Questions to Ask in Your Manufacturing Engineer Interview
Posted May 16th, 2019
Asking the right questions when you are interviewing manufacturing engineer candidates can make a world of difference. You will be better equipped to assess their skills and capabilities, increasing the odds that you select the best job seeker for the role.
While asking some common interview questions is certainly wise, selecting a few that specifically pertain to the field is also a necessity. If you want to know what you should ask your manufacturing engineer candidates, here are a few options to add to your list.
Can you tell me about your least successful project? How did you handle the poor outcome?
This two-fold question is designed to encourage a candidate to discuss a previous failure or talk about their weaknesses. It gives you an idea of how accountable they are as well as how they handle poor outcomes.
The second question in this series can also be very enlightening. You can discover whether the job seeker views failures as learning experiences, whether they took active steps to remedy the situation or improve their capabilities, and how they left the situation at the end.
While overseeing a production line, you notice that the safety guard is missing. Then, a production supervisor announces that they want to begin production. What do you do?
A manufacturing engineer plays a big role when it comes to safety. Ideally, a candidate should say that they would halt production until the situation is remedied, even if it means standing up to a higher level manager. If the job seeker doesn’t intervene in some acceptable fashion, offering them the job is probably not a smart move.
What do you know about our company and products?
High-quality candidates typically do some research before coming in for an interview and details about your organization and its products are likely readily accessible online. While job seekers might not know every detail about your organization, they should be able to provide a solid overview of what the company does and their core product line. Anyone who can’t may not be incredibly passionate about the opportunity, so you may want to factor that in before offering someone the role.
Did the salary associated with the job ad draw you to this opportunity?
This is one question that can accomplish two goals. First, if you published a salary range, it lets you know that the candidate saw it and is open to working for approximately that much pay. Second, it creates an opportunity to gauge whether the financial aspect of the position was the only reason they applied.
An ideal candidate may admit that they salary drew them in, but will add that other aspects of the role also enticed them to apply. They should be able to list a few key duties or skills that made them excited about the job, showing that it isn’t necessarily all about the salary.
Find Your Next Job with Bayside Solutions!
By asking the questions above, you can make sure that you hire the right manufacturing engineer candidate for the position. If you’d like to know more, the team at Bayside Solutions can help. Contact us to speak with one of our experienced recruiters today and see how our candidate screening knowledge can benefit you.
