Shared some of this in another thread but I'll write it up properly. I've now been through Lilly's process twice: once as a candidate (2022) and once as a hiring manager consultant helping a team there (2024). I know what's on both sides of the table.
Lilly has five core values they lean on heavily: integrity, excellence, respect, inclusion, and innovation. These aren't just marketing. Interviewers are trained to map candidate stories to these values and score them. If your story doesn't connect to one of the five, it's harder to score.
Common behavioral questions I've seen: Tell me about a time when you had to speak up about something that felt risky. (Integrity) Describe a project where you had to raise the bar beyond what was asked of you. (Excellence) Give me an example of navigating a significant disagreement with a peer or stakeholder. (Respect/Inclusion) What's the most creative solution you've brought to a hard technical problem? (Innovation)
The STAR format is expected but they'll probe. If your Situation is vague, they ask for specifics. If your Action is 'we,' they ask what YOU specifically did. Be ready to go one layer deeper on every part.
Pharma-specific angle: Lilly cares a lot about patient impact framing. If you can genuinely connect your work to 'this helped get a product to patients faster' or 'this reduced risk of error in a critical process,' that resonates in a way that 'we shipped the feature on time' doesn't. You don't have to fabricate it. But if you have it, use it.
Timing: each behavioral round is 45-60 minutes. They fit 3-4 questions in. For senior and above they usually do two behavioral rounds with different interviewers, scoring independently.