If you’re on the search for engineering jobs, you’ve probably done many behavioral engineer interviews. First interviews are usually to see if the candidate is the correct fit for the company. Behavior questions may be asked during initial consultations, However, technical interviews are standard in determining a candidate’s more technical and cognitive skills.
Technical engineer interviews let the company know if you have the skills to back up your case. A technical discussion will vary depending on the organization but may include a descriptive behavioral interview (BDI), analytical algorithms/coding section, and a predictive modeling case study. In short, they want to get down to the nuts and bolts of your skills as a potential engineer.
Even if you’ve done technical interviews in the past, there are skills to brush up on to help make them less intimidating. Please read our latest tips to help you thrive in your technical interview.
Three main areas to focus on in technical engineer interviews
Engineering firms may vary in what they’re looking for in a candidate. Nevertheless, there are common themes most technical discussions are seeking out. These include:
- an analytical and problem-solving mindset
- communication and collaboration skills
- an ambition to grow in one’s career
Many candidates may mistake focusing only on one of these main traits and ignoring the other. It may be tempting to bring up considerable analytical and hard skills while ignoring soft ones. But consider how much engineering is a collaborative process. If you are not able to explain your ideas succinctly and comprehensively, you may find yourself not getting a callback.
Here’s what we suggest to make the most out of these three main areas.
Showcase your experience, don’t tell
Technical interviews are often more exam-like than regular interviews. Candidates often mistake using memorization to give a clean and cut answer to technical questions. However, technical interviews are more about testing in-the-moment cognitive thinking than memorization. The company wants to see if you can understand the problem rather than what your former textbook said.
For example, a common question asked in technical engineer interviews is: Can you describe a time when you helped a project run more efficiently? This question tests analytical skills, problem-solving, and project management skills. Instead of only saying what you would do in this situation, show off your real-world experience of what you did to make a project run more efficiently.
A great way to break down questions into something easier to digest is the STAR response method. STAR stands for:
- Situation: Describe the challenge you faced.
- Task: Explain your role in the case.
- Action: Offer the steps you took to overcome the challenge.
- Result: Describe the consequences of your actions.
A STAR response to the “Can you describe a time when you helped a project run more efficiently?” question would be:
Situation: I worked on a design project that was behind schedule as the deadline approached.
Task: As the assistant to the principal engineer, I had to help implement strategies to make the project run more efficiently.
Action: What was crucial for me was to get clear on the goals right at the start and then create a plan with milestones. I also helped deal with the most challenging parts of the projects early on—that way, in case of any significant issues, I still had a nice amount of time to complete them before the deadline.
Result: Because of this, we could run the project again and finish before the deadline.
Slow down
Nerves get to us all, and it’s common for technical interviews to make our hearts speed up and our palms sweaty. But that makes it challenging to analyze the complex questions at hand and break them down. Nerves can also make you speed up and lose comprehension when explaining your answers. Considering that many engineering firms are starting to make soft skills like communication a priority and will likely be evaluating your communication skills throughout the interview process, you’ll want to make sure you’re able to present yourself.
A great way to slow down in an interview is to ask to take notes. While it may seem inefficient, technical discussions are here to see how well you tackle a problem. Studies show that taking notes of your answers before you give them also helps calm the nerves down and improve your chances of getting hired. Ask beforehand if you can take notes before you answer a question. If you do not want to use notes during your interview, repeating the question back to yourself and taking a moment can also help slow down your train of thought.
A technical interview is not a race. Many interviewers would rather hear a thoughtful answer to a question than a sped-up one. Remember, this is your interview too. You need to slow down and get a feel of the interviewer’s communication style.
Ask clarifying questions
You may not have all the answers when first posed with a challenge or situation. Ask questions if you’re unsure of an aspect of a question or problem! As an engineer, you wouldn’t be expected to be working in a silo. Collaboration and clarification are essential, and the same goes during your interview.
Get as interactive as possible. Ask clarifying questions and invite for collaboration. This could help show you are game to be a valuable team member who wants to connect. Your interview team does not expect you to have a perfect solution immediately. However, they expect an effort to collaborate with team members to solve problems cooperatively.
Showcase your ambitions
Hiring managers use technical interviews to test your experience and examine your ambitions for the future. Not every candidate will come up with answers that can solve everything. But a willingness to learn and grow one’s skillset is highly appreciated. If dealing with a technical interview question that you have little to no experience in, make sure to bring up the fact that you’re willing to grow in that area.
Just like the projects you may find yourself working on soon, we as working individuals are all works in progress too.
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