SimScale Recruitment Process Q&A

In today’s post, we will dive a bit further into the world of recruiting and talk about the most common questions that might pop up as you get ready for your recruitment process at SimScale.

Preparing for an interview means taking time to thoughtfully consider your goals and qualifications relative to the position and employer. To accomplish this, we recommend you do research on the company and carefully review the job description to understand why you would be a good fit, amongst others. Continue reading as we share some more common questions that we get asked. We hope they help you prepare yourself in the best way possible.

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says I’m possible!" - Audrey Hepburn

How Long Does It Take to Apply at SimScale and What Information Do I Need to Provide?

It can take just 2 minutes to complete the application process, as applying through our career site can be as simple as uploading your CV and filling out some other basic information. The following information needs to be provided for completing your application: your CV (ideally as a PDF), email address, and contact details. We generally don’t ask for a cover letter, however, if you would like to provide one, simply let us know in a few sentences why you would like to join our team.

How Many Steps Are in the Recruitment Process?

We have 4 steps in our recruitment process. 

1. The Recruiter Interview: Meet a recruiter from SimScale during an initial virtual interview and get the opportunity to gain some first insights into the company!
2. Hiring Manager Interview: The hiring manager conversation will give you the chance to be interviewed on your job-specific knowledge and ask questions about the role, daily tasks, and team.
3. Assessment Task: The assessment task allows you to get a first impression of the role’s responsibilities and also helps us to see if it meets the SimScale expectations.
4. Panel Interview: During the panel interview, you get to know your future team members, in-person or virtually, learn more about the way we work, and share your career journey with us!

What Can I Expect After I Submit My Application?

After you submit your application, we aim to get back to everyone within 3 to 5 business days. We will inform you whether we would like to proceed with a first recruiter conversation, or if your application does not align with what we’re looking for at the moment.

I Would Like to Apply at SimScale But Don’t Live in Germany. Can I Still Apply?

Most certainly! Our team consists of people from more than 35 countries and we are continuously trying to grow that number. We offer visa and relocation support and are always happy to help our future team members to start a new adventure in Germany. If you don’t plan to relocate, don’t worry, we also have a growing number of team members working remotely from across the globe.

How Can I Prepare for an Interview?

1. Carefully read the job description: The more you can align yourself with these details, the more we will be able to see that you are qualified for the role.
2. Think about your qualifications and have a good understanding of why you want this job: Explain why you are interested in this opportunity. Go back to your career path, reflect, and talk about your previous experiences which are related to the position you are applying for.
3. Make sure you do research about SimScale: One of the most important parts during the interview is that we understand your motivation and why you would like to join our team. Make sure to research our product, the role itself, and the company culture to get a better understanding of the company.
4. Practice your speaking voice and body language: It’s important to leave a positive impression during the interview process. Since it is just a very small amount of time, you want to make sure you’re able to convey the right message during your interview.

What Kind of Questions Does a Recruiter Ask?

While you won’t be able to predict every question you’ll be asked in an interview, there are a few common questions you can plan answers for. Here are a few common questions from a recruiter during the first interview: 

• Why are you interested in this job and why did you choose our company?
• What is your reason to switch jobs?
• What does your typical day look like? 
• What do you hope to achieve?

What Kind of Questions Should I Ask?

All employers value candidates’ questions during the interview because it shows that you are interested in the position and spent time researching the company. Examples of questions you may ask: 

• What does a typical day look like in this position?
• Why do you enjoy working here?
• Can you share more about the team and the structure?
• What are the next steps in the recruiting process?

How Do I Convince the Hiring Team in a Recruitment Process?

Another very important milestone during the interview process is when you are able to convince us of your skillset and are always honest and transparent. Time is tight and you want to make sure to highlight the very best of you in a short amount of time. Preparation is key. You need to invest time not only researching the role and organization you wish to join but also ensuring that you can communicate clearly and confidently why you are the ideal person for the job. Here are a few dos and don’ts:

Do: 

• Think about the first impression you’d like to make
• Tell the truth 
• Listen and respond accordingly
• Focus on your strengths and expertise
• Take the interview seriously and be prepared

Don’t:

• Assume it isn’t an interview 
• Speak poorly about present or former employers
• Speak over the interviewer

When Can I Expect to Hear Back From You?

We aim to share our feedback with candidates in a timely manner at every stage of the process, with feedback about the next steps given within a few days of each stage being the norm.

How Long Does the Entire Recruitment Process Take?

Our application process, depending on the candidates and internal timelines, can be as short as 14 days but is typically between 25 to 30 days from the initial application to a job offer.

I Have Limited Career Experience. Can I Still Apply?

We encourage you to apply and emphasize your achievements in college or projects you have been working on. We all start our careers at some point. However, at SimScale we look for team members that show us that they are willing to learn and grow.

Why Do I Not Receive a More Personalized Response From the Team?

Our team puts a lot of effort into the recruitment process and values personal communication. As we aim to share feedback as soon as possible and receive a large number of applications every day, it does not always allow us to share individual reasons why we won’t move forward in the process.

What Benefits Does SimScale Offer?

Your health is important to us. We offer health insurance, retirement insurance, a company pension scheme, paid sick time off, and a competitive vacation and relocation package tailored to individual needs. Our Munich team members get to enjoy a gym membership contribution, basketball meetups, and freshly cooked lunches in our office every week. And no matter your location, you can participate in virtual sports challenges, get internal well-being support from our psychologist, and receive regular gift cards so you can treat yourself. As an environment only thrives with a motivated and supported team, we offer fun team events, internal support groups for living in Germany, and regular trips to Munich if our team members join us remotely. Read more about our perks and benefits in this blog post.

Do You Offer a Learning and Development Program?

SimScale fully supports our employees with learning and development opportunities. Whether that is online learning via Udemy, language courses in person or virtually, tech talks, and much more. With the right training in place, we offer our employees the opportunity to further develop their competencies and skill sets to ultimately become more successful and satisfied. Every team member gets to enjoy regular 1:1 sessions with our learning and development specialist, is encouraged to share their interests, and comes up with their ideal learning program. Take a peek here to learn in more detail what learning and development at SimScale look like.

How Would You Describe the Culture of SimScale?

At SimScale, our employees matter the most to us. We know that a great company culture only works with a great and motivated team. We listen to our team members and get inspired by them and their ideas. Read this blog post about our company culture to learn more!

What Is SimScale’s Remote Work Policy?

At SimScale, we encourage each and everyone’s independence by giving our team members the chance to plan and structure their work day. By offering flexible working hours as well as remote working around the world, we want to empower our employees to organize their work in a self-determined way, create freedom, and promote the compatibility of family and career. It is very important to us that we make sure that we do live a healthy work-life balance and support global remote working.

We hope you enjoyed reading these commonly asked questions and find them helpful for your future interview at SimScale.

A positive and pleasant candidate experience is very important to us and we would love to hear any feedback about this topic from you. Stay tuned for more insights into SimScale and see what the team has been up to on our @lifeatsimscale Instagram feed. Want to start your own SimScale story? Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for possible openings!

You can read this article and others published on our SimScale blog.