CEng interview - Detailed technical questions?

Question

Hi, 
 I wants to know the focus of the interviewer? Do they go into more technical details or just ask about the situation you have mentioned. 
 
 For example: I proposed a solution to trip HV Circuit breaker in case of fire before the release of FM200 gas. 
 The question will be: what is FM200 gas or what are the properties of FM200. ? 
 or 
 what was the solution proposed?

gkenyon · Accepted Answer

It's not possible to predict what specific questions will come up in interviews. 
 The interviewers will be looking to ask questions to help you demonstrate Competences A to E in UK Spec. 
 It will all depend on what you have presented already at the interview, and in your application, and how you have answered previous questions.

Andy Millar · Answer

To build on Graham and Kathryn's excellent answers, don't imagine the interviewers as university lecturers giving exam questions. 
 The interviewers are experienced engineers trying to confirm if you are working with the level of understanding and professional approach that you have claimed on your application. Often they will expect you to know more about a particular technical area then they do! What they are trying to do is two things: 
 One is to ensure that you do really understand the areas you claim to do in your application - after all, you might not have been telling the truth, or at least exaggerating your role in your application. So if you said in your application and your presentation "I managed this part of the project", be prepared to be asked "what did you actually do?" Because you could have taken detailed technical decisions, or you could have made sure the project kept to time and budget, or you could (as I once had from a job interview applicant) just driven the equipment from one place to another! 
 The other is to explore any areas of your application which the panels thought was weak on paper. Sometimes candidates do not give all the information they could have done. So this is a good opportunity for them to find out if your application was weak because you actually don't have that experience, or whether you do but had just not put it down clearly. So as Graham and Kathryn have said, do make sure you can demonstrate your competence in any of the areas A-E, you may be asked about any of them. 
 So don't revise technical answers - either you are already using them in your work and you know them, or you aren't and you don't. The interviewers will spot immediately if you've tried to learn facts just to pass the interview. Just be honest about what you know and what you don't know. And If they ask something technical you don't know the answer to be prepared to think about either a) why you don't need to know it for your work or b) how are planning to find it out. 
 But do revise the requirements for competences A-E so you know what to say if you are asked to explain how you meet any of them (expanding on what is already in your application). 
 Most candidates I speak to after their interviews say they enjoyed it! 
 Good luck, 
 Andy

Kathryn Bain · Answer

When preparing for your interview, I always recommend preparing in the same way as you would for an interview - think about the questions that the interviewers may ask, and ensure that you prepare some answers for the specific competence areas. As already mentioned, the questions will be focussed on the A to E competence and commitment areas, so this will give you an idea of what may be asked. It's always a good idea to practice your presentation beforehand and if you have an audience (other engineers are great) you can also get them to ask you any questions to test your understanding. 
 One area that trips some interviewees up is the E commitment areas around Sustainability, Ethics and Rules of Conduct (including the IET's rules of conduct) - so it's a good idea to familiarise yourself with these and prepare some ideas around this area.

CEng interview - Detailed technical questions?

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