When preparing to interview an Engineer it’s important that you include a range of questions that test the candidate’s technological and engineering expertise.
In addition to engineering-specific questions, you’ll want to find out more about their interpersonal communication skills and cultural fit.
Here’s five questions to get you started…
1. What’s the most challenging engineering project you’ve been involved in over the past six months?
A great opening question as it reveals not only which particular project stretched the candidate, but also how they overcame any challenges of the project.
2. When have you demonstrated leadership skills, and how would you describe your leadership style?
By prompting the candidate with this question, you gain a sense of how they exude leadership.
3. Describe the most challenging written technical report you’ve ever had to produce…
This question is designed to test the candidate’s writing and/or communication skills. A successful answer will show evidence of how they overcame such a complex report, with an understanding of how they achieved this.
4. What processes have you created that enhanced engineering performance capabilities? Plus, what was the impact of this process on your division’s performance?
A multilayered question: due to the process-orientated nature of engineering roles, the candidate should be able to describe the process they helped to build. They then need to demonstrate how they translated this initiative in to ROI.
5. Describe the process you use for writing a piece of code – from requirements through to delivery
This question is helpful in extracting a candidate’s ability to communicate a process.