28 Comments
 

At least for their internship hiring, the interview was 80% behavioral and 20% fit. Seems to be the case for a couple of oil and gas majors I've interviewed with that they love having a round of behaviorals (the tell me a time when, what choices did you have, how did you solve it kind of questions).

That said, definitely have answers prepared for why energy/trading/Houston. They may ask a question or two about risk and how you handle it. This is ultimately a position in a trading organization so think on that. If you play poker, run your own trading account, skydive, etc. try to work that in.

I'm actually doubting the interview will be very technical at all. COP has a three month training program whereby all their New Hires learn the ropes of the oil & gas business before ever getting a desk placement. They assume you know little coming in; they just want smart people with an interest in the field. At the very least if you have the time, familiarize yourself with futures, forwards, physical vs. financial trading, hedging, crack spreads, etc. Also, know that COP is primarily a physical shop that does financial hedging so don't say in your interview that you really want the chance to intraday trade NYMEX crude options or the like.

PM me with any other questions.

 

Bearcats, agreed with jotah. Although my school is a target for BB, it is not for Conoco. So I just applied online :) Btw, this is not for internship but for Full Time.

 

The recruiter / HR for trading also is in charge of internship applications. I interned with COP this past summer so I know HR well. I had applied online and heard back in 3 weeks or so for an interview. The interview was fit/behavioral (no technicals at all) based. After my interview I got the offer after 4 weeks or so of waiting.

Not sure how the full time works but I assume if it's the same people it should be similar. I sat in on the full time new hires presentations and training (all in the same trading floor area) and it is correct you train for 3 months together with other new hires... many new hires were there till late on weekdays (like 11 PM) and on weekends.

 

The recruiter / HR for trading also is in charge of internship applications. I interned with COP this past summer so I know HR well. I had applied online and heard back in 3 weeks or so for an interview. The interview was fit/behavioral (no technicals at all) based. After my interview I got the offer after 4 weeks or so of waiting.

Not sure how the full time works but I assume if it's the same people it should be similar. I sat in on the full time new hires presentations and training (all in the same trading floor area) and it is correct you train for 3 months together with other new hires... many new hires were there till late on weekdays (like 11 PM) and on weekends.

 

I recently attended the final round in Houston. My take was they were trying to sell you on why Conoco. They spend much of the final round showing you the campus, which is incredible, and telling you about all the perks you get as an employee. The interview was very simple and straightforward (Compared to any of the IBanks) and revolved around situational questions ie Give me an example of a negotiation and how it went; Tell me about a time you took a risk. For those of you involved in the industry, what does the comp structure look like once you get into a trading seat?

 

The final round consisted of a 1 hour 3 on 1 interview with 2 line employees and one of the HR representatives. Internship recruiting, I would imagine, occurs sometime in early spring semester. I'm not exactly sure as I attend a school that is not a target for COP. Seems like a good place to get some training with pretty decent comp and then lateral over to a marketer/IBank if you want to chase the cash.

 

Internship recruiting is going on right now. Do not wait until the spring semester. Unless they've changed pace, there are not any final rounds for internship recruiting. One interview and done either in person for targets or over the phone for nons.

 
Best Response

Just wondering.. I am looking into the physical side of commodity trading and I have an aunt (dad's sister) who's pretty high up at Conoco. However, she's in Government and International affairs and not trading.

Conoco does not do OCR at my college so i would have to depend on online application. Would it still be advantageous to ask her to drop my resume to HR? Or should I submit the resume online and have her give HR a call to take a look at my resume? How should I approach this situation?

My dad is really close with her (despite some recent disputes) but I am not. In fact, I think she doesn't like me that much due to the fact that I completely ignored all her dinner requests when I was in Houston last summer because I was working late most nights. Should I go through my dad or should I contact her directly? Should I flat out ask her to see if she could pull some strings, or should I be subtle? Is it too early in my career to milk the relationship?

Any advice would help.

 

No doubt... I just got your pm and see it related to COP

1) For the internship I applied late august, heard back and interviewed in mid September.... I think I got the offer in late October, but def. before end of Nov.

2) Not sure if the full time hiring is same time as the internship

3) I applied online, COP doesn't recruit at my school (Michigan). I think it's advantageous since they do take online recruiting seriously... and you stand out if you are not at one of their "target" schools.

I would just apply online... or have your aunt recommend you. Even if they are in different departments she can look up the email of HR in Commercial...

 

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