University at Buffalo - Career Services - Technical Interviewing workshop fall 2013

1. Holly M. Justice
Engineering Career Counselor
Career Services
259 Capen Hall
Successful Technical
Interviewing Techniques

2. Overview
• The Interview
• What to expect
– Types of interviews
– Interview process
– Types of questions, examples and strategies
• Steps to Successful Interviewing
• Additional Tips

3. The Interview
• The interview by definition:
– Interview - a formal meeting in which one or
more persons question, consult, or evaluate
another person: a job interview.
• An interview ideally
– should be a conversation in which the job
candidate demonstrates their qualifications
for the position and their fit with the company
culture.

4. Types of Interviews
OFF-SITE
• Phone
• Career Fair
• Video Interviewing (Skype)
ON-SITE
• One-on-One
• Group / Multiple candidates
• Panel/Committee
OTHER (On or Off Site)
• Meal –Lunch/Dinner
• Tests /Assessments
– Online
– On-Site

5. Interview Process
• An initial screening interview
– Typically Phone
– Video Interview
– Possibly an on-line test
• Secondary screening interview
– Typically Phone
• On-site interview
• Secondary On-site interview
• Hopefully - Job Offer and Salary Negotiation

6. Strategies for Phone Interviewing
• May have informational
sheets in front of you
• Listen carefully
• Speak clearly
• Use descriptive
language (they can’t see
your non-verbal body
communication cues)
• Use interviewer(s)
name (when directing
your answer to them)
• Quiet location so you
won‟t be interrupted
• Cell phone battery

7. Strategies for Video Interviewing
• Equipment & Software
– Practice ahead of time
– Positioning of microphone
– Time delay of video feed
• The Look
– Attire
– Camera – close up of you
– Posture
– Background – keep it
simple
• Eye Contact
– Look into the camera
(not at the screen)
• Voice & Movements
– Audio
– Speak slowly & clearly

8. Types of Questions
• Typical questions
• Traditional questions
• Behavior-based / Situational questions
• Brainteasers/Riddles/Puzzles/Practical questions

9. Types of Questions
• Typical Questions
– Tell me about yourself.
– Why should I hire you? Why are you the best
candidate?

10. Techniques for answering the typical
questions

11. Prepare for the typical questions:
• Tell me about yourself.
• Why should I hire you?
– List your top 3-5 qualifications
– Have 2+ examples for each qualification

12. Ace the “Tell me about yourself” question with
a 3 part statement strategy:
 Part one:
 a one sentence summary of the candidate‟s career history
 Part two:
a one to two sentence summary of a single accomplishment
that you are proud of and will also capture the potential
employer‟s attention
This accomplishment should be one that is easily explained
or illustrated, and one that clearly highlights a bottom line
impact.
 Part three:
A one sentence summary of specifically what you want to do
next in your career
Reference: Article by Jeff Skrentny, Jefferson Recruiters Report.

13. Activity
Preparing for the
“Tell me about yourself”
question.

14. ACTIVITY
“Tell me about yourself”
• Think about your answers for each of these parts.
• Write down your thoughts
Part one:
a summary of your academic/ career history
Part two:
a one to two sentence summary of an accomplishment that
you are proud of
Part three:
A one sentence summary of your short-term career goals
Who wants to volunteer to share?

15. Activity
Preparing for the
“Why should I hire you?”
question.
On paper, list your top 3-5 qualifications

16. Activity –
Company Description
Cameron
• Cameron is a leading international manufacturer
of oil and gas pressure control equipment,
including valves, wellheads, controls, chokes,
blowout preventers and assembled systems for oil
and gas drilling, production and transmission used
in onshore, offshore and subsea applications, and
provides oil and gas separation, metering and
flow measurement equipment. Cameron is also a
leading manufacturer of centrifugal air
compressors, integral and separable gas
compressors and turbochargers.

17. Activity – Job Description
GRDP Trainee
• Candidates will go through our Global
Rotational Development Program (GRDP).
This 2-year program is designed to build on the
existing technical skills of participants, by
exposing them to experienced company
professionals in one of our many manufacturing
locations throughout eleven different divisions.
At least four, six- month rotational assignments
are required:
• Supervisory
• Manufacturing Engineering
• Materials
• Electives:
o Quality
o Project Management
o Or a 2nd role in Mfg Engineering
GRDP participants WILL be required to relocate
during the course of the program and one of
these locations may be outside of the
continental United States. Upon completion of
the four rotational assignments, graduates of
the GRDP are placed into positions which
utilize their experience, training and skill level
and fulfill business need.
• Qualifications:
Outgoing and open to new challenges
Desire for operations and manufacturing skill
development
Must be geographically mobile (willing to
relocate)
Eligible to work in the US without restriction
Must have desired degree, major, and preferred
GPA of 3.0 or higher
Must have a positive “can do” attitude and be
willing to learn new things
Must have experiences and show tendency to
develop and desire leadership skills

18. Activity
Why should I hire you?
Who would like to volunteer?

19. More question examples…

20. Types of Questions
 Traditional
Why did you choose this major?
How did you choose this school?
What is your one of your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
Define success. Define failure.
What are your short term and long term goals?
What do your colleagues say about you?
What do you know about this organization?
Why do you want to work for this organization?
Do you consider yourself successful?
Are you a team player?
Explain how you would be an asset to this company.
Do you have any questions for me?

21. Types of Questions
Behavior-based / situational questions
• Uses questions that challenge you to
recall ( in detail) what you did, thought,
and felt in key situations

22. Techniques for Answering
Behavior Based
Questions

23. When preparing to answer the Behavioral
Based Question:
• First, mentally note what skill or
competency the interviewer is seeking
• Always provide a specific example or
situation
• Detail your behavior and actions you
took to resolve the situation
• Share the outcome/result of the
situation

24. For Behavior Based Questions
• The „STAR‟ Approach for Answering a
Question
S: Situation – describe the situation
T: Task or problem – what dilemma or
problem did you face?
A: Action – what action did you take?
R: Result – what was the result of your
action?

25. Types of Questions - Examples
 Behavior-based / situational questions
Decision Making:
 Tell me about a difficult decision you've made in the last year.
 Describe a situation where you have had to overcome a problem or
obstacle in order to move forward with something. What did you
do?
 Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all
the information you needed. How did you handle it? Why? Were you
happy with the outcome?
Goal Setting
 What do you consider to be your greatest achievement so far and
why?
 Tell me about a goal that you set that you did not reach. What
steps did you take? What obstacles did you encounter? How did it
make you feel?

26. Types of Questions - Examples
 Behavior-based / situational questions Continued…
 Give me an example of an important goal you set in the past and
tell me how you achieved it.
 Describe a time when your over-enthusiasm for something got you
involved way over your head.
 Describe a situation where you made a decision and it was the
wrong one.
 Tell me about a specific day when you had too many tasks to
complete.
 Describe a time when you acted as a leader to complete a team
project
 Describe a situation where you have had to work as part of a team
to achieve a result. What was your role in this?
 Describe a situation where others you were working with on a
project disagreed with your ideas. What did you do?

27. Types of Questions
Brainteasers/Riddles/Puzzles/
Practical Questions

28. Types of Questions
• Brainteasers/Riddles/Puzzles/Practical Questions
– Why are man hole covers round?
– What could you do to improve this pen?
– problem: you have 100 doors in a row that are all
initially closed. you make 100 passes by the doors
starting with the first door every time. the first time
through you visit every door and toggle the door (if the
door is closed, you open it, if its open, you close it).
the second time you only visit every 2nd door (door
#2, #4, #6). the third time, every 3rd door (door #3,
#6, #9), etc, until you only visit the 100th door.
Question: what state are the doors in after the last
pass? which are open which are closed?

29. Types of Questions
Brainteasers/Riddles/Puzzles/Practical Questions
continued…
You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and your mass is
proportionally reduced so as to maintain your original
density. You are then thrown into an empty glass blender. The
blades will start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?
How would you find out if a machine‟s stack grows up or
down in memory?
Explain a database in three sentences to your eight-year-old
nephew.
How many gas stations would you say there are in the United
States?
How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?
How much should you charge to wash all the windows in San
Francisco?

30. Types of Questions
 Puzzles continued…
 A census taker approaches a house and asks the woman who
answers the door "How many children do you have, and what are
their ages?”
Woman: "I have three children; the product of their ages is 36, the
sum of their ages is equal to the address of the house next door."
The census taker walks next door, comes back and says "I need
more information."
The woman replies "I have to go; my oldest child is sleeping
upstairs."
Census taker: "Thank you, I now have everything I need."
What are the ages of each of the three children?

31. Types of Questions
Puzzles continued…
A man has to get a fox, a chicken, and a sack of corn
across a river.
He has a rowboat, and it can only carry him and one
other thing.
If the fox and the chicken are left together, the fox will
eat the chicken.
If the chicken and the corn are left together, the
chicken will eat the corn.
How does the man do it?

32.  Puzzles continued…
You have 12 balls identical in size and appearance
but one is an odd weight (it could be either light or
heavy).
You have a set of scales which will give three possible
readings: Left = Right, Left > Right or Left < Right (I.E
Left and
Right have equal weight, Left is Heavier, or Left is
Lighter).
You have only three chances to weigh the balls in any
combination using the scales. Determine which ball is
the odd one and if it's heavier or lighter than the rest.
How do you do it?

33. Software Development
Interviews

34. Types of Questions
Technical / Practical Questions
 If you are a programmer, be prepared to write code in
the interview!
 There are many programming type interview questions
online.
 Design a data structure such that given a stream of numbers, you can
find the maximum of the numbers at any point and also all the
numbers.
 You are given a dictionary of all valid words. You have the following 3
operations permitted on a word: delete a character, insert a character,
replace a character. Now given two words - word1 and word2 - find the
minimum number of steps required to convert word1 to word2. (one
operation counts as 1 step.)
 Define Data Abstraction. What is its importance?
Reference http://www.techinterviews.com

36. 5 Steps to Interviewing
Success

37. 5 Steps to Interviewing
Success
1. Know Yourself
2. Know the Employer
3. Interview Preparation
4. Perform at the Interview
5. Follow Up

38. • Values
• Needs
• Interests
• Realistic Goals
• Company culture you
seek
• Experiences
• Skills / Qualifications
• Specific examples that
illustrate your
qualifications
1. Know Yourself

39. 2. Know the Employer
 Products
 Customers/Clients
 Size of Organization
 Geographic Locations
 Financial Structure
 Trends/Future Growth
 Reputation/History
 Training Opportunities
 Policies/Benefits
 Research & Research & Research

40. 3. Interview Preparation
• Review Potential Questions
– Career Services website, Career Guide
• Formulate Questions to Ask
• Know your resume
• Research the employer and position
• Practice, Practice, Practice!
– Career Services
• www.ub-careers.buffalo.edu

41. 4. The Interview
• Arrive early & be prepared
• Dress appropriately
• Turn cell phone off
• Shake hands firmly & smile
• Be polite & positive
• Know & use the interviewer‟s name
• Assess the interviewer and interview accordingly
– Watch for non-verbal clues
• Develop a dialogue
• Make eye contact
• Expect the unexpected
• Communicate your skills

42. 4. The Interview Cont’d
 Listen & answer questions clearly
 Don‟t ramble, get to the point!
 Be positive! Turn negatives into positives
 Think before responding
 Utilize past experiences as examples
 Ask appropriate questions
 Incorporate information about the company
 Utilize key words / buzzwords
 Express interest in position & company

43. 4. The Interview Cont’d
• Be politically correct
• Ask for the job at the end of the interview
• Express your interest and enthusiasm for the
position
• Ask for a business card

44. 5. Interview Follow-Up
• Write a thank you letter within 24 hrs.
• Discuss the experience with a career
counselor
• Prepare for the second interview
• Provide additional references, transcripts,
etc. upon request

45. 5 Simple Hints to improve your success at the
technical job interview
1. Smile. Seriously, when you shake everybody's hand, smile at
them.
2. Have your story ready.
3. Answer the questions to the best of your ability. If you do not
know the answer to a questions, tell the interviewer, “I don‟t
know” and then explain to them how you would figure it out.
Think out loud.
4. Programmers - Write some code by hand on paper the night
before.
5. Ask questions and be prepared with questions for the
interviewer at the end of the interview. They expect you to
ask questions.
REFERENCE: September 24, 2008
http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/puramu/5-hints-for-a-successful-technical-job-interview-12362

46. Career Services
Services & tools to help you be
successful!

47. • Individual Career Counseling
appointment
– Discuss interviewing techniques
and/or debrief recent interview
experience(s)
• Practice Interview appointment
– Videotaped while being asked
interview questions by a Career
Counselor and then review the tape
with the Career Counselor
• Interview Stream tool – *New*
– This tool enables you to practice an
interview online. You can then
review it and you may send the link
to professors, friends, or career
counselors for feedback. Now in
BullsEye!
Career
Services

48. Career
Services
• Contact us:
– 259 Capen Hall
– 8:30am – 5:00pm M-F
– Call 716-645-2231 to schedule an
appointment
– Email us at jobs@buffalo.edu
– Express Career Consult
• 20 minute same day appointment
• Monday – Friday from 12:00pm-
4:00pm
• Call or stop by to make an
appointment
• www.ub-careers.buffalo.edu

49. Thank you for your time.
Good Luck!
Holly M. Justice
Engineering Career Counselor
Career Services
259 Capen Hall

50. REFERENCES
There are many
resources available to
you in order to prepare
for an interview. A few
resources used to create
this presentation are
provided for your
convenience.
 UB Career Services
 www.ub-careers.buffalo.edu
 Career Guide
 Job Choices Magazine, National
Association of Colleges and
Employers , 52nd edition.
 www.jobinterviewquestions.org
 http://it.toolbox.com/
 http://technicaljobsearch.com/inte
rviews/technical-interview-tips.htm
 http://www.techinterview.org/
 http://www.serverwatch.com/
 http://technical-interview.com/