If you’re an Engineer, you’ll know that engineering skills are in high demand in organisations and industries across the world. This means that competent and skilled experts can build a career that is rewarding and suited to their own areas of expertise.
However, as in any industry, you will need to make a good impression at interview in order to secure the position you want. It can be difficult to identify exactly what a candidate can offer at interview, and employers are favoring interview techniques that allow them to develop an understanding of each candidate’s personality, technical skills and managerial experience within a short period of time. Competency-based interviews are designed to establish this and it is consequently very useful to learn how to excel in this type of interview environment.
A competency-based interview allows interviewers to get a clear picture of a candidate’s skillset and practical approach to different situation. This type of interview makes it possible to compare several candidates on a level footing, and enables a distinction to be made between critical thinkers who tend to delegate practical application of their ideas, and practical engineers who are involved throughout their projects.
An engineering interview will establish whether candidates have specific skills essential to the particular environment of the organisation. For example, if high level communication with experts across the world is necessary within the role, this is likely to form a key part of the interview. Skills that will usually be important to display in interviews for roles in the engineering field include:
1. The ability to work in a team. Providing examples of a strong team ethic will be very helpful here, since collaborative work is key in most engineering roles.
2. Leadership. Strong leadership is essential in major projects, so having a good track record in this area will be very important, especially if you can eloquently express your skills in this area.
3. Methodical approach. Costly mistakes are minimised when engineers approach projects with comprehensive planning skills. Short and long term planning expertise is vital, so be sure you can provide examples of both.
4. Problem-solving skills. Engineering is, of course, all about problem solving. This vital skill should be demonstrated in many of your previous projects, so ensure that you have good examples of your own practice to describe to your interviewer.
Here at CareerWise, we specialise in recruitment within the multinational sector in Ireland, with expertise in Engineering, as well as Supply Chain and Finance. We aim to connect employers with the very best talent to fulfill vital roles in their organisations.
We’re Ireland’s leading specialist Technical and Executive Recruitment firm and we will be happy to help you find your perfect position in Cork, Limerick and Galway. Contact us online, or call on +353 (0) 21 206 today.
Mike Morrissey has extensive knowledge of production, quality and engineering, having worked for Dell, Creative Labs and Tyco Safety Products /Sensormatic.
His expansive operational experience is grounded with training as a Six Sigma Black Belt.
As a lead auditor, he is very familiar with compliance and quality standards and has project managed the implementation of the environmental standard ISO14001. He has successfully utilised his project management and team leading skills in implementing numerous cost-saving and process improvement projects.
Since joining CareerWise Recruitment, Mike has graduated with a Diploma in Personnel Management from UCC and is a Chartered member of the CIPD.
CareerWise Recruitment. EastGate Village, EastGate, Little Island, Cork.
Phone: +353 (0) 21 206 1900
Email: info@careerwise.ie