Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
(OP)
For those of you who have sat on on interview panel, what type of answer do you expect from a candidate, in response to a question, you know they have very little practical experience on?
For instance, say you are on a panel interviewing a candidate for an Instrumentation and Control position. This candidate matches some of the desirable qualifications like educational level, software design and creating specs, etc.. On the otherhand, this candidate has not been involved in valve sizing, retroffiting or commissioning in a real operating plant.
In response to a questions such as:
- What do you know about retrofitting and how much experience do you have in this depertment, or
- Tell me what you know about valve sizing, etc.
what type of a response are you expecting? Remember, it is obvious from the candidate's resume, that they have not done this in the field.
Thanks in advance.
For instance, say you are on a panel interviewing a candidate for an Instrumentation and Control position. This candidate matches some of the desirable qualifications like educational level, software design and creating specs, etc.. On the otherhand, this candidate has not been involved in valve sizing, retroffiting or commissioning in a real operating plant.
In response to a questions such as:
- What do you know about retrofitting and how much experience do you have in this depertment, or
- Tell me what you know about valve sizing, etc.
what type of a response are you expecting? Remember, it is obvious from the candidate's resume, that they have not done this in the field.
Thanks in advance.





RE: Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
I would suggest that you change a little bit the question to:
"You know that the position that we are interviewing for will have responsibilities on valve sizzing, retrofitting, etc. How do you feel about that?"
RE: Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
If you still feel the need to ask a question specific to your industry, you might frame it as a design challenge, i.e. outline a very specific problem that a newcomer might face once on the job, including goals, physical and political constraints, and ask the candidate how (s)he would go about deriving a satisfactory solution, and how it could be proven as such.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
I had an interview where the technical director gave me a grilling, with hydraulic circuits, drawings etc laid out on a desk, challanging me to explain various items and systems as I interpretted them. Even when under pressure to answer, I still found this an interesting challange and very much enjoyed the experience. When I didn't know the answer, I told him so and when I did I tried to give as much detailed knowledge as I possessed. (I got the job, and subsequently asked the manager how I did in the interview. He told me that I got some answers wrong, some right but that it was my general style of answering, and that I stayed positive throughout, that got me the job)
With another company, I was made to feel basically stupid. There seemed to be no interest in my technical ability, all I keep hearing was you seem to have no experience of this or that. I subsequently got this job as well (no idea how), and it turned out that the manager who interviewed me was very poor technically. The whole demeanour of the interview left me wondering what the point of working for the company was. It was only when one of my friend's buddies talked to me about then that I decided to go for it.
To me the first company seemed to be interested in developing me as an engineer, the second just seemed to be just plain disinterested.
Kevin Hammond
Mechanical Design Engineer
Derbyshire, UK
RE: Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
From the interviewer side, I would expect you to focus on the positive, such as "I've done XYZ and wouldn't have a lot of trouble picking up the skill that you are inquiring about"
RE: Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
Johnny Pellin
RE: Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
And most job descriptions ask for everything in the ideal candidate. They are created with false expectations to reduce the number of applicants and "job-shoppers" to those who are serious about the position, or at least mostly qualified. For example, I haven't done composites work in 8 years, yet I just interviewed for a job that required composites and ceramics experience. I think it went pretty darn well. Fingers crossed!
--Scott
http://wertel.eng.pro
RE: Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
As an interviewer, I would be looking for signs that they have an understanding of the broader subject and the right kind of mindset to be able to pick up the finer details in the job. If you are looking at retrofitting while the plant is on-line and they are talking about things that could be done during the shutdown period, you're probably not on the same wavelength and they are probably not the right person for the job.
RE: Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
I've asked people questions about things they actually claimed to know about, and get, "Well, I really haven't done anything with that since freshman year in college." Honesty gets points.
My pro-active response to the OP's specific question would be, "As you know, I don't have any prior experience in that field, but I can learn and I can be good at it if that's what you need."
TTFN
Eng-Tips Policies FAQ731-376
RE: Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
I am preparing for an interview with a company that designs nuclear reactors, and want to make sure that I have all the grounds covered.
I just learnt about the position today (MMIR Project Computer Control Systems). Will learn more about this during the interview. Unfortunately, the position is not listed on the company's website so I do not have the duties and requirements.
It should be interesting.
RE: Recommendations on dealing with the unknown in interviews
"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."
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