A mechanical engineering interview tests a candidate's understanding of physical principles, problem solving, and personality. Mechanical engineering interview questions come in many different forms including those asking about positive examples of completed work. Another popular method of learning more about a candidate is to ask for a negative work trait or story from the past. Personal questions are frequently asked to get a sense of a candidate's work style and how well his or her personality will fit in the office environment. Technical questions assure interviewers of a candidate's understanding of mechanical engineering.
The simplest and, usually, easiest mechanical engineering interview questions from the candidate's perspective involve discussing positive qualities. Here, companies are looking for interview answers that articulate successes and outstanding achievements in the mechanical engineering field. Common questions include asking about a difficult situation the interviewee once overcame or to extrapolate upon an achievement contained in a resume. Interviewers also often ask the interviewee to describe positive aspects of work habits and other strengths.
Negative interview questions are a way for interviewers to discover how a potential employee deals with adversity. Frequent questions include asking for an example how the applicant solved a problem with a coworker and or describing a situation in which a job was not done properly and what the applicant learned from the experience. Generally, interviewers are not looking to find fault in the person, but are instead looking to see how quickly the candidate thinks on his or her feet and how well life's inevitable negative moments are handled.
Mechanical engineering takes place in many different companies, ranging from manufacturing to testing and to design and analysis. Mechanical engineering interview questions frequently serve to give the interviewer a better sense of the candidate's understanding of the guiding principles of the profession. Asking how heat transfer works in a production environment, or the physics of space flight for a testing environment, are common. These questions likely focus on small details that help interviewers determine how quickly the candidate can be assimilated into the daily work flow.
Personal questions are frequently asked to get a better understanding of an individual's history and to ascertain whether that personality type is a strong fit for the team. Mechanical engineering interview questions of this nature tend to involve, for example, what methods one uses to deal with stress, how to communicate through a disagreement with a coworker, when the candidate typical asks for help, and when or how that person takes control of a project.