How is Flex adapting the work experience?

There’s no secret that the past years have changed the workplace experience. Moving fast and with discipline, we have adapted quickly to a new way of working and communicating across teams – and with future talent interested in a career at Flex. At the same time, we continue to support and keep safe our colleagues, whose work is vital in manufacturing life-saving products.

By listening to our candidates’ feedback, we’ve implemented new ways of communicating to improve the experience with our talent acquisition teams.

Given the global context, can you tell us more about your approach to flexible working?

The topic of the future of work in a post-pandemic world remains relevant to all workers, from entry-level employees to senior leaders. We posted this question to our colleague Benjamin Tarmann from Vienna, Austria. Benjamin is passionate about travel and technology and loves to cook for friends and family. Here at Flex, he focuses on Engineering, IT, and Finance related roles in EMS, Medical, Automotive, and Sustainable Energy Technology.

“For us at Flex, during the pandemic, one of the most important topics was keeping everyone safe, so we encouraged those who could do their work from home to switch to a home-office environment. For roles requiring a physical presence in the office, we provided masks, reorganized the offices to keep the required distance, and made sure that all spaces were disinfected regularly.

We operate in dozens of countries and cultures, and we understand there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for work. This is why our HR and leadership teams have worked on a new, flexible work policy, compliant with local laws and regulations that supports the needs of our colleagues for flexibility, improving the work-life balance.”

Do you have internship programs?

In 2020, we had to rethink our internship programs, focusing on keeping our people including interns safe. In the post pandemic world, as the demand for on-site learning programs increased across most countries and regions, we’re grateful to offer a valuable and enriching educational experience for students, graduates, and post-graduates. To provide more context about our internship programs, we went to Sandra Aleman, a talent acquisition business partner from Austin, Texas.

“Yes, we do have internship programs not just in the U.S. but also in other countries around the world. Co-op roles are generally longer-term assignments while a majority of internships occur during the summer term.

The enrollment procedure is different based on local laws and regulations, but we do post them on our careers site as co-op or intern so any college student can apply. In the U.S., a candidate can learn more about our internship opportunities from national conferences, such as the NSBE Virtual Career Fair or Women in Manufacturing, where we connect with talent looking for a dynamic career in the manufacturing industry.

It is very fulfilling to me when I see a new college graduate convert from an intern into a full-time Flex employee. The mission of a great program coming to fruition is very motivating!”

What types of interview questions should I expect during an interview for manufacturing jobs? Technical, value-oriented, culture fit?

Our recruitment processes never slowed down, despite a number of global challenges over the past few years. Our talent acquisition teams were busy attracting the talent we needed to make products that add value for our customers and improve our lives. Regarding interview questions, we talked to Anusha Sathyamoorthy, a senior recruiter from Chennai, India. Anusha loves the opportunity to connect with different people and place the right talent in a career they enjoy.

Usually, our interviews are standard but can vary slightly based on experience and the level of leadership required.

“Typically, technical discussion and behavioral-based questions are primarily used to assess candidates on skill, knowledge, and attributes. However, value and culture fit are equally important and, in some cases, can help in making the final hiring decisions.

A behavioral interview deals with past experiences. Situational interview types of questions are designed to draw out analytical and problem-solving skills and how a candidate might handle problems with short notice and minimal preparation. Value and culture fit questions can be framed and gauged by the interviewers with the combination of both behavioral and situational interview questions.”

Here at Flex, we’re focused on providing a great experience to all candidates looking for dynamic and limitless career opportunities in manufacturing.

Let’s create the extraordinary together