Hello there, my name is Richard McMunn from the interview training company PassMyInterview.com.
And in this tutorial, I will teach you how to prepare for, and pass, a mechanical engineering
interview. So it does not matter which organization or company you are being interviewed for to
join as a mechanical engineer, I promise you that if you watch this tutorial from beginning
to end, it will not only help you during your preparation, but it will give you top-scoring
answers to the likely interview questions that will come up. Now, before I go through
the tutorial, a very warm welcome to this mechanical engineering training video. As
I say, my name is Richard McMunn. That's me there in the center. I've been helping people
to pass their interviews for about 20 years now. I do that by giving you great, top-scoring
answers that you can't find anywhere else! Please do make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the channel
by clicking the red button below the video, and that way you won't miss out on any of
the weekly training videos that I upload. I would also very much appreciate your support
if you gave the video a LIKE Thanks!). That always motivates me to create more content
for you. Thank you very much indeed. So, before I get into the mechanical engineering interview
questions and top scoring answers, I'm going to answer a quick question that people ask
me time and time again. And that is: How do I prepare for a mechanical engineering interview?
Well, in a nutshell, you have to make sure you read the job description and the person
specification whilst you are preparing for your interview. Now, this only takes a few
minutes, but it will enable you to understand the key skills and qualities that are required
to carry out the job. So, once you've read the job description for a mechanical engineer,
think of situations that you have been in whereby you have already demonstrated the
key skills and qualities needed to be a competent mechanical engineer. For example, in the mechanical
engineering job description, it will usually list a number of essential skills, and some
of those skills might be to ‘solve mechanical engineering problems’ and also to ‘work
as part of a team’. Now, during your preparation for this interview, my advice is to think
of specific situations you have been in whereby you have already solved mechanical engineering
problems, and you have already worked as part of a team. So the interview question will
probably be: Can you describe a time when you've solved a complex mechanical engineering
problem? Or, can you also describe a time when you've worked as part of a team to complete
a mechanical engineering problem or project? That is the first tip, when you're preparing
for a mechanical engineer interview, is to read the job description and the person specification
and you will be much more prepared than the majority of candidates. I'll give you some
more tips as we progress through this tutorial. But let us now start to work through my recommended
mechanical engineering interview questions and top-scoring answers. I will put the interview
question up on the screen, and I will then give you a suggested answer. Please do take
notes as I go along, or if you want to wait, I will tell you at some stage where you can
download my full set of mechanical engineering interview questions and answers. Question
number one: Tell me about yourself and why you want to be a mechanical engineer? Here
is my top scoring answer: “I am naturally an inquisitive person who enjoys working in
a team environment where the ability to problem-solve and collaborate with others is an essential
part of the role. I believe I have a good balance of technical, analytical and practical
skills that mean I am a strong candidate for this mechanical engineering position. I have
always had a passion for mechanical engineering, which means I have a desire to go above and
beyond what is required. I also understand how important safety is in respect of mechanical
engineering, and on that basis, I am someone who is disciplined, organized and able to
follow strict rules and procedures. I will never take risks or put your organization
in danger through the work I carry out for you. I suppose the last thing I would like
to say is, I feel if you invest in me, I will repay the faith you have shown in hiring me
by being professional, conscientious and a positive contributor to the mechanical engineering
team.” So that's an in-depth answer! It answers the question, tell me about yourself,
and more importantly, why you want to be a mechanical engineer… because you've always
had a passion for it. The next question is: What do you think are the most important skills
are to have as a mechanical engineer? Again, I will give you an answer to this question
and you can take notes as I progress. “I think the most important skill as a mechanical
engineer is safety awareness and compliance. You also need numerous other technical and
non-technical skills to be a competent and safe mechanical engineer. You need effective
technical skills that are relevant to your field of engineering, including the ability
to dedicate the time to continually improve and keep up-to-date with industry developments.
You also need analytical and problem-solving capabilities and accurate written communication
skills. You will need concise and clear verbal communication skills, especially when speaking
to non-technical individuals. Having the ability to work under pressure
is also vital, as well as having great teamworking skills whereby you are entirely focused on
achieving the company objectives. Finally, a level of commercial awareness is an advantage,
because decisions have to be made from a financial and business perspective in order for the
company to continually thrive and develop.” So, you give a large number of skills that
are very important to be a mechanical engineer. I like in particular, the fact that you put
‘safety and compliance’ as the first most important skill, which as you and I know,
it is. And then finally, you talk about ‘commercial awareness’, which is a skill that most people
don't have. But as a mechanical engineer, it is important to have a level of understanding
in respect of commercial and business awareness. I've got a few more questions to run through,
but let's answer another common question that I get asked in relation to people who are
preparing for a mechanical engineer interview. And that is: what questions should I ask in
a mechanical engineering interview? So, at some stage during your interview, probably
at the end, they will say to you: do you have any questions you would like to ask us? It
is good to ask some questions. Don't say… “No. I've got no questions to ask. You've
answered everything.” I think if you ask some relevant and appropriate questions, they
can work in your favor, because it can show that you are keen and enthusiastic to work
to work for their company as a mechanical engineer. The first question is: “If I'm
successful, what would you need me to concentrate on in the first few weeks of starting?”
This question demonstrates that you are keen and enthusiastic to get started, but also
that you want to know what you would be doing in advance, so that you can prepare fully.
Question two: “What engineering challenges do you envisage the company facing over the
next 12 to 24 months?” So again, that shows that you care about their organization. But
also, and this is what I like about this question, you are talking about a 12 to 24 month period;
so you are planning on staying with them for a long period of time. Let's move on to our
next mechanical engineering interview question. What steps would you follow during the mechanical
engineering design process? Here is my suggested answer. “I would start out by DEFINING THE
EXACT PROBLEM. This is one of the most important steps, because it’s quite easy to misinterpret
information and data and you need to make sure you don’t jump to any conclusions.
I would then carry out IN-DEPTH RESEARCH to find out what the objectives were, and this
would also assist me in establishing the SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS for the engineering task or project.
I would then CONSULT with my colleagues and experts from within the organization to brainstorm
ideas, EVALUATE THE OPTIONS and come up with the right SOLUTION to the problem or issue.
The next step would be to develop and DESIGN A PROTOTYPE before running a comprehensive
TESTING STAGE to make sure our proposals MEET THE REQUIREMENTS. The final stage would be
to COMMUNICATE the outcome following an EXTENISIVE TESTING PERIOD, to make sure the design was
fit for purpose." That shows a concise and logical process that you would follow during
the mechanical engineering design stage. Next question: How would you describe a technical
engineering problem to a non-technical person? This comes up an awful lot during mechanical
engineering interviews, so we need to think carefully about how we would answer it. Here's
my suggested answer. “This is a good question and one that I envisage having to tackle many
times as a mechanical engineer. I would first of all decide what the objective was in respect
of the message I wanted to communicate. I would then quickly assess the level of knowledge
or expertise the person I am communicating with has. I would then utilize simple, relatable
drawings, diagrams or explanations to explain the engineering problem we were facing. For
example, most people can relate to the simple function of a car moving forward by the rotation
of an axle that is powered by an engine. So, I could use the basic principle of how a car
gets from point A to B to describe the problem I am trying to define. Regardless of the situation
I was in, I would keep communicating clearly, simply and concisely until the person confirmed
they fully understood my objective.” I've got some more questions to go through still,
so please do stick around. But another question that I get asked by mechanical engineer’s:
What should a mechanical engineer wear to an interview? Well, my advice is to wear a
smart, formal outfit to your mechanical engineering interview, because this shows you take pride
in your appearance and your work and also that you care as a mechanical engineer. You
have to have high standards. Although you wouldn't wear a suit or a formal outfit during
your day-to-day work as a mechanical engineer, my advice is to go all-out and wear something
smart and formal. Now, that does not mean to say that you have to go out and buy an
expensive suit. Far from it. You can still buy a relatively cheap or cost effective suit
and look smart. My advice is to wear something smart for your interview, for sure. The next
mechanical engineer and interview question: What are your strengths and weaknesses? Now,
this question may be divided into two questions. What are your strengths, and then what are
your weaknesses? But I will answer it in one go. Here we go. “My biggest strength is
my ability to collaborate and work with other people to create innovative and safe mechanical
engineering solutions.
Another key strength of mine is that I am able to work quickly, whilst following strict
rules, procedures and safety guidelines. In respect of my weaknesses, I only feel I have
one which I have been working on to improve. That weakness is my inability to say no to
new work or projects, simply because I don’t like to let people down. As a mechanical engineer,
it is important to take on as much work as possible, but you have to make sure the work
you do is safe, compliant, effective and reliable.” So, I believe that's a really strong answer
to that question: What are your strengths, and also what are your weaknesses? Because
that is a good weakness to give. It doesn't damage or harm your chances of passing the
interview. It's essentially a ‘safe’ weakness to give, in my opinion. If you would like
more of my mechanical engineering interview questions and top-scoring answers, there is
a link that’s appeared in the top-right hand corner of this video. If you click that,
it will take you through to my website PassMyInterview.com, and you can download my full set of 21 Mechanical
Engineering Interview Questions and Answers, including the ones that I've just run through
right now! I hope you enjoyed that. Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE. Thank you very much.
And please do give the video a LIKE (thanks!). As I said at the beginning, I very much appreciate
your support on this channel. Thank you for watching. And I wish you all the best in passing
your mechanical engineering interview. Have a brilliant day.