Typical Interview Process
At Pfizer, interviews are a significant component of our hiring assessment process. The purpose of an interview is to get to know you better as a person, give you an opportunity to share your amazing accomplishments, and give you the chance to get to know us as well.
Our interview process generally follows a similar structure, but may vary by role. You may have an initial informal interview with a recruiter to assess your qualifications for the role. The formal interview process will typically include 3-5 colleagues, including the hiring manager, in either one-on-one or panel interviews. All candidates interviewing for a particular role will have a similar process (ex: all panel interviews or all one-on-one interviews). Most interviews last around 45 minutes, but depending on the role or stage in the process, may be slightly shorter or longer.
The interview is an opportunity for us to better understand what you are passionate about and learn more about your achievements while assessing your skills, capabilities, and experience. We want to ensure you will thrive at Pfizer and in the role, which will ultimately lead to the successful pursuit of breakthroughs that change patients’ lives.
You can expect to be asked behavioral-based and situational questions that align to our values of Excellence, Courage, Equity and Joy. Note that depending on the role, you may be asked additional technical questions assessing the required skill set for the role.
Below are typical questions that you may be asked in an interview categorized according to by Pfizer’s values.
COURAGE
THINK BIG
- Describe a time when you recognized someone else's bold idea and helped move it forward.
How did you surface and contribute to the idea? What actions did you take to champion it? Did you reward or recognize the person for bringing forward the idea?
Why is this important to us?
At Pfizer, we challenge, motivate, and lead others to deliver ambitious goals, using creative thinking and fact-based risk taking to achieve them even in the face of uncertainty.
FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS
- Tell me about a time when you led others to focus on the highest priority work.
What steps did you take to lead and empower others to determine what was most important rather than just urgent? What factors did you consider when prioritizing? How did you address conflicting priorities?
Why is this important to us?
At Pfizer, we create an environment that empowers team members to critically evaluate the importance of tasks over urgency in order to achieve priorities with a sense of purpose.
SPEAK UP
- Tell me about a time when you encouraged the sharing of different viewpoints and created a space for others to speak up.
What actions did you take to encourage others to voice their disagreements? How did you ensure different viewpoints were treated respectfully?
Why is this important to us?
At Pfizer, we take the lead to speak up in a difficult situation and foster a safe environment where constructive and candid feedback is received positively, and others are encouraged to express their views openly.
EXCELLENCE
AGREE WHO DOES WHAT
- Describe a time when you held others accountable for their commitments.
How did you communicate and bring clarity to the team? What, if anything, would you do differently in the future?
Why is this important to us?
At Pfizer we empower teams to determine their individual and team responsibilities, support team decisions, and hold each other accountable for follow-through on commitments.
EQUITY
BE INCLUSIVE
- Tell me about a time when you achieved positive outcomes by actively seeking and incorporating diverse perspectives.
What was the situation? What perspectives did you seek, and how? Did you face any resistance to your approach? If so, what did you do?
Why is this important to us?
At Pfizer, we actively solicit and leverage input from those with diverse ideas and backgrounds and unleash others’ potential to do their best work.
ACT WITH INTEGRITY
- Tell me about a time when you observed a lack of respect to others and took action to address the situation.
How did you react to the situation? What actions did you take?
Why is this important to us?
At Pfizer, we promote and uphold the highest standards of integrity and hold others accountable for doing the same.
JOY
HAVE FUN
- Tell me about a time when you worked to create a positive atmosphere for the team during a challenging time.
What was the situation? What actions did you take? Did you face any resistance? If so, how did you address it?
Why is this important to us?
At Pfizer, we promote unity, fun, and positivity at work, encouraging others to promote optimism and teamwork, even in the face of resistance or a difficult situation.
RECOGNIZE ONE ANOTHER
- Tell me about a time you created a team environment by celebrating the work you accomplished together.
What was the situation? What steps did you take to recognize both small and large accomplishments? What was the outcome?
Why is this important to us?
At Pfizer, we consistently celebrate team members for their efforts and achievements, ensuring their work is recognized by others resulting in a positive impact on the team.
We understand that this is a two-way decision process so please take the opportunity during the interview to find out more about us. Feel free to ask us questions about the role, the team, Pfizer’s culture, values, and growth mindset or anything that is top of mind about working at Pfizer. We love to share why Pfizer is an amazing place to work!