How To Get A Job At Boeing

For over a century, Boeing has been a beacon of innovation and flight. They are the world’s largest aerospace company and a recognizable name in many industries.

While most know their reputation for designing and manufacturing commercial airplanes, their other ventures are not as well known. They also develop satellites and rockets as well as military planes and weapons. They hold government contracts in the United States and more than 150 allied countries.

They employ more than 140,000 people at 130 locations across the US and in more than 65 countries worldwide.

Career Opportunities at Boeing

Currently listed as #15 in Best Fortune 500 Companies to Work For and #88 in Best Companies to Work For in the US, they are a sought-after employer.

As an aerospace company with government contracts, it is no surprise that they are closely tied to military operations. They pride themselves on their support of veterans. In addition to their contributions and support of veteran-specific programs and contracts with veteran-owned businesses, they also claim that 15% of their workforce (20,000+ employees) are veterans.

The Boeing Company hires employees in six career areas:

1. Business

2. Data science and analytics

3. Information technology

4. Cybersecurity

5. Engineering

6. Manufacturing

For those with no experience in the industry looking to get a foot in the door, they have two excellent options:

1. Internships and co-ops. Boeing has a comprehensive internship program available to those still working towards their degrees. The internships, which are paid, are available in their business, information technology and data analytics, and engineering career areas.

2. Rotational programs. These are 2-4 year entry-level programs within a specific career area intended to provide a holistic view of the company’s inner workings. Boeing currently offers rotational opportunities in business, engineering, human resources, and information technology.

Find Jobs at Boeing

Zippia provides information on all current Boeing job listings. You can filter these opportunities by:

• Preferred job title. You can filter based on a specific job title or a keyword. Zippia provides an autofill of common job titles to assist.

• Location. If there is a specific location you are interested in, you need only enter the city and state to see what opportunities await you.

• Job type. Are you looking for a full-time position, part-time position, or internship?

• Job level. Boeing lists some of their jobs with an attached experience level—entry-level, associate level, mid-career level, and professional level.

• Date posted. You can narrow down your results by how long ago they were posted, from the last 24 hours to the last 30 days.

While you can find Boeing job opportunities via Zippia, you will be expected to apply through Boeing’s application portal.

Using Boeing’s Application Portal

All Boeing applications are required to be submitted through their system. To complete an application, you will first need to create a “Careers at Boeing” account. Email verification is needed before the next steps can be taken.

There will be eight steps, or pages, to complete during the application process:

1. Upload your resume. This can be in DOC, DOCX, HTML, PDF, or TXT format. The Quick Apply process will extract the information and auto-fill it for the next two pages.

2. Verify personal information. You will be asked to verify all of your personal information and answer some questions.

3. Verify experience. Next, they will ask you to verify your work experience, education, and skills and make any necessary adjustments.

4. Conflict of interest. The fourth page will ask some questions about potential conflicts of interest.

5. Job-specific questions. You will then be asked some questions that are very specific to the position you are applying for.

6. Personal data statements, part 1. They will ask that you confirm gender, ethnicity, and veteran status.

7. Personal data statements, part 2. This page asks that you confirm your primary language and any disabilities.

8. Review and submit. Make sure all the information is correct, and officially submit your application.

Preparing Your Resume Cover Letter for Your Boeing Application

1. Your resume. Like many larger corporations and companies, Boeing uses an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to screen incoming applications. These systems scan applications for specific keywords.

   If your resume does not include the keywords they are looking for, a hiring manager or Talent Acquisition Agent will never be seen as Boeing refers to them.

   Use the job listing to determine which keywords to include in your resume and cover letter. You should also include any additional job-specific keywords that you think are relevant.

   Boeing expects at least seven years of work history, including military experience. The same can not be said for internships or entry-level positions. Try to provide as much work experience as you are able in these cases.

   While not technically your resume, your LinkedIn profile is considered a virtual resume. Many of the larger corporations, like Boeing, use LinkedIn as a way of recruiting new talent.

   Keeping your profile up-to-date, professional, and polished can help you—especially if you make connections within the company. Same as you would on your resume, add the appropriate keywords to your LinkedIn profile.

2. Your cover letter. Before you begin writing your cover letter, do your homework.

   They want to know that you can do the job, but they also want to know that you will fit in with the company and its mission. Their values are important to them, and they expect you to not only understand them but reflect them in your personality and work ethic.

   Boeing’s values are Sustainability, Environment, Ethics Compliance, Human Rights, Diversity Inclusion, Employee Safety, Education, Military Veteran Engagement, Community Engagement.

   They focus a lot of their attention on “fostering an environment for every teammate that’s welcoming, respectful and inclusive, with opportunities for professional growth.”

   In addition to their values and mission, show that you know the scope of the company’s reach within the department (or career area) that you are applying to.

The Boeing Interview Process

Though not always, it can be a bit of a long process from application to interview to offer. It may take as long as three to five months, depending on the position you are applying for. So, don’t immediately give up hope if you haven’t heard from them within a couple of weeks.

Boeing does panel interviews, regardless of what stage of the interview process you are in. You will interview with a team, or panel, consisting of two to four people. Your interview panel may be made up of department managers, direct supervisors, employees, hiring leaders, etc.

The company provides you with an interview preparation guide. Read it and pay attention to what it says. If they’re taking the time to provide this information, they expect you to take the time to read it and follow through.

The preparation guide warns that they rely on behavioral and situational questions during the interview process. And, they expect you to use the STAR method in your responses.

They provide further insight, stating that you should do your best to provide details and quantify results in your responses. So, avoid general terms and answers.

It is also heavily stressed that they expect you to ask them questions. They also stress that you should be doing your homework, particularly by visiting their “Our History” and “Our Principles” pages. They want you to understand their values, global community engagement, and commitment to diversity, inclusion, and the environment.

Their interview process is as follows:

1. Phone interview. The first step in the Boeing interview process is the initial screening via a phone interview. This will be a panel interview.

2. Face-to-face interview. While this would normally be an in-person interview, they are currently conducting virtual interviews due to COVID-19. They use Webex as their video conferencing platform.

   Your Talent Acquisition Advisor will send you an invitation before your interview and provide you with instructions. Make sure you are prepared for a video interview and avoid the common virtual interview mistakes.

   This will be a panel interview and should include the same people as your initial phone screening. You may be expected to do more than one of these interviews, depending on the position you are applying for.

3. Skills Demonstration. Depending on the position you are applying for, you may have to demonstrate some relevant technical skills. If you are asked to demonstrate your skills, your Talent Acquisition Advisor will alert you ahead of time and provide you with details.

   Skills demonstrations may involve case studies, presentations, coding challenges, and more. The skills being tested will greatly depend on the technical skills necessary to succeed in the position.

4. Drug testing. You will be drug tested before any offers being made.

5 Common Boeing Interview Questions

As mentioned above, Boeing prefers to stick mostly to situational and behavioral questions. They expect you to respond using the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, Result. This method helps you to stay on track and thoroughly answer the question being asked.

This is a very large company, and it would be impossible for me to tailor these sample questions to each position. However, some general questions they ask during the interview process are:

1. Why do you want to work for Boeing? This is a commonly asked question for any company. They want to know why you chose them, and they expect you to do your research. Boeing stresses that you should do your research in the interview prep guide they provide, so be thorough—in both research and response.

   Expect them to ask this question and have a thorough (and honest) response prepared.

2. Tell us about a time when you faced adversity. You may also hear this question stated as “Tell me about an obstacle you overcame” or “Tell me about a time you faced a challenge at work.”

   You want to choose a difficult situation you’ve faced, but tailor it to the position you are applying for. While you may spin a personal issue to fit, it may be better to focus on a professional challenge. Remember to use the STAR method in your response.

   Your response will tell them a lot about you and how you handle high-stress or unpredictable situations. It will show them what kind of problem-solver you are, how resilient you can be, and if you can think on your feet.

   Your attitude towards adversity matters. They want to understand how you handled it, how you view adversity, what exactly you consider to be a challenge or difficulty.

3. What are your weaknesses? Nobody likes this question. It feels like a trick and a trap. Don’t just blurt out a few weaknesses and be done with it. Be strategic with your response.

   You should always expect this question in interviews and have your response expertly prepared ahead of time. The weaknesses you choose should be relevant to the job you are interviewing for. They don’t want to know that you can’t get out of bed without five alarms set. No, they want to know about your weaknesses as they pertain to the job.

   Your response can demonstrate your self-awareness. There is always room for improvement. Show them you understand that. If you tell them about a weakness, you should also be telling them the steps you are taking to correct that weakness.

   Remember to be honest and show them you are actively working to improve yourself and your skills.

4. Tell me about a time you faced a conflict while working as part of a team. How did you handle the situation? This is another question assessing your problem-solving skills. If you craft a well-thought-out response, it can also display the ever-important interpersonal skills and communication skills.

   How you respond will say a lot about you. Do you attempt to resolve conflict? Do you view small things as bigger than they are? Can you work well as part of a team?

   Some things to remember when answering this question:

   • Don’t criticize others or speak negatively about them. All this does is show you in a negative light.

   • Use the STAR method (of course) and focus on the “A” (action). Take them through the steps you took to resolve the issue.

5. Tell me about a time where you were not satisfied with your work. What could you have done to make it better? This is another loaded question. No one likes to discuss their perceived failures. Your response will show them a lot about how you work and how you respond to certain situations, though.

   Show them that you are aware of your mistakes, and you actively learn from them. They want to know how you respond to failure and how you recover from disappointment. Can you maturely handle the situation?

Author

Samantha Goddiess

Samantha is a lifelong writer who has been writing professionally for the last six years. After graduating with honors from Greensboro College with a degree in English & Communications, she went on to find work as an in-house copywriter for several companies including Costume Supercenter, and Blueprint Education.