When you need to hire a mechanical engineer, your goal is to find the best fit for the role. Not only do you need to assess each candidate’s technical skills, but you also need to ensure that they’re a match for your company’s culture.
By asking the right questions, you can get to know your candidates with greater ease. You’ll be able to improve your selection process, increasing the odds that you choose a right-fit candidate the first time.
If you aren’t sure what to ask, here are six of the best questions to ask mechanical engineers during the interview process.
1. Can You Tell Me About Your Most Challenging Engineering Project from the Last Year? Why Was It Difficult, and How Did You Ensure Success?
This two-part question does several things. First, it lets you learn more about how the candidate defines challenges. Second, it gives you insights into the projects they’ve tackled in the past, as well as how they put their skills to work to secure a positive outcome.
2. What Processes Do You Use to Ensure You Don’t Make Mistakes?
With this question, you can learn more about how a candidate self-audits their work. Ideally, you want to hear answers that outline clear checks and balances, showcasing their diligence and commitment to accuracy through wise choices.
The processes can be complex or simple. Whether they use technical tools, confer with colleagues, or another approach, the presence of a reliable system is what matters most.
3. Tell Me About a Time You Stepped Up as Leader.
This prompt is fairly broad, giving the candidates space to choose an example that focuses on leadership above all else. Not only will you learn if they’ve taken on leadership responsibilities, but you’ll also discover insights about their leadership style, something that could be crucial for assessing culture fit.
- Can You Tell Me About a Time When You Had to Deal with Cost Reductions While Handling a Project? How Did You Navigate the Situation, and What Was the Outcome?
When you ask this question, you get to learn how the candidate deals with adversity. Additionally, you can find out about their creativity when it comes to staying on budget and reducing expenses, as well as how they ensure success when faced with an unexpected financial challenge.
- Tell Me About a Process You Developed That Enhanced the Performance Capabilities of Yourself or the Engineering Team.
The world of engineering is very process-oriented. This question lets you determine if the candidate takes the initiative to refine procedures to achieve better results, as well as how they tackle problems they encounter.
6. Why Did You Become a Mechanical Engineer?
With this question, you can learn more about a candidate’s initial motivations for pursuing opportunities in the field, as well as gauge their passion for mechanical engineering. It’s a great way to discover what drives them to succeed in the field.
Ultimately, each of the questions above is worth asking when you’re interviewing mechanical engineers. If you’d like to find out more or are seeking out top-tier mechanical engineering talent, the team at Selectek can help. Contact us today.
