Questions to Ask Your Engineering Candidates
Your engineering interviews should cover questions that speak to the specific skills and experience required for the job, but they should also include questions that help you get a feel for the type of engineer the candidate is and the way they approach their work. For a more well-rounded conversation, incorporate these questions into your interviews with engineering candidates.
Questions to Ask Your Engineering Candidates
Why Did You Apply To This Job?
You want to be sure an engineering candidate has researched your company, paid attention to the job posting and sees themselves as a good fit for the role. Look for answers that speak specifically to their alignment.
Describe The Most Challenging Engineering Problem You’ve Worked On
This question will provide insight into the way an engineering candidate defines a challenge. You can ask follow–up questions about the approach they took to the problem and the outcome of the problem, as well. This is also a good question for new engineers who may not have much work experience.
What Made You Pursue This Branch of Engineering
You can teach an engineer a lot of things, but you cannot teach them passion for their work. You want to hire someone who can enthusiastically describe the reasons why they went into this particular field. While someone who chose a specialty based on earning potential might get points for honesty, they may not necessarily be a good fit if they aren’t passionate about the field.
What Type Of Leadership Experience Do You Have?
Ask this question even if the role is not supervisory or managerial. Engineers need to take the lead on a team and it’s important to get a feel for the experience they have motivating others, managing projects and taking ownership of outcomes.
How Do You Keep Your Skills Sharp?
Engineering concepts, best practices and technologies are always evolving, and engineers must continually build their skills to stay relevant. Certified engineers must engage in continuing education to maintain their credentials, but non-certified engineers do not, so It’s important to find people who use their spare time to stay on the cutting edge of industry trends.
How Do You Guard Against Mistakes In Your Work?
A single miscalculation by even hundredths of a point can spell disaster for engineering projects. Asking how candidates prevent mistakes helps you determine their attention to detail.
Tell Me About A Time You Made A Mistake At Work
Guarding against mistakes is important, but mistakes do happen. This will help you gauge whether a candidate is willing to own up to mistakes and the approach they take to correct errors and ensure they do not happen again. Consider it a red flag if a candidate says they’ve never made a mistake.
Do You Want To Improve Your Engineering Interviews?
If you are looking for talented engineers who can help your organization achieve its goals, contact the experts at PEAK Technical Staffing today to learn how we can help you improve your hiring process.
