I applied through other source. The process took 4 months. I interviewed at Caterpillar (Mossville, IL) in Feb 2011
Interview
I reached out to the hiring manager directly via e-mail and expressed interest in the job. He called me back about a week later, had a phone interview, and I flew to the office a few weeks later. The interview itself was very short and relaxed... mostly pain free. I didn't hear anything for a while but then a few months later I received an offer. I guess the downside with huge companies is that hiring freezes aren't all that uncommon.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
The questions weren't necessarily difficult, but they sought out completeness of answers. If my answer was incomplete in any way (you always know when it is), they would either push for further detail or just accept it and move on.