Engineering Interview Questions & Answers

It was with two people, an enigneering manager and an HR representative. It started off with competency questions surrounding team work, communication skills, conflict resolution etc. It then went on to some technical questions in which i was given pictures and asked various questions this included what loads a bearing in a train wheel assembly underwent, and why train platforms that were curved could not easily be converted to have barriers between the platform and the train. I was then asked a questions about why ramps in train stations are important and why it was important for TFL to cater to disabilities.

The most difficult questions were the technical questions as they are difficult to prepare for and can be very specific. You have to use a lot of judgement and common sense and try not to panic.

Keep calm, do your research on the company and know what schemes and projects they are currently implementing. Keep in mind this is a public sector organisation and so political correctness, diversity, inclusion and knowledge of such is key. Be enthusiastic and know everything you can possibly know about the scheme you are applying for.

It was a long day with many tasks and a test, the people were friendly and always happy to help, I would say the highlight was meeting the current graduate trainees as it really gave an insight into what the scheme was like.

The application process is very simple. It just required a CV and cover letter. I was contacted about a month or so later being invited to a telephone interview.

Unlike most telephone interviews this was conducted by one of their recent graduate engineers, so make sure you know what you are talking about when you mention technical details as they will probe you with regards to it. In total this phone call lasted about an hour, however most of it ended up being the interviewer talking about his job and experiences when I asked him regarding it.

The interview started off like how most interviews too, with general questions confirming who you are, availability etc, then we got off to the questions.

The following questions were asked:

Tell us about yourself - This is a key question where you get to talk about your experiences etc. I mentioned my third year design project and my research project, so we spoke for a while on that as it was related to the work that CB&I do. So if you have the chance to include technical details then do so, because the interview in this case will know what you're talking about, and it will be your chance to impress them. They will ask you some follow up questions on this, such as when speaking about my degree they asked questions like what was your favourite subject as part of your degree, what do you find difficult?

What do you know about CB&I? - Make sure you do your research. Wow them with your knowledge.

General competency questions:

The questions are pretty much the same as most interviews:

Tell us about a time you worked with someone difficult?
What was the most challenging thing you've done?

There were one or two more questions which I can't remember, but I know was similar to other questions I've had.

Then they give time for questions. You're speaking to someone who completed the grad scheme, so take this opportunity to ask questions and find out more so that you know that this job is for you.

None of the questions were difficult. They were pretty much the same as I have discussed in my previous interview reviews (See GSK, Atkins and Baker Hughes + more I will be writing), so by the time I got to this I had enough experience in being able to answer the questions confidently.

Be confident in what you say. Practice numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning and psychometric tests as much as possible.

I wasn't invited to an assessment centre unfortunately. I managed to do quite bad on the online tests as I took it when I had multiple deadlines in my final year, so was quite difficult to do it justice! Wasn't too hard, just practice, practice, practice.

Online tests before the phone interview. Phone interview had standard competency questions lasting about 25-30mins.

In face to face, 2 interviewers were present; one from the HR asking competency questions and the other a Senior Engineering Manager asking more engineering related questions.

Questions by the HR were pretty basic standard questions such as "Why do you want to work at TfL and why this role?", "Tell me a time when you done 'xyz', what was the situation etc etc?".

Questions by the Senior Engineer were more of situational questions which engineering related problems which are pretty straight forward in all honesty as long as you know your stuff. Format was pretty much, the HR and Senior Engineer took turns to ask a question and asked maybe about 5 each.

There was a presentation at the Assessment Centre which you get given a brief a week before to prepare (I only got mine a day before as they had first sent a brief a week before and got an email saying ignore that one we'll send a new one. With the weekend in between I waited but never got it so emailed them 3/4 days before, no reply. So I rang 2 days before and they sent it a day before the actual assessment day - others had got a week to prepare! They did say that they'll note it down and let others know so they can assess me accordingly, however when I was being asked questions in the Presentation by the Senior Manager I later found out that he wasn't told that I only had a day and not a week since when he asked very deep into detail questions I mentioned having just a day and not a week like others and he was like "Really? I never knew that." and the HR then try to cover up saying "Yes I was told" although the main questions being marked on at the presentation were from the Senior Manager as the presentation was Engineering related.)

Group exercise was fairly straightforward which at the end you have to write a report individually which is an email replying back to your manager based on the things discussed in the group meeting.

There was a exercise called 'fast-track' which is a problem solving exercise with 5 problems and 30mins to complete - I don't think anyone on the day managed to complete all 5 so it's quite difficult to complete within the time (they send you an example a week before, however it way too simple compared to the actual one, can complete that 1 problem in like 30seconds!)

For a given situation in the presentation I was asked; "Which technologies would you use to solve these problems?" (which was pretty easy to answer!)... then they follow up asking "How does this technology actually work? What goes on inside the system so it works how you want it to?" (Quite difficult)

For the presentation, make sure you are given the full week - if not then contact them straight away and tell them to send it!! As many people that had a full week still found the time they had way too less to prepare! In the 'Fast' Track' don't complete the problems in the order they are in, as at the start you think that all problems have the same number of cards with information, but the ones near the end have less cards with less information and therefore are easier to complete correctly! For the interview, make sure you are aware between the differences of electronic and electrical engineering and also make your mind up as to which role you would want to do! Electrical consists on working on the underground transport, electronic consists of ITS Technologies and the overground transport such as buses of TfL, DLRs, as well as helping traffic flow of other transports such as cars and bicycles!

Presentation which you get a week to prepare for (well you should anyway!) and you present on the day - 10mins presenting, about 15/20mins questions.

Interview which last about 30/45mins with HR and Senior Engineering Manager.

Group task which you get 30 mins for, followed by individual report which you get 20/30mins for.

'Fast Track' problem solving exercise which you have 30mins to complete (maybe the hardest thing on the day!).

Competency Based Phone interview discussing topics such as teamwork, working with a difficult person etc which lasted about 20 minutes.

Assessement centre which consisted of a personal presentation, group presentation, face to face competency interview and numberical reasoning exam. Present at each stage was a Senior Engineer from various sites worldwide and a senior HR person. The assessement centre last two days where Kerry Group put you up in a hotel overnight.

Name a time where you had to deal with a difficult person on a group project and how did you deal with it.

How would you resolve a issue of a employee turning up late and drunk to work? (HR can't handle the issue)

How would you deal with a cowboy contractor known for trying to swindle companys out of money?

Know the company wedsite including products, core values, mission statement and end of year company report are all good to research.

Prepare competency answers before the interview in order to focus on the assessment task

Solo Presentation (3 hours to prepare 10-15 min presentation, presentation brief given along with hints)
Group Presentation (half hour to prepare, 10 mins to delivery)
Solo Competency Based interview (20 mins)

My technical interview was with 2 senior engineers. They asked me questions relating to engines. Since it was a design based role. I was asked basic questions relating to engine design and operations. I was asked to design some engine components on a sheet of paper. The questions were simple at the start. After that the questions were not difficult but tricky. They asked simple questions in a difficult way. I was asked specifically about basic engine operations and the physics behind it.

The questions are not difficult because when you apply you sort of know what type of questions you will be getting. There was not much competency questions. Everything was technical.
The difficulty is when you answer and they dig deeper and ask more about the basics. So revise all the basic things about the role and what you will be doing. Its not that difficult if you know about F1 Engines and some specific industry related questions.

Stay calm and believe in yourself and your abilities. Research basic things about the role and don't expect questions. They make simple things complicated in the way they ask questions. So stay calm and don't be get disappointed if you get something wrong during the interview.
Stay focused and never look nervous even if you don't know something. Its all about your confidence and approach. Good luck.

There was a group task organized inside a small room. We were a group of 6 students. We were given the task of solving a problem. The situation was finding the best possible solution to take out a explosive devise from the center of a circle.
There were some conditions which made the task difficult. After the group task there was a small break and then we went for our individual technical interviews with senior engineers. We were also given a tour of the awesome factory and offices.