Toyota Careers: Hiring Process/Employment/Job Application/Jobs
Updated November 18, 2023
What Is Toyota?
Toyota Motor Company, known as just TMC or Toyota, is a Japanese car manufacturer that was incorporated in 1937 and has grown to become one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world.
While the company headquarters are in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan, the global reach of Toyota means that there are offices and manufacturing plants all around the world.
So working at Toyota won’t necessarily mean a move to Japan.
In this article, we will look at what roles at TMC are available in the continental US and how you can find the best position for you. We will discuss the application process and what you can expect at each stage, along with some tips and tricks to give yourself the best chance to land a role.
As a car manufacturing superpower that owns other brands like Lexus, getting a job at Toyota is highly competitive, and the company is very choosy about who it hires.
The details in this guide will help you demonstrate that you have what it takes to work at Toyota.
What Positions Are Toyota Hiring For?
While Toyota might be a car manufacturer first and foremost, it has roles across several different business areas that you might want to apply for.
Openings cover everything from business support to sales and engineering.
For students in the US, there are opportunities for internships and co-ops across all business areas designed for school leavers and college graduates. Experienced professionals are also favored at Toyota.
Some of the business areas that you could apply for at Toyota include:
- A+F, treasury, data and analytics
- Advanced technology and mobility
- Enterprise services and planning
- Logistics, distribution and supply chain management
- Manufacturing and production engineering
- Research and development
- Sales, marketing and service
- Toyota financial services
- Toyota racing development
Within these business areas, you may find manufacturing jobs, financial careers, warehouse jobs, dealership jobs and financial services careers, to name a few.
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Perks of Working at Toyota
Working for a forward-thinking automotive company comes with many benefits and perks – not least in the variation of tasks that you will undertake.
Some of the perks of working at Toyota include:
- Competitive salary
- Vacation time increases with tenure
- Vehicle lease program (with salary sacrifice)
- Back-up childcare, elder care and pet care
- Tuition assistance
- 401(k) savings plans
- Healthcare
The Toyota Way
All prospective employees at Toyota need to know about The Toyota Way, which is the overarching vision of business across the globe.
It all centers on the idea of Mobility for All and finding ways to Produce Happiness for All.
The values of Toyota that support this vision are:
- Act for others
- Work with integrity
- Drive curiosity
- Observe thoroughly
- Get better and better
- Continue the quest for improvement
- Create room to grow
- Welcome competition
- Show respect for people
- Thank people
What Is the Application Process for Toyota Employment?
Applying for a role at Toyota is a relatively simple process, with well-defined stages designed to filter through the applicants and choose the most suitable and qualified.
It can be a lengthy process, however, as some candidates have reported it taking up to six months from the initial application until the job offer.
Initial Application
All the available Toyota jobs are advertised on its careers website, and you can also find them on job aggregate sites like Indeed.
The search function is simple and easy to use; you can search by job title or filter all the results to show jobs from a specific category or in the right location. You can find everything from Toyota corporate jobs to Toyota remote jobs.
When you click on a job that interests you, the Job description will give you all the important details that you will need to apply. This includes the requirements of the role and also the skills and abilities that they are looking for in applicants.
You will need to create a candidate account to start the application, and this will be the hub of your job search. In addition, you can save jobs that interest you here.
If there is nothing available that you want to apply for right now, you can sign up to the Toyota talent network to receive weekly emails about new roles that are available.
The application form itself is a simple information collection exercise. You will have to provide all your contact details, as well as the details of your relevant qualifications and experience, which the recruitment team will review.
The Online Assessments
If your application form matches the requirements of the role, you will be invited to complete some online assessments.
These are used to filter through similarly qualified candidates, and only those that reach or exceed the benchmark scores in the assessments will be taken further.
Typically that means that 50% to 80% of applicants will have their application rejected at this stage.
Every candidate for a role at Toyota will have to take two tests:
For some roles, such as in the production category, candidates will also have to complete a mechanical reasoning assessment.
Situational Judgment Tests
In the situational judgment test, each question is based on a fictional but realistic work scenario.
You will get a description of a problem that might occur in the workplace, followed by a series of potential courses of action.
You will need to decide which course of action would be the most appropriate to solve the problem from the multiple-choice options.
In a situational judgment test, the answers might all seem to be good, so it is more about choosing the one that is most like the way you would deal with it and, perhaps just as importantly, how the ideal job candidate would deal with it.
The situational judgment test is all about your behavior at work and the way you use your interpersonal skills to solve problems. It is also a way for the recruitment team to judge each candidate for culture fit.
Example Situational Judgement Test Questions:
Choose the best course of action from the options below to solve the following problem.
A customer has called the office to complain about a problem with their car. The car itself is an older model and is no longer in warranty, but the expensive problem is something that would usually be covered by the warranty. The customer wants to get the problem fixed at no cost to them, but you know that you should charge for it. The customer has been loyal to the brand for many years, choosing Toyota for every car in their family.
a) Put the repair through as under warranty anyway
b) Tell the customer that there is nothing you can do and that they need to pay
c) Offer to repair the problem outside of the business as an under-the-table fix
d) Talk to a manager about offering a discount to the customer
e) Hand the customer over to a supervisor to deal with
Choose the best course of action from the options below to solve the following problem.
You have been on vacation for a week, and when you return to the office, you see that there has been some rearranging of furniture in your absence. Your desk has been moved, and you can’t immediately see where you are meant to be sitting. What do you do?
a) Choose a desk at random; it obviously doesn’t matter
b) Go and make a coffee while you wait for the rest of the office to arrive
c) Go and find a manager to ask where you are now positioned
d) Complain loudly to the nearest member of staff that you weren’t informed about the changes
e) Look for evidence that might show you which desk is yours
Personality Questionnaire
The personality questionnaire is all about finding out more about what makes you the person you are.
The recruiter wants to know about:
- What motivates you
- How you react under stress
- The kind of person that you are
The questionnaire requires you to be able to look critically at yourself. The structure of the personality questionnaire is based on a series of statements about behavior and preferences, and you will have to work out how much you think the statement describes you.
There are no right answers in the assessment – not in the same way as there might be in other types of aptitude tests like verbal reasoning or numerical reasoning.
Instead, your answers will be compared against an ideal candidate profile that details the behaviors that the role requires.
Example Personality Test Questions:
Choose how much you think the statement below is like you.
I prefer to work alone
a) Agree
b) Partially agree
c) Neither agree nor disagree
d) Partially disagree
e) Disagree
Choose how much you think the statement below is like you.
I often travel different ways to work
a) Agree
b) Partially agree
c) Neither agree nor disagree
d) Partially disagree
e) Disagree
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What Happens at the Assessment Center?
If your scores in the online assessment are good enough to reach the next stage of the application process, you will be invited to attend an assessment center.
This usually happens at a local office, and you will spend the day with several other candidates.
You will be under constant assessment by the recruitment team, who are looking for applicants who have the right soft skills, such as leadership, communication, and teamwork.
During the day, you will be asked to complete a series of activities, including:
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Group exercise – In a small group, you will be asked to complete a task. This might be a discussion about a divisive subject, or you might be asked to solve a work-related problem as a group. You will need to demonstrate excellent communication and listening skills here, as well as teamwork and leadership skills.
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Written exercise – In this exercise, you will be asked to prepare a report on a case study based on the provided material. You will need to know the values and vision of Toyota here and be ready to demonstrate your analytical thinking and writing ability.
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Presentation – In front of a panel of assessors, you will have to present a topic. You might get the details of your presentation a little while before the assessment center, or you might get it on the day. Either way, you will need to have good research skills as well as public speaking and presentation skills.
The Final Interview
In some cases, the final interview might happen as part of the assessment center, or it might happen at a later date.
Either way, the final interview is a very important step and one where you will really need to impress.
The Toyota interview questions will be based on competency, and the interviewer will ask questions about your previous experience.
You will be asked to provide evidence of times when you have used the skills and competencies that are needed in the role.
Questions might be something like:
- Tell me about a time when you had to work as part of a team
- What does good customer service look like?
- Talk about a time when you had to give bad news to someone
As part of this interview, you will be expected to demonstrate that you have a deep knowledge of the automotive industry and Toyota’s place in it, as well as specific information about Toyota as a business.
You will also need to be aware of the duties and responsibilities of the role you have applied for, too.
The interview usually takes place with a senior manager or with a panel of interviewers. You will be expected to have prepared for this interview thoroughly, so make sure that you have prepared your examples.
The skills and abilities listed in the job description, as well as the values of Toyota as a whole, are what the competency questions will be based on, so use these to select examples and practice delivering your answer.
You might want to structure your responses using something like the STAR mnemonic.
How to Prepare for Toyota Job Applications
Step 1. Dress Smartly
While diversity and inclusion are very important to the recruiting team at Toyota, the company expects applicants to present themselves smartly whenever they are in contact with the business, whether that is at the assessment center or at the final interview.
You want to be able to give the best impression to the recruitment team, so make sure you are dressed appropriately.
Step 2. Respond Promptly to All Communications
At every stage of the application process, you will be contacted by the recruitment team to give you updates and information, and it is really important that you respond as quickly as possible.
Toyota is a Japanese company, and culturally it is very important to be prompt – even when in the USA.
Promptness is also important when you are applying initially. In many cases, applications for roles are accepted on a rolling basis, so it is always a good idea to get your application in as soon as possible so you don’t miss out.
Step 3. Prepare for the Assessments Ahead of Time
Assessment preparation is important.
Taking any sort of test can be nerve-wracking, especially when your dream job hinges on your ability to pass.
Practice tests of all kinds are available, some free while others are paid, and taking practice tests will help you get familiar with the structure and layout of the assessment as well as the typical content so you can get familiar with what to expect.
Step 4. Practice Interviews
Interviews can be challenging. When you are under pressure, you might struggle to think of answers or risk waffling about inconsequential things while trying to answer a question.
To deal with this, the best thing you can do is to practice your interview technique.
Think of your examples and practice describing them using the STAR mnemonic and do lots of research on the company and the role before you attend.
Step 5. Provide Answers With Evidence and Statistics
As part of the research that you complete for the application process, make sure that you pay particular attention to the statistics and figures, as the interviewers want to know that you have the analytical mind that they are looking for.
This also relates to the evidence of your experience, too. If you are demonstrating successful implementation of something, you would need to provide some sort of Key Performance Indicators as part of your description.
Step 6. Check Applications Twice Over for Spelling and Grammar
Your initial application is usually the first contact that you will have with the recruitment team, and you want to make a good impression.
Before you submit your application form, make sure that you have checked for any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.
Step 7. Ensure Mental Health and Well-Being
Applying for a role at Toyota is a long process, and with the added pressure, it can be rigorous. Looking after your mental health and well-being is the best way to protect yourself through the process, so focus on getting adequate rest and eating healthily, and don’t forget to hydrate.
Be kind to yourself through the stressful process so that you can be your best when you need to be.
All the roles at Toyota Motor Company (TMC) are advertised on the Toyota careers page, with a simple-to-use search function. You’ll have to pass each stage of the thorough application process to get a job offer though.
Jobs at TMC cover all business areas, from accounting and HR to production, engineering, and supply chain management. They have positions available for both experienced professionals and students.
There are many options for career progression at Toyota, whether you are in a production role or working in sales. On-the-job training and tuition assistance are on offer for all positions. Having TMC on your resume is also great when you are looking for a role elsewhere.
The best TMC job for you depends on a number of factors, including your personal career goals, previous experience, and qualifications. With so many types of careers available, there is a job to suit almost everyone at Toyota.
In the reference section of the TMC application form, you will need to provide contact details from at least one previous employer. This is so that the recruitment team can contact them to verify details of your employment there and potentially find out more about how you performed at work.
There are many entry-level positions available at TMC with no experience. Some of these are positions for students (like internships), while others are a steppingstone to a full career path.
Salaries at Toyota are considered to be good, and the average salary for an engineer at TMC is about $132,000 a year. At the same time, a manager gets an average salary of $185,000 a year. Top salaries are in the high six-figure area for many executive-level roles.
As one of the biggest automotive companies in the world, Toyota is a relatively safe place to start or continue your career. They are expanding into electric and AI vehicle research and production, so there is plenty of scope for the business to remain competitive in an ever-changing world.
The Toyota Motor Company is a good company to work for as it offers many perks and benefits, not least the competitive salary and vehicle leasing opportunities. It has a well-considered diversity and inclusion policy, as well as visions and values that work together for a great company culture.
The salary at TMC depends on the role that you have applied for, but Engineers can expect to earn up to $166,00 a year. In contrast, managers can expect to earn up to $245,000 – a competitive salary is a large part of the popularity of the roles at Toyota.
The Toyota Motor Company (TMC) hires in the same way for almost all positions. After the initial application, you will need to complete some online aptitude tests before attending an assessment center. The last step is the final interview.
All the role at TMC is advertised online on the Toyota careers page. All the details you will need to apply are on the website.
Final Thoughts
With more than 10 million vehicles produced every year, Toyota is one of the largest automotive companies in the world, so it is no surprise that working for Toyota is a career choice for many.
With roles spanning all sorts of business areas, from research and development to engineering and production, as well as head office functions, getting a job at Toyota means working through a long and thorough application process.
However, the salary and perks of working at Toyota definitely seem to be worth it.
