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Glekeria Kalathas is in charge of hiring people at Actalent, a consulting firm that helps the engineering and science industries find good employees. Kalathas has over eight years of experience in recruitment. Kalathas and her team hire more than 1,000 new recruiters, career counselors, and direct-to-sales account managers every year.
As part of our ongoing “Hiring Diaries” series at Forage, we talked to Kalathas to learn more about how Actalent hires students and entry-level workers. In this interview, she discusses:
Landing a job at a leading engineering and sciences services company like Actalent requires thorough preparation and insight into their rigorous interview process. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll discuss some of the most common Actalent interview questions and provide tips to help you craft winning responses.
Actalent provides services in diverse industries like aerospace, automotive, energy, life sciences, and more. With expertise spanning engineering design, manufacturing, quality assurance, IT services, and talent solutions, they take a holistic approach to solving complex challenges. Their interview process aims to assess both your technical skills and your alignment with their core values of curiosity, commitment, and collaboration.
Let’s explore some of the key questions you’re likely to encounter during the various rounds of an Actalent interview:
About You and Your Experience
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Walk me through your resume and highlight your most relevant experiences for this role
Actalent wants to understand why you’re the right fit for the position. Discuss your background, focusing on experiences that align with the role’s requirements. Showcase specific projects or responsibilities that utilized similar skills to what the job demands.
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Why are you interested in working at Actalent?
Research the company’s services, industry expertise, mission and culture. Then explain why those aspects motivate you to join Actalent. You could mention their commitment to innovation, the opportunity to work on meaningful projects, potential for growth, or a work culture that resonates with you.
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How did you hear about this position?
Briefly share how you came across the job posting. Did you see it online, get a referral from an employee, attend a career fair, or have an existing relationship with the company? This gives them context into what attracted you.
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What do you know about our organization and the work we do?
Demonstrate your understanding of Actalent’s services, industries served, leadership team, company culture, and any major projects or achievements. Thorough research sets you apart from other candidates.
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Why are you looking to leave your current job?
Focus this answer on positive reasons like seeking new challenges, opportunities to develop new skills, or alignment with your long-term goals. Avoid badmouthing your current employer.
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What motivates you in your work?
Share qualities like problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, continuous learning, leadership, etc. Align your motivations with Actalent’s values for best results.
About Skills and Experience
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Tell me about a time you successfully led an engineering project from concept to completion. What was the outcome?
Use a specific example to demonstrate your leadership abilities, communication skills, problem-solving, and project management experience. Highlight how you delivered successful results through team collaboration.
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Describe a situation where you had to troubleshoot a complex technical issue. What was your approach?
Showcase analytical thinking and your systematic approach to diagnosing and resolving the root cause of technical problems. Emphasize attention to detail.
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How have you used data analytics to drive insights and inform decision making?
Discuss instances where you leveraged data effectively to uncover trends, optimize processes, or support strategic decisions. Demonstrate analytical skills and business acumen.
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Tell me about a time you successfully managed an important client relationship.
Share a story highlighting client management experience. Discuss how you built trust, managed expectations, resolved conflicts, and delivered value to ensure a positive relationship.
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Describe a time you had to collaborate with cross-functional teams on a project. How did you ensure alignment?
Collaborating with diverse teams is key at Actalent. Discuss strategies like establishing clear objectives, setting expectations, maintaining open communication, and building relationships to enable seamless teamwork.
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How have you kept up-to-date on the latest industry trends and technologies?
Continuous learning is valued at Actalent. Share examples like reading industry publications, attending conferences, certifications pursued, and how you’ve applied those learnings on the job.
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Tell me about a time you had to rapidly learn a new technology or skill. How did you approach it?
Discuss your attitude to learning new skills, your learning strategies, and how you were able to quickly utilize that skill successfully despite inexperience.
About Problem Solving and Analytical Thinking
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Describe a complex technical problem you solved recently. Walk me through your problem-solving process.
Demonstrate structured analytical thinking and strong technical knowledge. Articulate how you diagnosed the issue, devised potential solutions, and implemented the optimal resolution.
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Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work. How did you handle it?
Share an example that highlights honesty, accountability, and learning from mistakes. Discuss how you identified the error, took ownership, proposed solutions, and put processes in place to prevent recurrence.
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If you were brought in as a consultant to reduce manufacturing defects in a factory, how would you approach this project?
Showcase creative problem-solving skills and analytical thinking in addressing this hypothetical scenario. Discuss processes like root cause analysis, process mapping, data-driven optimization, collaboration with teams, and more.
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How would you leverage technology to drive efficiency improvements in an engineering organization?
Demonstrate strategic thinking and innovative ideas to enhance processes and productivity through technology. Discuss solutions like automation, AR/VR, predictive analytics, AI/ML, simulation, digitization, etc.
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Describe a time you had to analyze complex data and draw actionable conclusions.
Share a data analysis project that led to tangible business impact. Discuss your understanding of statistical analysis and ability to synthesize key insights from data.
About Leadership and Collaboration
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Tell me about your leadership style and provide an example of a time you successfully led a team.
Discuss qualities like motivational, collaborative, lead-by-example, coaching/mentoring. Use an example to showcase how your approach resulted in team success. Align with Actalent’s collaborative culture.
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Describe a time you faced resistance or conflict while leading a team or project. How did you address it?
Share how you resolved team disagreements or resistance constructively through open communication, empathy, transparency, and influence. Demonstrate emotional intelligence.
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Tell me about a time you influenced others without formal authority. How did you gain buy-in?
Influencing skills are key at Actalent. Discuss strategies like effective communication, building trust, understanding motivations, and developing win-win solutions.
About Culture and Values
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What qualities do you believe are most important for success at Actalent?
Research Actalent’s core values like commitment, curiosity, collaboration, and discuss how those resonate with your own values and strengths.
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How would your past colleagues describe your work style?
Share positive qualities colleagues frequently notice about you, like detail-oriented, collaborative, innovative, supportive, reliable, etc. Emphasize alignment with Actalent’s culture.
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Tell me about a time you had to adapt quickly to a changing work environment. How did you handle this transition?
Discuss your agility in responding to changing priorities, processes, or business needs. Share how you maintained positive attitude, focused on solutions, and relied on continuous learning during a challenging transition.
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What kinds of work culture do you thrive in?
Describe aspects like collaboration, transparency, inclusion, innovative thinking, data-driven decisions etc. and how those align with your own values and Actalent’s culture.
wraps up
Preparing thoughtful and thorough responses to questions like these will help you stand out in your Actalent interviews across all rounds. By highlighting your technical expertise, leadership abilities, problem-solving skills, and cultural fit, you can show the value you will bring to the organization if selected. Practice your answers, conduct thorough research, and be confident when interviewing. With the right preparation and a genuine passion for the role, you will be poised for success in your Actalent interview process. Best of luck!
What advice would you give to students and entry-level applicants who have already applied or want to apply for roles with Actalent?
Make sure you’re doing your research. I know I said that before, just to be prepared going into the interview. Really, if you prepare, you’ll feel more confident, which will make you feel more at ease during the interview. Doing that research helps you prepare for the interview itself. I would also suggest using LinkedIn to connect with people inside the company and reaching out to people in the role you’re applying for. Ask them, “Hey, would you be available to set up a time to talk, or could we communicate over email?” You can ask them questions about their day-to-day work, the company, and their own experience. That’s firsthand knowledge that you can gain just by reaching out to them.
What can entry-level or internship applicants do in this competitive market to set themselves apart?
If you want to be better prepared for an interview after applying, I would suggest that you learn more about the company and the job. You want to be prompt and confident in the skills that you bring to the table. You should also be ready for behavioral-based questions, so you should talk about specific examples from your experience that make you stand out from other candidates at the interview.
For example, instead of using a group project you had to lead in school, try using a club or sports team experience or even work experience where you had to lead a group in a different way. This is because those are experiences that other students might not have when they leave school. You should use examples that make you stand out in the interview, not examples that the interviewer has heard from other candidates over and over again. I would strongly suggest pulling from the unique experiences that you do have outside of the classroom setting.
At the end of the interview, it’s best to have three to five questions ready, but you can also look up interview questions on Google. Candidates and recent college graduates should really think about what values they want from a job or an employer, and then they should ask questions that are based on those values and what’s important to them.
If you want to grow or develop, you should ask things like, “Do they have a mentorship program?” “How often should I expect a review or touchpoint with my manager?” and “How does my manager give feedback?” You should also ask about ongoing training or ways to move up. Think about what’s important to you, like culture, work-life balance, or growth, and then ask questions. After all, communication works both ways, right?
As an employer, we’re interviewing a candidate to make sure they’re a good fit, but we also know that the candidate is interviewing us to make sure we’re a good fit for them. You should ask questions that will help you figure out if it’s the right job for you.
I can give you two questions off the top of my head that I think are vital. When did you receive or give constructive criticism to help someone else grow? Next, I’d like to ask you a behavioral-based question: When did you have to overcome obstacles to reach a goal?
We Are Actalent
How do I prepare for an interview at actalent?
Prepare yourself for your interview at Actalent by browsing Interview questions and processes from real candidates.
What is the interview process like at actalent?
See what people said about the interview process at Actalent. Phone interview with account manager and then with the client. They definitely keep you updated. Obtuse – It’s skillset oriented to determine if you can perform the tasks. The real interview comes when they are placing you for the contract.
How long did it take to get a job at actalent?
The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Actalent (Fort Worth, TX) Was interviewed initally by a recruiter followed by someone at the company, followed by 3 other engineers who would have been my supervisor. There weren’t any technical questions, though I talked so much on the questions they did ask that they may not have had time to get to them.
What’s it like working at actalent?
I can tell you how Actalent are all about harassment, gaslighting, threatening your job position, retaliation if you DARE say or report anything that remotely questions the ethics or policies of the company you work for. Plus the pay grade is shit too, you’ll work for pennies as a raise. No performance reviews even when requesting it.
