I applied online. The process took 4 months. I interviewed at thyssenkrupp (Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia) in July 2011
Interview
First, a phone interview
Later, a personal interview with the responsible person of trainee development from the headquarters, and the local HR manager from where the job was located.
Finally, a personal interview with the same local HR manager and the COO who would be my sponsor. It included a plant tour.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
After standard questions for a graduate program (i.e. what was your thesis about) they gave me 20 min to prepare for a 5min presentation on the questions "why should we hire you?". Presentation material was available.