3 Behavioral Questions You’ll Hear in an Engineering Interview
December 8, 2022
If you are an engineer preparing for a job interview, chances are you will encounter behavioral interview questions. The behavioral interview allows a hiring manager to gain an in-depth understanding of your engineering experience and how you will fit on the team.
Behavioral interviews also give you an opportunity to highlight your expertise and speak about the impact your career has made. Following is a sample of a few questions we think you should be ready to answer and discuss.
We’ll follow this format for each:
- First is the question. However, keep in mind that an interview “question” is often expressed as a command prompt or statement. Our first one is a good example.
- Next, we’ll explain why this question is asked or why it is important to the hiring manager.
- Lastly, We’ll guide you on how to answer or respond to the question or command.
Tell me about a time you made a mistake on the job.
Why hiring managers ask this:
Engineers are the key to driving our world forward. While mistakes happen, the implications of errors in the Engineering world have potentially catastrophic consequences. When a hiring manager prompts this, they have several things in mind they’re looking for.- First, they want to know that you can acknowledge and take accountability for any mistakes.
- Second, they want to see how you handle discussions around mistakes. Basically, how did you handle it organizationally and interpersonally? Are you solution-oriented, or do you spend more time on blame and defense?
- Third, when a problem exists and the responsibility is yours, how does it impact your working relationships? Do you work with your team or colleagues, or do you isolate yourself or others? What is your approach to handling your mistakes vs. how you handle others’ mistakes?
- And fourth, what kind of learner are you? How do mistakes fuel your learning and future work? Some people can’t get over mistakes, while others can learn and adapt at impressive speeds - and quickly move on from their mistakes.
How you should answer:
No one likes to talk about their mistakes. But a thoughtful response to this type of prompt can demonstrate how you would be an excellent fit for their team. Next time you get a similar question during an interview, try this approach.- First, explain any necessary context. What was the project? Why was your team or company engaged in it? You should discuss your example without blaming or throwing anyone under the bus. If your example requires you to express blame, then pick another one.
- Next, dive into the specifics of your mistake. Share the facts and explain what happened. Take accountability where appropriate and convey why you think you made the mistake in a way that leads you into the last part of your answer.
- Finally, close the loop and share how you rectified the mistake.. What steps did you take to resolve it? Were there any positive impacts for your team or company related to the resolution? Discussing the entire process, from mistake to the solution, demonstrates your engineering expertise in times of stress and allows the hiring manager to picture you as an integral part of your team.
What’s the most challenging project you’ve worked on?
Why hiring managers ask this:
Engineering projects are notoriously complex. Hiring managers will want to use this question to gauge several things about your approach to project work. They’ll want to know what you think is challenging. How well can you describe the project, its stakeholders, goals, and so on while being succinct and demonstrating your knowledge? Hiring managers will be looking to see how well you understand project lifecycles. What do you understand about planning and design on complex projects, scheduling, testing, reporting, and so on?How you should answer:
Your answer to this question is a significant opportunity. And a good hiring manager will glean a lot from what you say. So, for this question, we recommend you follow the S.A.R. method in your response. There are three parts:- Situation
- Action
- Result