Home    

What follows is a list of interview questions that students have recently been asked at various interviews and assessment centres. This list includes questions that have been asked by several engineering and finance employers including: Arup, Atkins, Ernst & Young, GKN, Hoare Lea, Max Fordham, Mckinsey, Mott MacDonald, Rolls Royce, Shell, and WSP. Practice by answering some yourself. Further down the page are extended questions that have been asked in technical interviews.

Who are our competitors and how are they different from us?
What do our customers want?
Where are we based?
Name one of our products
Why do you want to be a [consultant]?
Would you specialise or be general?
What have you enjoyed most about your degree and why?
What grade are you aiming for, and what is your biggest obstacle to achieving this?
Why do you want to work for us?
Who else have you applied to?
When did you decide you wanted to be a [consultant]?
What do you see as being your day-to day work?
What will you get out of working here?
Where do you see yourself in five (and ten) years?
What systems are there in this building?
Why did you choose [Bristol] University?
Tell me about your summer placement
Why have you chosen to apply for this job function?
What is your favourite place/building and why?
What do you know about us?
What has recently inspired you?
What would be your ideal day?
What would you not like about a typical day working here ?
What people don’t you like working with?
What people do you like working with?
Describe a time when you have felt uneasy
Describe a time when you found yourself in a new situation
What do you think are your main strengths/weaknesses?
What skills have you developed at university that are not related to your course?
Which of our offices would you prefer to work in and why?
Give an example of a time when you have been in a team and had to persuade the group
Give an example of when you have had to work to a tight deadline
Give an example of time where you have had to deal with a difficult customer
How do you see [your hobby] fitting in with your job?
How is your essay writing, grammar and spelling?
How well have you managed your finances whilst at University?
Have you given many presentations before?

For insider tips on interview questions we thoroughly recommend visiting www.WikiJob.co.uk.

Technical Interviews

Some of these questions have tips underneath them, so be careful not to accidentally read them before you attempt the questions.

Q1) Two balls of the same mass, same material and same size, except one has a hollow centre. How could you tell which is which?

Tip: Talk about moments of inertia and moments of area.


Q2) Draw the shear force and bending moment diagrams for a simply supported beam. How do these vary if the beam is now triangular in shape like (i.e. largest depth at mid-span).


Q3) Explain how an aerofoil works.


Q4) A radiator delivers 1kW of heating to a room. What would happen if the hot water was swapped for cold water, and would it now be taking away 1kW? Draw the thermal boundary layers for both the hot and cold situations.

Tip: It depends on the relative temperatures between hot water and room, and cold water and room. Pick sensible temperatures for both and use Q=kA(dt).

Q5) An ice skater skates in a circle and holds onto a rope. The other end of the rope goes through a hole in the ice at the centre of his circular path and is attached to a heavy mass which is free to accelerate downwards. Describe the path the ice skater will follow.

Tip: Mention that if (mv²)/r is satisfied, the path will remain a perfect circle.