I submitted my resume to Tesla Motors two years ago through a contact who had previously interned there. I was contacted and had three interviews, but did not receive an offer.

A year later, a recruiter visited my school, and I had an in-person HR interview, but again, did not receive an offer.

I was later contacted in June of 2013 and asked if I would be interested in a Fall internship (heck yeah, I was!). I interviewed with my current mentor and later with my current manager.

The questions included:

• Tell me about yourself.
• Tell me about what you do at your current internship.
• Tell me what you did at a previous internship experience.
• Why do you want to work for Tesla?

I received an offer on my 21st birthday, which was the best present I could have asked for.

I took a materials class six months before this interview. The manager asked me what classes I had taken in the past year, so I mentioned a few, including the materials class.

He then asked me to list common plastics. After somehow pulling them from the back of my head, he asked me to differentiate each one and give examples of their uses:

• Polypropylene
• Polystyrene
• Polycarbonate
• Polyethylene

Examples of their uses included milk containers, shopping bags, and protective eyewear.

My advice: You never know what you might be asked, so stay on top of your game!