Now it is the time where everything comes together, it's time to shift your focus toward interview preparation. This section is just as important as all the previous ones and having proper preparation can make a difference. The resources in this section will help you gain insight into what interviewers for Manfacturing engineering positions are looking for, how to respond to common behavioral questions and present yourself as a best fit for the role. The two resources that I found to be helpful are Glassdoor and LinkedIn/Learning.
LinkedIn is a resource used among many different companies for a wide range of job markets. In this case, the resource listed provides a curated list of interview questions that are used by many employers in the manufacturing sector to pick out outstanding candidates for their roles. It goes one-by-one explaining the type of question (soft skills, hard skills, and behavioral), significance of the question and what employers listen for in applicant answer.
Another resource within LinkedIn is LinkedIn Learning that has videos and courses that show how you should format and respond to questions while interviewing. It is sorted through beginner, intermediate, and Advanced level and within each course module along with watching the video it is interactive with pop quizzes that test your knowledge of what you just learned.
Tips for LinkedIn Interview Questions:
TIP 1:
While going through each sample question, write out your response using the STAR method (Situation Task Action Result)
TIP 2:
Most interviews that I have taken last about 20-30 min, each question being about 3-5 min to respond. While walking through these questions it would be helpful for you to time yourself and have a peer or professor be the interviewer and ask you these questions.
Tips for LinkedIn Learning Videos:
TIP 1:
I recommend signing up with your student account as it is free for all Penn State students. From there you can start to now access the course modules.
TIP 2:
If you have a limited amount of time to do these courses, use the filter on the top of where it says, “Hiring and Interviewing” and select “Time to complete” and it should provide a range of options from <10 min to 3+ hours.
TIP 3:
The course module I recommend that you listen to is “Expert tips for Answering Common Interview Questions” by Linda Raynier and “Skills-First Interviewing”.
Glassdoor is a website allows employees to review companies they have worked for and is a place for employers to post job openings. This resource is geared towards individuals who have been interviewed for Manufacturing Engineer internship/co-op roles and what they have been asked during those interviews. All the posts are relevant and current and even shows which position they applied for and what company.
The way to use this resource effectively would be to first create an account using your personal or school email and have on hand the job description that you have selected from the first section of "Find a Job".
TIP 1:
If the company you are applying to is a larger more well known one you can choose the sort by option and select "Most popular". This will give typically give you the big-name companies like tesla, General Electric, BAE, and others. If you want to see what questions are being asked now or recently, select "Most recent".
TIP 2:
Make note of the type of questions that are asked by these companies and add them to your repertoire of questions that you should practice. Even if you do not see your company listed there for interview questions you can see similar companies' questions and use them as a basis.