I applied online. I interviewed at Hilti Group (Hvidovre) in May 2024
Interview
The process was quite long, in total it took 2,5 months. It starts with an online one-way interview where there are a few generic questions asked. Why Hilti, why the outperformer program, international experience and leadership experience. This is followed by IQ tests that are quite gamified. After this you are invited to do an interview with a person in HR. The interview is a phone call and the questions are more behavioural in nature. They want to know how you perform in teams, any type of leadership experience, what your best and worst traits are and a little about your knowledge about the industry and Hilti. After this there is an interview with top management. I interviewed with a Marketing Director and a Sales Director. They were very nice, but you should be well prepared for this interview as they ask a lot of questions to assess your general business acumen as well as questions about your previous experiences. This is where I think you regularly get invited to do the assessment day, but I have not gotten that far yet.
1 online video interview, followed by an HR interview, a business case interview, and an assesment center (2days). They ask for critical thinking and place great emphasis on their culture.
Super intellectual conversation with each round of the interviews. You get to speak with every level of the company.
You get to really see how your role is going to be and what are expected of you in this position. Each of the process ensures that you are fit for the job and if the company's way of life is compatible to how you work.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why do you wanted to apply for this specific program?
I applied online. I interviewed at Hilti Group (Manchester, England) in Nov 2025
Interview
There are a number of stages:
1. Initial Application
2. Pre-recorded video interview (with an option for an alternative live Teams video interview)
This is primarily motivational and making sure you fit the basic criteria: have a masters, international experience, language skills and explaining why you want to join Hilti and the Outperformer Programme.
3. First Round interview with HR (on Teams)
This is primarily competency behavioural - tell me a time you've been a leader, dealt with a challenge. It's important to bring people into your answer as this is a leadership development programme and Hilti has a big focus on people.
4. Second Round interview with two leadership figures
Similar to the first interview but with greater scrutiny on leadership and leadership styles. Will be asked a logical reasoning question e.g how to improve revenue in an underperforming area.
5. Assessment Centre
An intense day with 4 assessments: 1. 10 min Self-Presentation followed by 30 min interview (must be creative, powerpoint not allowed) 2. Group Case (given a brief and must solve as a team) 10 minutes to read through and prep thoughts followed by 25 minutes of group discussion 3. Individual business case - this is very intense, given 60 minutes to read around 40 pages of documents including financials, emails, organisational charts, emails etc and then within that hour, also create a SWOT analysis on a flip chart. Then 15 minutes presenting the SWOT analysis and strategy going forward to panel followed by 15 minutes Q&A where they dig into what you've said and you need to justify. Definitely the toughest part of the AC due to the time pressure of going through so many documents and doing analysis (not really possible to read through everything so important to pick out a couple of key themes and prioritise strategies for them) 4. Roleplay - act as a manager where the interviewer acts as a difficult employee, 20 mins to read the brief prepare, 20 minutes do the actual roleplay.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Why Hilti?
Why the Outperformer Programme?
Tell me a time you've dealt with a challenge/worked in a team/demonstrated leadership/resolved a conflict/dealt with a difficult stakeholder etc
What is an area of weakness?
Who is a leader you admire and why?
Where do you see yourself within the company in a few years?