2

How to prepare for engineering process interview?

Profile picture
Mid-Level Software Engineer at Unemployed4 months ago

I have an interview coming up. It comes with a engineering process interview, which is Q&A to learn about your approach to common situations that occur as an engineer, followed by a values and leadership interview, which is about problem solving and team interaction.

How can i prepare for the engineering process interview? Can I interpret it as behavioural interview or more on technical Q&A? But I see some overlapping with the values and leadership interview so im a bit confused.

57
2

Discussion

(2 comments)
  • 5
    Profile picture
    Senior Leadership @ Meta | Mentor | Coach | Tech Advisor
    4 months ago

    This sounds like an Engineering Behavioral interview. While they look simple and straightforward here are some tips on how to prepare:

    1. Key Focus Areas

    • Delivering Projects / Execution:

      • Think about times when you successfully delivered a project from start to finish.
      • Highlight your project management skills, how you handled challenges, and ensured timely delivery.
    • Turning Unknowns to Knowns:

      • Prepare examples where you faced uncertain situations and how you navigated through them.
      • Emphasize your problem-solving skills and how you gather information to make informed decisions.
    • Resolving Conflict:

      • Reflect on instances where you had conflicts with teammates, engineers, or cross-functional partners (PM, Design, Sales).
      • Discuss your approach to conflict resolution, effective communication, and maintaining a collaborative environment.
    • Communicating Effectively:

      • Provide examples demonstrating your communication skills in various scenarios, such as team meetings, presentations, or writing reports.
      • Highlight how you ensure clarity, conciseness, and effectiveness in your communication.
    • Self-Growth Mindset:

      • Showcase your commitment to personal and professional growth.
      • Discuss how you seek feedback, learn from failures, and continuously improve your skills.

    2. Prepare Scenarios

    Identify 7-8 scenarios from your past experiences that align with the key focus areas. Ensure you cover a broad range of situations, including:

    • Successful project delivery
    • Handling ambiguous situations
    • Resolving conflicts
    • Effective communication
    • Instances of self-improvement and learning from failures

    3. Write Down Scenarios Using the STAR Format

    Structure each scenario using the STAR format:

    4. Practice Delivering Your Answers

    • Role-Playing: Practice answering questions with a friend or family member acting as the interviewer.
    • Feedback: Seek constructive feedback on your responses, focusing on clarity, completeness, and relevance.
    • Refinement: Refine your answers based on the feedback to ensure they are concise and impactful.

    5. Addressing Different Levels of Impact

    For higher-level roles (i.e), prepare to demonstrate broader impact.

    Complex problem-solving: Highlight more complex problems you’ve solved and your strategic approach.

    Collaboration: Show how you’ve led larger teams or projects involving multiple stakeholders.

    Learning from failures: Discuss significant failures, what you learned, and how it led to future successes. This last bit is really important!

    Focus on impact and business value: Emphasize how your work has delivered value to end-users or the business.

    Look for online platforms where you can practice with other engineers that are going through preparation. There are plenty of Discord servers for interview prep.

  • 1
    Profile picture
    Tech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
    4 months ago

    I'm 95% sure that this is a behavioral interview, especially as "values and leadership" is classic culture fit check. Testing for your approach to common situations (e.g. disagreeing with another engineer) is another core purpose of behavioral interviews. Make sure to follow the advice in the course here: [Course] Master The Behavioral Interview As A Software Engineer

    To clarify, go talk to your recruiter. Ask them if this round will have any technical questions that involve writing code.

For those who were laid off, taking a career break, or any another reason why they're not working right now. It's good to be unemployed every once in a while!
Unemployed38 questions