer might ask you if you have any questions about the company or job profile. Prepare a few smart questions for this. Have some sense of humor. In my case the interviewer was laughing for almost all the time.

Round: Interview
Experience: This is the final stage and a few students will be shortlisted based on performance in the first interview. This interview is very short. The interviewer told me that they just want to take a 2nd opinion on the candidate before confirming the offer. There might be some technical questions along with questions based on your resume. A few questions asked in the first round might be repeated.
Tips: If you make it to this round it means you did good till now. So be confident and show the same enthusiasm during this interview also. Be very thorough with each and every line in your resume. Don’t exaggerate too much about the projects and interns in your CV. I know someone who got rejected as he exaggerated about his work in the internship and could not explain that during the interview. You’ll need to ask some questions about the work profile in this round as well. So prepare some good number of questions.

College Name: IIT-Kharagpur