Founded in 1905 by a merger between Farine Lactee Henri Nestlé, and the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, Nestle is a multinational food and beverage conglomerate based in Vevey Vaud, Switzerland. In 2014 it achieved the status of the largest food company in the world. Nestle owns the Kit Kat, Nesquick, Nescafe, Purina, Stouffers, Vitell, and Maggi brands. It is also a major shareholder in the L’Oreal cosmetics company. Established in 189 countries, Nestlé employs around 339,000 people. There is a wide range of career opportunities available with Nestlé. They have positions available in engineering, administration, finance, human resources, IT, marketing, legal, research and development, sales, supply chain, and production. Along with traditional hires, Nestlé has internship opportunities and offers a highly rated graduate scheme program. In 2018 they were listed as the 31st top employer in the world for new graduates. To attract top of the line employees, Nestlé offers benefits that include:
Medical coverage
Retirement savings plans
Scholarship assistance
Adoption assistance
Tuition reimbursement
Paid time off
Holiday pay
Parental leave
What Is Nestlé’s Hiring Process?
Application
Nestlé advertises all it’s open positions online. Before starting the online application, you will need to create a profile. The profile will allow you to save jobs and check the status of any applications you have filled out. After locating the position that’s right for you, you can either fill out an application or add the job to your job cart to save for later. Nestlé has separate websites for each country, but all open jobs are also listed on the global site.
Nestlé’s Aptitude Tests
Prior to beginning the interviews, Nestlé will require a series of aptitude tests, to make certain they pick the job seekers who are most qualified and fit in the best with the corporate culture. Nestlé uses a variety of aptitude and psychometric tests to help narrow the field of candidates. If your application meets their standards, you will be contacted to take the online assessment tests. Nestlé generally uses tests provided by Saville. These tests may vary slightly by position or if you are applying for the graduate program. There are a few tests most applicants can expect to take no matter which position they have applied for. These tests are:
Numerical reasoning test – You will be given this test to determine your skill with handling numbers. You will be given information in graph and table form and will have a series of multiple-choice questions to answer. The questions may be based on ratios, fractions, or other mathematical principles that may appear in a job setting. This test is timed. Practice free numerical reasoning questions.
Verbal reasoning test – The ability to follow written or verbal directions, and understand things put in writing is an important job skill. The verbal reasoning test will demonstrate how well you understand concepts that are put into words. You will have several short passages to read, and multiple-choice questions to answer based on the information you have gleaned from them. Some questions may also be presented as “true” or “false”. This test will be timed.
Situational judgment test – To help predict how a job candidate will perform if hired, a situational judgment test (SJT) is given. You will be given common workplace events and a series of responses. You will rate the responses from most likely to least likely. Your responses on this test will help the hiring team decide if your personality fits in well with what they expect at Nestlé, and if it would be worthwhile to call you for an interview.
There are a few additional tests you may encounter if applying for a job in one of the factories, or if you are looking for a maintenance position.
Ramsay Mechanical Aptitude Test – This test will measure if you have the skill necessary to perform a maintenance or factory position and if you have the ability to learn other abilities that Nestlé deems necessary for performing those jobs.
Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test – Spatial perception and mechanical reasoning are important parts of working in the factories. This test will be used to determine an applicant’s level of mechanical ability.
Telephone/First Round Interview
If the online assessment tests meet the Nestlé requirements, you will be contacted for the first stage of interviews. This interview is usually conducted over the phone. Having a copy of your CV or resume nearby will be helpful during this stage. The interviewer will be asking you questions about your skill, experience, and education. Answering the questions thoroughly, and going into detail will help the interviewer get a better idea of your personality and if you will be a good fit with Nestlé. Now is the time to get clarification on any questions you have regarding the position. You will not only find out if the position actually is right for you, you will also make an impression on the hiring team for showing interest in the position.
Nestlé’s Assessment Centre
Applicants for some positions such as management or graduate scheme will be expected to attend an assessment centre. This will consist of a series of activities meant to test your team working skills and your performance in a professional setting.
During the assessment day, you will be expected to do:
Group Exercise – To demonstrate your ability to work as part of a team, you will have to participate in a group exercise. This will involve having to solve a hypothetical problem. The recruiting team will be watching to see who demonstrates leadership ability, how well everyone participates, and if the discussion remains civil.
Case-Study and Presentation – You will be given a case study to read and present a solution for. You will be given time to read and prepare before you present your conclusions to the management.You will be assessed on how well you understand the case study you were given, how concisely you present your findings and the thoroughness of your solution.
Online Assessment Tests – To ensure honesty and double-check the job candidates scores, you may be required to retake the online assessments during the assessment day.
Final Interview
The final step in the Nestlé hiring process is a face to face interview. This interview will be behaviour focused, and to answer the interview questions to their satisfaction, you should keep the STAR method in mind. STAR is an acronym for situation, task, action, result. To answer behavioural based questions using this method you describe a situation to the interviewer, what you needed to do to fix or rectify the situation, how you did it, and what the end result was. Behaviour based interviews are given to help determine how you have acted on the job in the past, if you’ve learned anything from your experiences, and if you are the type of person, they would like to see in the role you are interviewing for. Questions you can expect going into your Nestlé interview are:
What are some challenges this position might have? How will you overcome these challenges?
How much do you know about Nestlé?
Tell us about a time something went wrong at work, how were you able to fix it? Is there anything you could have done differently?
How to Prepare for Nestlé’s Assessments?
How well you do on the online assessments will determine how far you go in the hiring process. Preparing yourself is important if you wish to start a new career with Nestlé. One of the most important things to do, before even beginning the application process, is to research the company and learn as much about them as possible. This will help you anticipate some of the things they may be looking for when taking the situational judgement test. Familiarity with the corporate culture will help you know the personality traits they find desirable in an employee and tailor your answers accordingly. If you feel your mathematics or reading comprehension skills may be weak, or you suffer from test anxiety, take the time to drill and practice the area in which you feel weak. When you sit down to take the tests, find a private place where you will not be disturbed so you can focus all your attention on the test. Despite the timed nature, give yourself adequate time so you do not feel rushed. Rushing could cause you to misread questions, and answer incorrectly. Online tests are now as much a part of the hiring process as the interview. Preparing for these the way you prepare for the rest of the process will help you approach these confidently and calmly, and end the process with a job offer in hand.
