Question Overview: This is a great opportunity for your candidate to show you their personality. It's important that your candidate is a good fit for your company's culture.
Sample Answer: I'm originally from New York, but I moved here to go to school. I love the city, but I'm looking forward to moving out to the suburbs when I have kids. I like to run and read in my spare time.
Question Overview: This question is a great way to gauge how well your candidate understands their own strengths and weaknesses. It's also a good way to see if they have a realistic view of the job market.
Sample Answer: I'm not the most experienced mechanical engineer you'll find, but I'm willing to work hard and learn from my mistakes. I'm also really good at communicating with other teams and figuring out how to make their ideas work with my designs.
Question Overview: This question is a great way to gauge how a candidate handles failure. It's important to know how they respond to failure because it will happen, and you want to know how they will handle it.
Sample Answer: I once designed a part that was supposed to be used in a car, but I didn't realize it was too heavy for the car's frame. I had to go back and redesign the part so it was lighter and more efficient.
Question Overview: This question helps you gauge how well your candidate will fit in with your company's culture. It also helps you understand what they are passionate about outside of engineering.
Sample Answer: I love history. I think it's fascinating to see how people lived in the past and how they were able to create things that we still use today. I also like reading about the different cultures and how they interacted with each other.
Question Overview: This question is a great way to gauge how well your candidate can communicate their skills and experience. It's also a good way to see if they have any gaps in their resume.
Sample Answer: I've worked on a lot of different projects in my career. I've worked on a team that designed a new kind of car engine, and I've worked on a team that redesigned the engine for an existing car. I've also worked on a team that designed an engine for a plane.
Question Overview: This question helps you understand how your candidate thinks about their education and what they learned. It can also reveal what they enjoyed learning about and what they didn't.
Sample Answer: My favorite subject in school was math. I loved the logic behind it and the way it could be applied to real life. I didn't like history, because I felt like it was just memorizing facts and dates.
Question Overview: This question is a great way to see how your candidate thinks on their feet. It's a good idea to ask this question at the end of your interview, because it will give you a chance to see how they handle the pressure of the final question.
Sample Answer: I think I'm the best candidate for this position because I have a lot of experience in this field. I've been working in mechanical engineering for over five years, and I've been able to work on a lot of different projects. I've learned a lot about what makes a good design and what doesn't, and I'm excited to bring that knowledge to your company.
Question Overview: Mechanical engineers are tasked with creating a product that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing. This question helps you gauge how well your candidate understands the importance of design in their work.
Sample Answer: Heat transfer is most effectively done through a combination of methods. I think it's important to have a product that looks good, but you also need to make sure it functions well. I think the best way to do that is to make sure the product is designed in a way that allows heat to be transferred in multiple ways.
Question Overview: Frustration is a normal part of any job, but it's important to know how your candidate will handle it. This question helps you gauge their ability to work with others and their ability to resolve issues.
Sample Answer: I was frustrated with my team because we were trying to create a new product that was going to be a big seller. We had been working on it for months and we were still not close to a final design. I had a meeting with my boss and he told me that we needed to start over from scratch. I was frustrated because I felt like we had already done so much work, but he was right. We had been working on the wrong design for months and we were nowhere near where we needed to be.
Question Overview: This question is a great way to see how your candidate thinks about their work. It's easy to get caught up in the details of a project, but it's important to remember that the end goal is to produce something that is useful and accurate.
Sample Answer: Commercial software is designed to be as accurate as possible, but it's not always perfect. I like to think my method is more accurate because I can take into account a lot more variables than a program can. However, I have to admit that sometimes I don't have all the information I need to make a decision, so I have to make an educated guess.
Question Overview: This question is a great way to see how a candidate thinks on their feet. It's important to see how they react to a question with no right answer.
Sample Answer: I would probably use plastic or metal. I think metal would be more durable, but plastic might be more appealing to consumers.
Question Overview: This question is a little controversial, but it can be a good way to gauge a candidate's intelligence. If you're looking for someone with a high IQ, this is a good way to find out.
Sample Answer: I got a 1740 on my SAT.
Question Overview: This question is a great way to see how well your candidate understands the engineering process. They should be able to explain the phenomenon, and also explain how they would test it in a lab.
Sample Answer: The phenomenon is called "necking." It's when the glass rod gets thinner and thinner as it is pulled. It's caused by the stress on the glass rod. As it is pulled, it gets weaker and weaker until it breaks.
Question Overview: This question is a classic interview question, but it's important to ask because it reveals how your candidate thinks on their feet. It also shows you how they handle conflict and how they approach problems.
Sample Answer: I was working with a team on a project and we were all supposed to be working on the same page. However, one of the engineers was not communicating with the rest of us, and we were all working on different aspects of the project. I had to go to him and tell him that he needed to start communicating with us or we would not be able to finish the project on time.
Question Overview: This is a classic interview question, but it's still important to ask. A candidate who is honest about their weaknesses will be more likely to be honest about other things, like how they handle stress or how they work with others.
Sample Answer: I'm a perfectionist. I want everything I do to be as good as it can be, and sometimes that means I take too long to get things done. I'm working on being more efficient.
Question Overview: This question is a good way to gauge how well your candidate can handle difficult situations. It also gives you insight into their academic performance.
Sample Answer: The hardest class I took was Advanced Calculus. I had a hard time with it because I didn't really understand it, and it was hard to get help because the class was so advanced. I ended up getting a C in the class, but I learned a lot from it and I think it made me a better engineer.
Question Overview: This question is a great way to see how an engineer thinks on their feet. You want to see how they handle unexpected situations and how they react when they're not sure what to do.
Sample Answer: I was working on a project and we had a deadline coming up. I was trying to figure out how to make the project work, but I couldn't figure out how to get the design done in time. I decided to take a break and go for a walk. When I came back, I had an idea that allowed me to finish the project in time.
Question Overview: This question assesses how a candidate would handle a difficult situation. It's important to know how they will react to a problem, especially one that could affect the safety of your team.
Sample Answer: I would not follow that instruction. Safety is the most important thing in a construction site. If my team is not safe, then we are not doing our jobs. I would tell my manager that I cannot put my team in danger and that I will not tell them to do something that could put them at risk.
Question Overview: This question is a great way to gauge how well a candidate has thought out their career path. It's important to know if they have been working in the field for a while, or if they are just starting out.
Sample Answer: I've been working in mechanical engineering for the past five years. I've worked on a variety of projects, from designing new cars to creating new manufacturing equipment.
Question Overview: This is a simple question that can reveal a lot about a candidate. If they are too high or too low, it may be a sign they are not willing to negotiate or are unaware of the market.
Sample Answer: I'm looking for a salary of $55,000.