I applied on the LM website to positions that seemed of interest to me. About 8 weeks later, I received an invitation to attend a college hiring event at the Fort Worth, TX LM Aero plant and provided me 2 weeks of preparation time.
They took care of all financial aspects of the trip: flight, lodging, car rental, meals, etc.
The trip started on a Thursday, and the interview would be scheduled for the next day on Friday.
I chose for my flight to arrive to DFW airport around noon of the day before. The car rental service is NOT walking distance, so you'll need to utilize a shuttle to take you there.
Took about 45 min drive to get to my lodging.
Instead of indulging on a 5-star hotel, I strategically opted for lodging on a modest hotel nearest to the LM plant (about a 20-30 min drive depending on traffic).
I recommend a dry run of the drive to LM the evening prior to the interview.
Day of the Interview:
Had to be there at 7am sharp. Business formal attire (e.g. suit, etc.) was required. Needed to bring some security questionnaire filled out and signed, photo identification (I just brought my US Passport since it counts for 2 IDs).
There were about 12-15 other interviewees besides me. I found out that not all were interviewing for the same position (some were there for internships, others for full-time positions). We were divided into two groups: 1st group would go directly into interviews while the 2nd group were taken for other activities around LM.
I was in the 1st group. My interview was in a small, quiet room within the recruiting center at LM with a lone hiring manager (one-on-one). First he told me what the job was all about. Then went on with a battery of STAR-type questions. Within 30-40 mins of the interview, a technical lead who works for the hiring manager I was interviewing joined us in the small room. He also asked me questions. The entire interview lasted about an hour or so.
I was then conducted towards the next event, which was to experience a flight simulator of the F35 (fun!!), however, I was invited to come to a 2nd interview with another hiring manager (which I was not expecting so it was a bit awkward since I had not prepared for answering questions pertaining that position) so I missed out on further events such as a tour of the plant and more F35 simulator goodness. I began getting nervous, for this was an "unknown" in my experience. For the 2nd interview, (with 2 engineers one of which was a project manager) I just answered their STAR-type questions to the best of my abilities as well as questions on my resume. That interview went on for about 30-45 mins.
Afterwards, I thought it was time to move on and go for the scheduled lunch at the LM cafeteria. Unfortunately, I missed out on the tour and eating at the cafeteria...because I had a third interview! (very fortunate!). They would bring me a boxed lunch for me to pick up after the 3rd interview.
The 3rd interview was similar to the first 2 interview, with the exception that the interviewer was writing all my responses down on a sheet of paper.
After the 3rd interview (close to 12pm noon), I got my boxed lunch, and an HR lady said that the hiring event was now concluding and that I was free to leave (which I had to since I had scheduled my return flight at 3:30pm and I had to return the car rental by 3pm with a 45 min drive back to the DFW airport). In her opinion, the fact that I had 3 interviews is a good thing (although at first I felt like no one wanted me in their team). Later, I found out that what they were trying to do is place me in a position which would best suit me and that I would enjoy working in.
I received an offer the following Monday (3 days later).
Overall, this was my first "professional" type interview and LM made it an enjoyable one.