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Tips to prepare for Design Engineering (Mechanical) Technical Interview Tomorrow

Charita9·Jul 13, 2020

Posted in:Students Advice Early Career Job Hunting Personal Growth Startups

I have utterly failed a few technical interviews in a row, and I'm a bit stuck on how best to prepare. I feel very caught of guard by casual chats that turn into technical questions. I freeze up and come out of an otherwise great interview embarrassed and unimpressive. I have another "chat" with a start-up tomorrow and want to be prepared for if the company asks me a technical question, but I'm struggling with how to prepare. What are some topics your company would probe for in a casual technical question? What are some tips for keeping calm when faced with information you don't know?

Isla·Jul 13, 2020

You've got this, anon!When it comes to information you don't know, the best answer I've come across in cases like that is to admit what you don't know, then immediately explain how/where you would seek out that information. e.g. Your search methods, flipping it around to ask them about internal documentation, etc.

Charita9·Jul 14, 2020

Okay, that makes sense. In past interviews, when faced with a question I don't know the answer to, I have to spit out related things that I know rather than admitting that I don't know. I have tried to "show how I would think about it," but when it is a question that I really have no idea on, it seems like it does make more sense to talk about how I would seek out the information, probably comes across less forged. Thanks so much for the encouragement! question