Any engineers here?

[threebikesmcginty]

The main thing I've noticed, is that if you are successful, they nearly always let you know there and then. If they don't let you know you've got the job by the end of the interview, it's because you haven't.

I'd never tell someone I was interviewing if they'd got the job, or not, at the interview. I'm fairly sure it's uncommon to tell a candidate straightaway.

I stand to be corrected/shot down in flames, etc.

 

[Globalti]

I've only had two serious job interviews and both were more like a discussion of how I could fit in with the company than a one-sided interview. Both were enjoyable and interesting and I got both jobs.

 

[Yellow Fang]

I'd never tell someone I was interviewing if they'd got the job, or not, at the interview. I'm fairly sure it's uncommon to tell a candidate straightaway.

I stand to be corrected/shot down in flames, etc.

Well, even if they don't say so in so many words, it's usually pretty obvious IME.

 

[Dilbert]

I'd never tell someone I was interviewing if they'd got the job, or not, at the interview. I'm fairly sure it's uncommon to tell a candidate straightaway.

I stand to be corrected/shot down in flames, etc.

+1


I expect it depends on the job and the company but I am an engineer in a large company with a fair bit of recruitment experience and we never tell candidates at the interview the result.  I have been interviewed by a number of companies and again never had feedback there and then.  In the case of the OP I would imagine there will be a number of applicants (possibly interviewed by different people depending on the size off the company) so they are unlikely to tell at the time.




To answer the OP:

Have they told you the format (Normal interview, Psychometric Testing, role play etc)?  If it is competency based which is quite popular in large organisations then try to think of examples from school, university or part time jobs to demonstrate the competencies they are looking for (normally things like Team Working,  Focus,  communications skills etc.)  Sometimes they will send you information so you can prepare a bit.

Relax (easier said than done)

Don't worry about short silences (either to compose an answer or after you have given one) and don't try to fill them!!

As others have said, have some intelligent questions prepared for the end when they will ask you (Long term career opportunities, do the encourage charter-ship, structure of their GDP etc rather than pay and holidays!!).  If they don't ask you then ask, but don't try to get them in mid interview unless they are naturally drawn out in the discussion.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression -  cheesy but true - they are looking for someone who in a short time will be representing the company with Customers and suppliers - you may get away with looking like Wurzell Gummage if you are an expert on something and there is a skills shortage but you aren't and there isn't.

Read up on the company, its market position and its competitors.

They will be looking for enthusiasm, intelligence and potential at this stage, but it will help if you could tell the difference between a transistor and a resistor if asked   

Best of Luck

  

 

[rockyraccoon]

thank you all! Appreciate all the comments

I am looking forward to it but very nervous already

 

[Spinney]

Remember the interview starts when you walk on site - if they give you lunch or something first, you are still being interviewed.

Don't be afraid to think before answering a technical question. Someone I used to know used to interview people (i.e. this is a 2nd hand quote), and used to ask things like 'If you are in a boat on a lake and throw a box overboard, will the level of the lake rise or fall'. Think about it ( I think thinking out loud was OK - just don't rush to give the first answer that springs into your head without thinking it throug).

It is now many, many years ago, but I got a job at BAe on leaving Uni in spite of being asked about the elements that should be in a control system and failing to mention feedback! (My reply - 'sorry - I didn't realise you were asking about something as basic as that')

Good luck.

 

[mgarl10024]

I used to be a software engineer, if that's proper engineering.

It most certainly is!

 

[mgarl10024]

'If you are in a boat on a lake and throw a box overboard, will the level of the lake rise or fall'. Think about it

I've gone from:
No - cause the overall weight being displaced will stay the same.
Yes it'll rise - cause the box will now be in contact with the water and so displacing some more.
and then back to No again - cause the weight is the same, therefore the displacement doesn't change (as the extra water displaced by the box in the water would not be displaced by the boat any more).

I'm settling on No.

 

[Dan B]

Are you measuring on the side of the boat or at the lakeside

 

[summerdays]

Someone I used to know used to interview people (i.e. this is a 2nd hand quote), and used to ask things like 'If you are in a boat on a lake and throw a box overboard, will the level of the lake rise or fall'. Think about it ( I think thinking out loud was OK - just don't rush to give the first answer that springs into your head without thinking it throug).

I know an engineer who uses that one and similar ... it ended up in a big discussion at a party once and I can't remember what we decided the answer was.

 

[RedBike]

Swot up on whatever they make, read their sales brochures, and make sure you can answer the obvious question. "So why do you want this job,".
and avoid listening to me!

 

[Dan B]

Further thought on the boat & box question: not having been a position to interview people myself in a while, but I would be more interested in a candidate who said "let me work that out" and sketched out how they would solve the problem analytically, stating their assumptions and estimates, than one that said "oh, it would do X" without explaining how they know

Another favourite question of a similar nature is "how many telephones are there in London"

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Another favourite question of a similar nature is "how many telephones are there in London"

Is it 7

 

[ColinJ]

I went for an interview at Kent university and was asked to describe what would happen if a fridge door was opened in a sealed room. That threw me for a few seconds but then I got into it. I had an interesting discussion with the interviewer about thermodynamics, how fridges worked, energy transfers, insulation, and so on. It all went so well that I received a letter the following day offering me a place if I achieved even two grade Ds at A-level.

The interviewer told me that the average A-level student choked on that question because it required them to actually think for themselves rather than just churn out information they'd memorised for exams.

 

[Fnaar]

Walk in with overalls and a bl00dy great spanner, and say "right, what needs fixing?"

Good luck, btw!