Schlumberger Field Engineer Interview Questions and Answers for Freshers

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: There were 9 people in a group and an abstract topic was given. Thinking time 10 sec and discussion for 10 minutes.
Tips: You have to be well prepared for abstract topics and creative enough to give a different perspective.
Read newspapers regularly.
Duration: 10 minutes

Round: Group Activity
Experience: 6 people in a group were asked to make a movable structure from the given manual. We were given 10 seconds to view it, The total time was 15 minutes including the time to present, sell and add further points.
our group made a swing with lego sets and then i was asked to explain its shortcomings. I also suggested that we can use the given 4 wheels to make that product portable. I was selected among 25 candidates.

Round: Technical Interview
Experience: It went on for 20 minutes and there was a single panel of 4 members. I was initially nervous, but I was fine after a while. One of them asked me if i was tired. I said that I was rather excited. Then they said that they were tired so I was asked to entertain them. i shared a few incidents of mine. and my internship also. I drew down my designs. they were impressed.
But they said that I got a very dynamic personality and may nit be fit for the job profile. I understood that they were asking me 'why this company?' I answered that I never had fixed timetable in my entire day at IITK for 5 years, and that Schlumberger also had a flexible routine. They asked whether I knew anyone working there. I had the entire list. They asked me what would I do if I was given 10 million dollars. I understood that the question pointed out to my long term goals. I was truthful with my asnwers.
They asked about my family and then asked if I had any questions.

General Tips: Do consult your seniors.
Start early on your resume and prepare GDs, Mock interviews and tests within groups.
Do not set a particular company as a target because if you are not selected, that may lead to depression, which can kill your time and attitude. Do not give in to panic.
Do not take things for granted and don't demotivate anyone.
College Name: IIT KANPUR
Motivation: Found the brand name and the work culture good, and with a handsome salary.

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I had a standard resume for this company as per our institute placement cell norms. I usually changed my “Areas of Interest” as per the company profile. For Schlumberger I laid emphasis on extracurricular activities and especially on any achievements related to sports.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The final round was the interview round and almost all the questions were HR questions. I was asked questions like ‘We’ll be posting you across some of the harshest terrains across the globe, would you be able to survive under such rigorous conditions?’ From my resume they upheld a notion that I was a “mama’s boy” and surviving under such distressing conditions won’t be possible for me. I tried to convince them about my vigour of surviving in difficult conditions but to no avail. I wasn’t selected for a job by the company.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: Most of the information regarding the company was obtained by attending the Pre Placement Talk. It was really informative as it told what the company actually does as well as the working conditions.

Round: Resume Shortlist
Experience: I had a standard resume for this company as per our institute placement cell norms. Resume is one of the most important parts in placement preparation. A student should dedicate at least 3-4 days for resume preparation. I specifically highlighted my extracurricular with facts and figures and tried to write about my projects in short as my technical knowledge was poor. I used to change my “Area of Interests” as well as subjects studied according to the company. I tried to write those field as my interests in which I had thorough knowledge. Schlumberger looks for people with all round performance and specially if you are into sports its a added advantage.
Tips: Try to include details about your achievements in sports.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: The final round was an interview. There were two interviewers, one was an IIT Roorkee alumni and other was a senior personnel from one of their foreign offices. They were trying to make it a stress interview. I remained very cheerful throughout the interview and this helped me a lot I guess.
The first question was regarding my look (I keep a bald head). I defended it by saying that I am confident and hence I like it. After hearing that I am from Bhopal, they gave me a virtual situation to answer. They asked me what I would do if I am posted in Sudan and the Sudanese people hate Indians. Additionally I had to keep in mind that I am just a six month old recruit in Schlumberger and there are around eight senior employees who are from Sudan. My first response to such a situation was that I would ask for a replacement. He laughed at me and told me that it is not a solution. Then I explained to him that I would try to make my fellow workers understand that may be Indians are good at something and it is because of this we are called for such jobs. I also told him that I would tell them about our history and that we Indians are a very peaceful race and haven’t had wars for thousands of years. He then asked me if I was trying to project that Indians are superior to other races to which I replied no. I said that we are first humans and then citizens of some country and because of the upbringing we may be good at something while others may be better at something else. I said the same thing in different ways twice or thrice, so the Indian guy interrupted me and asked whether I have a habit of speaking too much. To this I said that yes and also told him that this might be because I am a bit stressed out. He literally shouted that I am boring as hell but I was still laughing.
He then moved on to my resume and asked me about my intern in detail and also asked me about my extracurricular activities. On hearing about all this he said that I look like a guy who would go for an MBA and leave Schlumberger within a period of 2 years. I responded that I had never had such thoughts and I would like to experience industry culture for few years. He also asked where I see myself in five years to which I gave a lucid and simple reply.
The foreigner asked that being an Indian I would be strongly attached to my family and asked would my father have any issues if I go outside. The Indian asked whether I had a girlfriend and would she have a problem if I was to go out. To all this I replied that they would have a problem initially but they are all educated individuals and they know that it is part and parcel of professional life to move out of a place/country and eventually they would be able to adjust accordingly.The interview concluded with me asking few questions related to profile and Schlumberger culture.

College Name: IIT ROORKEE
Motivation: Many of my seniors work at Schlumberger. They were the main source of information about the company and the kind of work there.

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: I chipped in 3-4 times. My points were accepted by the group in general. Also I expressed my support and extended a point mentioned by another person in the group. It was a decent discussion with very little arguments or chaos.
Tips: Be patient. Listen to what others have to say. Make sure that whatever you say is relevant and adds value to the
discussion, no matter how fewer words you speak.

Round: Group Activity
Experience: A group of 7 students were given 3 minutes to choose a design for a toy car. 7 minutes to implement it from memory and another 5 minutes to sell it to the invigilators.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: It started with tell me something about yourself. In my answer I mentioned that I want to do a field job from where the next series of questions came. Why a field job? Why not an office job? Why not higher studies? Why not MBA? How long do you plan to stay in the field? How do you think you will be able to do it after say 3 years when you plan to settle down? What has been your involvement in campus? Tell in brief 3 initiatives you took as the president of the hostel. Are you afraid of water? Do you swim? Do you have any relatives in the oil field? What companies did you interview with? I answered the questions honestly. After 2-3 rounds of cross questioning, every time I was able to give them a reason for a particular choice I made.

General Tips: I was sure that I do not want to go for higher studies just after IIT, but still gave GRE thinking that after 2 years I may apply. Because of the same reason, I ruled out the option for CAT and GMAT and chose to do a job. Now looking at the list I have mentioned in the companies I interviewed with, it becomes apparent that I did not decide which sector to go for. But it was not like that. I realized that it was not possible for me to try my hand at every option I had. So, I decided to prepare for core and consulting. Consulting because what I learnt from seniors I thought I would enjoy it and core because it was one area I thought I had a good grip on and was easier to prepare. For core, you can revise some of the basics of courses like EE 370, EE 610, C/C++, VHDL/Verilog (try to do it a little bit early as during the placement semester a lot of other things will take up your time). Also you should be thorough with your internship and thesis. You can easily impress the interviewer in these areas if you have a good hold on them. To prepare for consulting, I read a few cases by myself (a whole bunch of consulting guides are available on the SPO placement portal). Then attended the mock sessions organized by the consulting club. Also formed groups of three to practice more case studies. Because of inadequate reading I think I lacked a basic practical approach as compared to my peers. I was bad at guess estimates in particular and prayed till the last day that I may not face one. Resume is also a very important aspect in your preparation. Prepare it well in advance, take feedback from a couple of seniors working in that particular sector and do incorporate those changes which you think will help improve its impact on the recruiter. Practice is the only way out to crack GD’s and tests. Don’t do too much of it either. First and foremost try to find out what kind of a job you would want to do by gathering information by reading about it yourself, talking to people working in that industry, matching it with your priorities and your long term goals. It sounds difficult but trust me it’s better to do some thinking now then to regret later.

Prepare your resume well. Even if it is a small point in your resume be prepared to speak at least 2-3
meaningful sentences about it.


No matter however trivial it seems, please do not rush with whatever you are saying. First think and develop a strong argument to support your statement. Also please try to avoid any preconceived notions you might have formed during preparation time to interfere with your attitude on the final day. Stay focused to answer the question asked to you then.


No matter what do not speak until you are sure, but once you are don't change your answer until and unless the interviewer points out the flaw in your assumption.

Be genuine and sound convincing. Once you take a stand, be firm on it no matter whatever extreme situations the interviewer throws on you. Start reading about whatever sector interests you. It’s never too early to start. Prior knowledge will count a lot not only in your preparations but will also help you in making better decisions about what you want. As it will happen, some interviews will go good some bad, don't get disheartened because no good will come out of it. Moreover, you will spoil the next interviews. Go with a smile in every interview and be yourself. Just think about doing well in this interview and nothing else. Hope you make the most out of the time and resources you have and enjoy as well.
College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Test
Experience: I was also shortlisted for Schlumberger but could not make it through the interviews. But, was finally placed in Coca-Cola.
Tips: If you are preparing for a core job then make sure you revise your core courses either in the summers or before because you might not get sufficient time during the semester and do it thoroughly as they would be highly beneficial for the technical interview.

General Tips: From the beginning itself I was involved a lot in extracurricular activities:
1. I was involved in Roboclub,
2. Coordinated Robogames in Techkriti,
3. Was a part of Boeing Abhyast Phase 2 and 3,
4. Did 2 summer projects under roboclub, also organized robotics workshop in schools as a representative of a startup in robotics.
I did an internship in Nokia Research Centre, University of California Berkeley.
College Name: IIT KANPUR

Round: Group Discussion
Experience: There will be an initial shortlist for GD. Its a simple GD, with probably 8-10 people and there will be 2 or 3 co-reps judging you. My topic was something like: Whether a consumer is the dominating force in the market (I don’t remember it exactly but basically you had to justify if consumer was the ultimate deciding factor in the market. It was simple.
Tips: Skills Reqd: General communication skills and some general knowledge to give examples for supporting your arguments. You should be able to function in a group under stressful conditions. Too much jargon? What I mean to say is that just stay calm and show some leadership in dividing work and prepare some answers together. Questions: While marketing your car you need to mention some salient features in agreement to you. Do’s: The general GD rules apply, sit straight, talk clearly, look pleased and pretend you’re enjoying the discussion! On a serious note, give others a chance to speak and try to “moderate” the discussion Don’ts: Don’t start babbling something without thinking, don’t be argumentative rather justify why you wouldn’t agree with some point. Your opening sentence should not be conclusive: I agree or disagree with this topic.

Round: Group Activity
Experience: People shortlisted for Phase 2 were divided into groups of 5. In each set, 2 groups of people entered the interview room and were seated in opposite corners. It was a 1+1+10+5 minute round and they handed us a Mechanix play set with its manual. In the first minute, we had to choose a car design, in second min we had to decide among ourselves who will make which car parts. We had 10 mins to complete the design and then we had to market our car to the other group in the remaining 5 minutes. They were allowed to ask questions on our designs and express their opinions about our answers.
Tips: Do’s: Its important to be heard by the interviewer hence make valid points through out the activity. Be nice to your team members, decide on certain points which you are going to talk about with your team, try to help out those who are fitting in the parts if you are done with yours. Try to remember your role and stay calm - You are not designing an Audi! Don’ts: Don’t argue with your team mates when the interviewer questions your group and you don’t agree with the answer of one of your team members. Don’t be aggressive but make sure you have raised valid points.

Round: HR Interview
Experience: Finally the shortlisted students appeared for a PI and the panel was of about 6 people. My interview lasted for about 35-40 mintues. Usually they will ask you about yourself and probably crack a few jokes to make you feel comfortable. Laugh along! After they have asked you some general HR questions like: Tell me something about yourself, they will scan your CV. My interview was mostly about my internship at Cairn Energy, details about the project, skills, outcomes and loads of technical questions related to the same. They will ask a lot of quick questions like the range of sonic log, reservoir development or exploration problem etc. and at one point almost everyone (except the HR) was questioning me simultaneously. Then there were a lot of specifics asking my preference of working in a team or working alone, whether I enjoyed “Selling or pitching in clients”, which segment I would prefer, why a job over PhD etc.
Tips: Do’s: Answer honestly and be yourself! Don’t be pretentious - They will be judging for themselves your knowledge and skills. Revise your projects thoroughly and basics of seismic prospecting, well logging, data processing and inversion. Try to stress on your achievements and positive points on your CV. They want to see if you will be fun to work with (I tried not to be too serious and joked with them on many occasions!) Don’ts: Don’t be nervous and if you are just take a couple of seconds to compose yourself. If they ask you something you don’t know try not to guess.

General Tips: Revise subjects like Geophysical signal processing, seismic methods, sequence stratigraphy and general inversion. They will like to know that you are very clear in your basics because they can teach you the advanced stuff! I personally enjoyed each stage of the selection process and I would suggest applicants to do the same. Talking to alumni at Schlumberger prior to the interview is a great idea.
Skill Tips: Usually a CG of 8 and above is preferred since they are hiring for a technical role. If your CG is too high, you might end up justifying the reasons for not wanting to pursue a Ph.D! Its always a plus point to know the following: Some experience of programming in MATLAB, FORTRAN, C, Shell etc. as your research/intern projects. Also, knowledge of commercial software such as Petrel, Geoframe, Paradigm etc. as a part of your industrial experience can also help. They ask in details about projects and internships from whatever you have written on your CV. They value if you have interned with a good oil & gas company and have some industrial exposure. I think its the most important factor for them under this category. Tangible results of the project- in form of a research paper, 3D models are appreciated. They are mostly interested to know if you have worked in Seismics, Seismology, Well logging and interpretation. Some international exposure can be useful (Total Summer program, Paris was very beneficial for my interview).
Skills: C language
College Name: IIT Kharagpur