It’s time to put on your best suit (and definitely avoid donning sneakers) — you’ve scored an interview for a coveted electrical engineering position. Do you know what to expect during the interview process? To help you prepare, take a look at these common electrical engineering interview questions and answers. You’ve got this!
1. What were your favorite engineering classes in school?
In your response, don’t just tell the interviewer what your favorite classes were, but why they topped your favs list. And if you can relate why you enjoyed the classes back to some of the responsibilities you’ll tackle while in the position you’re interviewing for, that’s even better.
2. Do you have a license?
Some electrical engineering positions will look at holding a P.E. license (Professional Engineer license) as a major plus. To earn a license, though, you need at least four years of engineering experience — so if this is an entry-level engineering position, you probably don’t have to worry about it. If you don’t have a license yet but you’re working toward it (i.e. you’ve taken a requisite exam or two), be sure to mention that.
3. Why did you specialize in electrical engineering?
From chemical to computer to industrial and beyond, there are a lot of engineering fields out there. Make sure you come prepared with an answer to a standard question like this one that highlights 1) that you know what makes electrical engineering unique and 2) why you’re passionate about electrical engineering specifically.
4. A boat is in a swimming pool and there is a rock in the boat. What happens to the level of water if the rock is thrown out of the boat?
Don’t let a puzzler like this stump you! Chances are, you’ll be thrown a “puzzle” question or two during the interview to test your analytical and thinking-on-your-feet skills. Before answering, take a deep breath, and feel free to think out loud — it helps the interviewer follow your thought process and assess how logical you are in your problem-solving approach.
5. Describe a technical problem you encountered on a project, and how you fixed it.
Speaking of problems, you’ll definitely be faced with a problem or two while on the job (perhaps even of your own making!), so your interviewer wants to make sure you can handle the real-life problem-solving pressure. In your response, don’t linger on describing the problem; instead focus most of your answer on how you assessed the problem and what you did to fix it.
6. In your opinion, what’s the difference between an engineer and a scientist?
Do you really know what engineering is all about? This question is designed to find out by comparing engineering to a related field, science. In your response, you can highlight how science is more about exploration and discovery, while engineering involves more of an application of scientific knowledge to design and build solutions to real-world problems.
7. Can you describe a favorite electrical engineering project you’ve worked on? What quality controls on the project did you employ?
Hopefully, you’ll get the chance to describe not just a problem project, but one that you totally rocked as well. If so, you can also expect a follow up question that tests your specific knowledge and recall of the project process, like quality controls, project conception, design, or calibration. Come prepared with at least one solid project example that you know inside and out, and can go into further detail on easily.
8. Do you have any technical writing experience?
Yes, every job requires a bit of writing — even electrical engineering. Whipping up coherent reports, for example, will be much easier if you have technical writing experience (even if it’s just from taking a tech writing course in college), so definitely highlight that for the interviewer.
9. How do you like to spend your free time?
I’m sure your interviewer is tired of hearing the “nerd engineer” stereotype, so take the time to pack your response to this question with personality! Sometimes it’s the answers to these “softball” questions that really make candidates stand out from one another.
10. Do you have any questions for me?
Make sure you come armed to your interview with non-obvious questions for the interviewer, either about the company, department, or position itself (just make sure your questions can’t be answered with a quick look at the company website — that’ll show you didn’t do your homework). Or, if the interviewer is an actual engineer in the department, rather than just an HR rep, ask about an exciting project the department is currently working on. Bringing out an interviewer’s own passion is a great way to end the interview!
Have you encountered any other common questions during electrical engineering interviews? Share them with us in the comments below!
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