Engineering job requiring a lot of 'hands-on.'

Hello Roy

The interview was with the manager. It was worth doing the interview. I had to have a copy of the job description in front of me.As I said in my original post, I was caught flat-footed when I was asked to choose the 3 tasks I would like most and least and then a question about my 'passion!' The company is Vectorply. You can see the ad for yourself. CGLI and IEng carry little weight here in the US. I kick myself for not having applied for a CGLI Licentiate when IEng. was the only prerequisite. On top of that contacting CGLI is virtually impossible. The site I end up on only wants potential CGLI center owners.


Cheers

It's interesting, this overlaps with some discussions running on other threads at the moment re the assumption that degrees are required for jobs as an "engineer".


Personally as a candidate I wouldn't worry about that aspect, all that matters is whether the actual job suits you, for what you want now and into the future. I tend to take candidate requirements in job specs with a large pinch of salt. And of course "graduate" can often be code for "bright self motivated person who will sort problems for themselves without expecting to be told everything", not necessarily that the job actually involves solving second order differential equations.


I also wouldn't be too worried about a previous incumbent occasionally asking "make this hole bigger" rather than producing a fully detailed drawing - sometimes that's all that's needed! There's no point spending time doing a CAD drawing for something that isn't critical. (Of course I don't have the full context for this.)


The questions I would ask at interview would be:

 - "What would I typically be doing day to day?"

 - "What would I be personally responsible for?"

 - "What type of problems would you expect me to solve for myself?"

 - "Where do you see me in five years time?"


And if you want the job, when they answer these then respond with examples of how this ties in with your own past experience or future ambitions.


Manufacturing engineering, particularly in a small company, can easily cover a huge range from developing a LEAN strategy for the business to rapidly building a piece out of scrap to keep a piece of equipment going until a full repair can be done. (That piece will probably then stay there for the next 20 years...) Just comes with the territory.


I think the final, and most important thing, I would want to determine from the interview process is:


 - "Do you have an ambition to improve your manufacturing processes (for example through LEAN)?"


If they just want you to keep it "the same as we've always done it" then run a mile to get away. If they genuinely want you to come in and improve the business, and will invest in proposals you come up with, then it could be a very good opportunity to show how you can turn businesses around through engineering.


Cheers,


Andy

Hi Anthony,


I see our posts crossed! Re the question about "passion", that's a very common question (although in the UK usually asked in the form "what attracted you to engineering?"). All you can do is be honest and positive - the only wrong answers are lies (if you say you love building things with your hands when actually you love coding then you're going to be very unpopular when you're inevitably found out) and negative answers ("I couldn't get a job doing anything else" is a wrong answer!).


Re the three least liked responsibilities, that's a tough question, but perfectly reasonable. It's an extension of the very common "do you have any weak points?" question. Again, before an interview you do need to have considered your weaknesses, including areas of work you don't enjoy doing, and be prepared to be honest about them AND how you manage this so that it is not a problem for an employer - this is the clever bit. It will be up to the employer to decide if your particular three "low points" are a problem for them, if they really are (and they are really low) then it's not the right job for you anyway. 


In your example I can imagine an excellent response would be  "I'm not an expert on machining, but I know the owner of xxx machine shop, who I understand already do work for you, and I'm confident that by using my knowledge of engineering together with his knowledge of machining I could ensure all the types of problems that you're discussing will get solved." Note the way that's phrased: "I have an area of weakness (or less interest) - but I will manage that problem for you."


Cheers,


Andy

Thanks for the advice. Let's see if they think I am worth an in-person interview. I will keep you informed.