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Quick tips for interviewing engineers

Posted on 06/14/2021
Engineer interview: questions to ask

Do you know how to interview and hire engineers? Read our guide for insider tips and a list of the best engineer interview questions!

Employee relations Employers

Hiring an engineer can be complicated, especially since you need to know everything about their expertise and qualifications before you offer them a position. With hundreds of similar applicants, finding the right one is easier said than done. In this blog post, we’ll be looking at the importance of conducting an effective interview and we’ll share some expert tips on what kinds of questions will make it easier for you to determine which candidate to hire.

What is the purpose of conducting an interview?

Job interviews are fundamental in any hiring process. A job interview essentially gives a potential employer the chance to make sure a candidate can do what they say they can and will benefit the company as intended. Employers also use job interviews to double check employment history, validate qualifications, and get an idea of the candidate’s long-term goals. A job interview can help to identify any red flags that may have gotten missed in other parts of the hiring process. Job interviews are often seen as the most important and effective filter before a candidate is offered employment.

How do you conduct an engineering interview?

Interviewing an engineer is a little different than interviewing other types of candidates as you’ll have to ask very thorough skill-related questions as well as broad behavioural questions to determine whether a candidate is right for the job. Hiring engineers for important projects or leadership roles means that the margin of error in recruitment decisions may be smaller than other jobs and avoiding a bad hire should be a priority. Even if you have a strong engineering candidate that you think will be a good fit, some positions require a separate technical interview with experienced engineers that can ask more industry-specific questions than a hiring manager or human resources recruiter.

Conducting effective interviews

Consistency is key when interviewing engineers, and to make a true comparison between the different applicants that you talk with, you’ll need to ask them all exactly the same questions. A structured interview process uses standardized questions to gather information for a direct apples-to-apples comparison of candidates. It’s a helpful way to reduce bias in the interview process that can also make your evaluation go more smoothly.

Asking candidates what they would do in certain challenging situations is another effective approach to interviewing engineers. Behavioural questions like these are a great way to measure things like hands-on expertise, critical thinking, and crisis management. Job interviews typically last about one hour, so make sure these types of questions are short and to the point so that you don’t use the whole interview waiting for your candidate to answer an overly complicated question.

Consider looking beyond qualifications when hiring an engineer. When appropriate, look into your candidate’s work experience and career goals instead of focusing only on qualifications, degrees, and training certificates. This doesn’t mean that you should dismiss any legal or technical requirements for the position you’re hiring for, but some candidates have lots of valuable on-the-job experience that could be more useful for your company than you might think.

Always keep an eye out for red flags during job interviews. If a candidate struggles to give specific answers when needed, this might mean that they exaggerated their experience or skills on their resume. Follow up on these points to determine whether your candidate is just a little nervous, or if they are unable to provide satisfactory responses to key questions. Other red flags include repeated lateness, inconsistent work history, overly negative attitudes towards previous employers or coworkers, and bragging about other job offers.

Engineering interview questions

Interview questions come in all shapes and sizes depending on the position that you’re hiring for and the kind of engineer that you’re looking for. Here are some of the most important questions that our Roevin experts think should be asked in all engineering job interviews:

  • How are you updating your knowledge of the latest tools and technology?
  • Talk about a challenging technical report that you've had to complete.
  • What checklist process do you use to avoid mistakes?
  • Do you have any patents? If not, would you like to pursue a patent in the future?
  • What new engineering skills have you learned in the past year?
  • Which software packages can you use?
  • Describe a mistake you made at a previous job. How did you handle the situation? What could you have done to avoid the mistake?
  • Have you ever received negative feedback on a project? How did you respond?
  • Tell me about the most challenging engineering project that you’ve worked on in the last year.
  • What leadership skills will you bring to this position?
  • What is an issue that your industry is currently facing?
  • What would your ideal manager be like?
  • Why are you interested in this job?
  • Why would you like to work at this company?
  • What are your salary expectations?
  • Where do you see yourself in your career five or ten years from now?

The bottom line on engineering job interviews

Above all else, job interviews require structure, consistency, and expert insight if you want to find your ideal engineering employee. By following the advice and steps laid out in this blog post, you’ll increase your chances of hiring talented engineers that will have a positive impact on your business. If you need a helping hand with your hiring process, consider reaching out to the Roevin team!

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