Technical interviews for graduate engineering jobs

CVs and qualifications only go a small way to providing employers with information about a candidate. A technical interview gives an employer the opportunity to probe more deeply and draw out experience and knowledge that indicates how well the person will match with the role the employer has in mind. It’s also an opportunity to ask some competence-based questions to make sure the candidate really does have the experience and background they claim on their CV.

What form do technical interviews take?

This depends on the employer. In the interviews I have been involved with, we try to test general technical competence and the basic understanding of engineering principles. We often start by asking a candidate to talk about a familiar subject, for example, their final-year project. As an interviewer, I find this rewarding. I’ve recently had insights into areas of technology I previously knew nothing about. These discussions are also valuable because the interviewer can gauge how well the candidate explains technical concepts with which they are familiar, but the audience is not.
We also ask basic questions relevant to our business environment. For example, being in the energy industry, we might ask candidates to give some examples of problems faced by the UK in terms of energy supply. We might prompt the candidate if they are struggling or ask them more specific questions on a particular aspect. This leads on to more detailed questions where we try to see how a candidate applies their engineering background to something they may not be immediately familiar with.

What other things might a candidate face?

One of my favourite techniques is to bring with me an engineering drawing of one of our products and ask the candidate to try to explain the basic components and operation around the drawing.
This is not as daunting as it sounds and it really shows what level of detailed understanding the candidate has. Candidates often expect a totally verbal interview and some struggle with this, especially candidates with a relatively practical background. These engineers often relate immediately to drawings as the universal ‘engineering language’ and seize an unrolled drawing like a drowning man seizes a life raft. It provides a different focus and it can completely change the course of the interview.
One word of caution here: unroll large engineering drawings with care. I once had a candidate who accidentally hit me on the head with a roll of paper in his enthusiasm to get to grips with the drawing!

Do technical interviewers only look for the right answers?

Showing a basic understanding of technical concepts and being able to apply these in a practical way to problems or situations is more important. If we feel that the graduate can work things out for themselves, then that’s usually worth a lot more than someone who knows a lot technically but has little flexibility or enthusiasm to get involved with new areas. A good candidate might use sketches when explaining concepts and will ask the interviewer questions to guide themselves in the right direction and keep on topic.

How can a candidate make a recovery if they get stumped?

Pause, perhaps ask the interviewers some clarifying questions, and try to work things out from first principles. Don’t waffle. It’s better to say that you don’t know, or that you haven’t come across this type of issue in your studies, and ask some more questions to help gain a greater understanding of the original question.

What are your tips for success?

You need to have researched the employer’s business, types of product, customers, etc. Avoid jargon and acronyms. When you talk about experiences and achievements, concentrate on your personal contribution. The interviewer really wants to know what role you played. Bring an open mind and listen as much as you talk. There is nothing more annoying than a candidate who won’t shut up and doesn’t answer the questions because they haven’t listened!

Business Excellence Model Expert

What about your years of experience?

I have been working in the business excellence field since 1993.

2- If we ask you to recommend to our readers ONE advice to follow in their own career, what you recommend ?

Never be satisfied.

3- During your years of experience , what was the most common non value add activity you find in most companies in different fields ?

Poor communication.

4- Achievinf business excellence is not easy  , there are so many ways , MBNQA , EFQM , Lean Six Sigma , TQM , etc… . In your opinion , what is the most effective  way , and how should a company achieve excellence ?

Kaizen is the most effective way. Companies should use the creativity of their people to find and solve problems. First it is necessary to set balanced targets and to make an environment where it is okay to expose problems.

5- During your years of consulting , I'm sure you faced a hopeless business case ( a company that can't be improved ) unless there is a  major change . What was the case, and how did you solve the problem ?

The only hopeless cases are when a company has no sales or completely runs out of cash and credit to fund their business. All other problems can be solved if you don’t give up.

6- If you become a CEO of  a 500 fortune company  ( Toyota for example ) , what will be your 1st decision , and why?

My first decision would be to study the current situation carefully, listen to customers, listen to the employees and understand where are the gaps.

Asking the Interviewer Questions

There is one question that you will definitely be asked in any job interview, a question for which you should always prepare a response. That is: “Do you have any questions for me?”

In this Business English Podcast lesson, we will focus on how to deal with this question. We’ll talk about what interviewers expect from you and we’ll emphasize the importance of preparation. We’ll also study how you can use this opportunity to “interview the interviewer” – that is, to find out 
whether the company is a good fit for you. Meanwhile, we’ll talk about how, for the interviewer, this is a chance to put your company in the best possible light.

In the listening, we will return to Yala Santos’ interview. Remember, she is an HR specialist at a manufacturing company who is interviewing for an HR manager position in a business unit of a fast moving consumer goods company, Fun Beverages International.

Listening Questions:
 
1) What is Yala’s first question for the interviewer?
2) How does the interviewer respond?
3) Yala’s second question is a little tougher – what does she ask?

Read the following answers by a candidate in a job interview to two different questions from an interviewer on 'Why do you want to work for us?' and 'What makes you suitable for this position?'. Focus on the words/phrases in BOLD and think about their meaning. 

Interviewer:

'Why do you want to work for us?'

Candidate:

'Well, first of all, I have been impressed with everything I have read and heard, from both the interview and what colleagues and friends have told me. Your company has a very good reputation in the industry. Not only for its products, but also its working culture. From what I have heard here, it is a company that recognises and rewards talent. And I believe that in such an environment I will thrive. Your company is also a market leader in the industry. And with what you have told me about the planned expansion and diversification of the company, I feel that it provides people who have the right motivation and ambition, the opportunity to excel and progress.'

Interviewer:

'So, what makes you suitable for this position?'

Candidate:

'I feel I possess all the requirements and experience for the position. First of all, I have worked for over 5 years in a similar position, where I have exceeded all my targets year after year. Also, I am fully up to speed with all the industry standards and work practices that you use here. So, if I was selected for the vacancy, I could hit the ground running. I am also very adaptive and can pick up things very quickly. As I showed when the company I am currently working for, was bought out 3 years ago.'

'On a personal level, I feel I have the determination or drive which is fundamental for a position like this. This has been demonstrated with the promotions I have achieved throughout my career. In addition, having worked in the same company for over 5 years, it shows that I am committed. I also have the soft skills which a manager needs to have with both the people who report to him and clients. For example, I am an excellent communicator, but I can also listen.'

Interview Questions for Shel Horowitz

Questions About Low-Cost, High-Impact Marketing
 
1. How can people market more effectively? What techniques can they use? 

2. What are some of your favorite marketing strategies? 

3. Tell us about some of your low-cost marketing successes. 

4. Is it true that you can reach 80 million people for free on the Internet? 

5. You actually suggest that business owners can get PAID to do their own marketing. How could that be? 

6. You talk in your book about marketing by becoming an expert. How can someone do this? 

7. You also talk about client-centered marketing. What do you mean by that? 

8. When you started Accurate Writing & More, how much did you originally spend on marketing? 

9. How do you market the business now? 

10. How did you learn so much about marketing by running a résumé and career service firm? 

11. Why do people need to do marketing? 

12. What's wrong with the traditional approach? 

13. How do new technologies affect marketing? 

14. Why do you say that many businesses waste money on ineffective marketing? What would be a better approach? 

15. Do businesses need to spend money on advertising? 

16. What led you to write Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World 

17. What else have you written? 

18. How can people order your books? 

Interview Questions: Business Focus
 
1. You say that market share is irrelevant to most businesses. If that's true, why do so many companies try to stab each other in the back? 

2. How and why should businesses seek alliances with their competitors? 

3. But what if my competitors don't act that way? They'll try to take advantage! 

4. You've identified three keys to business success. What are they? 

5. We hear a lot about outstanding customer service and empowered employees?but it doesn't always hold up on a close look. How and why should companies do better with these groups? 

6. Can you give examples of well-known companies that thrive by being nice? 

7. It's easy to be honest in good times. What about in a crisis? 

8. Please explain about "biological marketing." 

9. Does cooperative, ethical marketing cost more? 

10. Tell us about this international movement you've started, to find 25,000 business leaders who'll pledge to be ethical. 

11. How did you get so many powerful endorsements--Jack Canfield, Mark Joyner, Jay Conrad Levinson, and over 70 others? 

12. How can people get your book, Principled Profit?

10 Simple Rules For Conducting Ethics Investigations

Ethics investigations can be quite complex and fraught with potential risks. Taking care with them will allow the company to avoid pitfalls in both a legal and human sense. Conduct investigations discreetly and carefully by planning the entire process. Determine who you should talk with initially, prepare the questions and approach you will take with potential witnesses or suspected parties and be open enough to add other potential witnesses, add questions or change approaches based on interview answers. Asking appropriate questions will get the best results.

1. Get help - At ethics program setup or whenever you need them, determine subject matter experts that you can use to help in an ethics investigation. Especially when something is outside your area of expertise, you will need assistance to understand principles, procedures, capabilities, etc. Example: if you are an HR expert but the investigation will involve going over complex financial reports, get the help of an accounting expert. Obtain an agreement (in writing) from the expert that they are to keep all matters of the investigation confidential including whether or not there even is an investigation.
   
2. Ask open-ended questions - When interviewing potential witnesses or suspected parties, ask questions that will get them talking. Asking yes or no questions will get yes or no answers. To get better, more useable information, ask open ended questions such as, "Tell me about your relationship with the rest of your team members" or "What more can you tell me about what you saw" or "What else should I know about John Doe here at work".
   
3. Do not put words in the interviewee's mouth - Asking a witness, "Did you see Bob put his hand on Gretchen?" presupposes that something actually happened and uses your words instead of theirs to describe something. In an investigation, the interviewer is not the witness so do not allow yourself to get involved in "pre-answering" the questions. A better way to ask for this same information might be, "What, if anything, did you see happen when Bob and Gretchen were in the stock room?" or "What happened yesterday around 3PM".
   
4. Don't stop asking questions too early - Keep asking questions until you are assured you have as much useable information as you can get, and do not stop the investigation too early. If you believe there is something important that someone can tell you, keep asking questions that will get those answers until you are sure you have done as much as you can (in other words don't waste time at dead ends either). Another great question is to ask, "Is there anything else you can provide me that would help me in this investigation?" This would allow a witness to produce documents, other witnesses, or other corroborating evidence of suspected incidents.
   
5. Do not give a witness any indication that you do not believe their story - Witnesses want you to believe their story whether it is true or not. Do not give them an excuse to stop talking by indicating you do not believe their story. Any sign that you do not believe a witness or that you discount their story will give that witness an excuse to cease cooperating. In other words, badly handling a witness can make them dry up and you will get nothing further from them.
   
6. Report facts only, not opinions - When writing the report after an interview, write only what the person said and be sure to report only facts the person witnessed. Including the witness' opinions or what they heard from someone else can get you into trouble both in trying to determine what really happened and if the witness or the suspected party legally challenges your final decision. The more you write opinions, anyone's opinions including your own, will create even more legal landmines. Writing the facts is critical to an ethical investigation.
   
7. Verify statements as discreetly as possible - Whatever a witness tells you about what they saw or heard, attempt to verify it as discreetly as possible. Look at entry logs, sign-in logs, computer reports, other witness' statements or anything that will help you corroborate statements.
   
8. Look under every rock and in every crevice - Do not be bashful about examining any legitimate resource for information. Of course, ahead of time, you must have a clear policy stating what the company may search on company premises and what it will not search. Then you must stick to that policy. Look in computer files and email, check in desks, or store rooms, check voice mail and phone records, and review video surveillance tapes to find whatever you need to investigate a report of an ethics violation. Be prepared, because some of this can get legally sticky. Check with your in-house counsel about what is legal in your state and what is not, but look everywhere that is legitimate.
   
9. Never, never, never play "Good Cop, Bad Cop" - or any game for that matter. This type of thing is simply Hollywood drama. It has nothing to do with conducting real investigations. An investigator's best tool is his or her relationship with the interviewee and playing games destroys any chance of establishing a rapport with them. Leave this stuff to the movies and TV where it belongs.
   
10. Never lie to anyone about what you know or do not know - Lying to a witness can be just as bad as playing other types of games with them, for it can destroy a solid relationship. If they ask how, who or why someone delivered a report or what someone else said, simply state that you cannot reveal anything about the investigation.

Interview Questions for a Business Systems Manager

1. Managerial Style & Experience

   • During many interviews, the topic of management style is raised. An entry level employee may be asked what type of managerial style they work well under or a manager may be questioned on the type of management style they exhibit. For a Business Systems Manager, the interviewer will usually ask the candidate to describe their managerial style. These types of questions help the organization identify if the candidate's managerial style coincides with the business's objectives, ethics and employees.
     

   Strengths & Weaknesses

   • Undoubtedly, most interviewers question the Business Systems Manager candidate on their strengths and weaknesses and how they will be used (or improved) to benefit the hiring company. To prepare, the interviewee should prepare a list of three to five areas they deem themselves to be strongly proficient and list a couple of reason why these are their strengths. This listing will help the candidate communicate their skills and their unique attributes that will make them effective employees.
     
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   Work History and Job Specifics

   • Hiring organizations are interested in candidates' past work experience, such as the number of years in which they have worked for the industry, as well as in their proficiency in specific skills required for the job. Interviewers are looking for an employee to give specific and pertinent examples from prior job experience so that they can assess the candidate's decision making abilities and industry knowledge. Fictional scenarios may be constructed and the candidate expected to describe how they would react to the situation as well. This gives interviewees with less experience the opportunity to discuss future situations they will encounter.
     

   Preparedness and Etiquette

   • Proper organization, etiquette, and preparedness can assist interviewees in making a positive impression on potential employers. Even if a candidate for a Business Systems Manager answers all questions quickly and thoroughly, making an etiquette mistake may cost them the job. It is important to show up to the interview at least five minutes early and turn of any phone or other device that may ring unexpectedly. Additionally, a sturdy handshake, eye contact and good posture are good ways to exhibit confidence and credibility.