I got an interview...

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Think of a good answer for these questions: What is/are your strengths? What is your weakness? Esp. the weakness one. Think of an honest one and be prepared to discuss what you are doing to remedy it. Don't say a lame fake weakness that is a positive in disguise like "My weakness is I'm too nice":barf:.

I just wore a suit to a check the box interview (he all but said I was hired, just crossing the "T"s) at a Ballys gym for a personal trainer position. The interviewer (in shorts/T-shirt:D ) was surprised I wore a suit. I told him that I figured suits are for interviews...and I have suits, so I might a well wear them! If he had said don't bother with a suit or anything on the phone, I wouldn't have though. When in doubt...go with a conservative suit, white shirt as outlined above in the other post.
 
1) wear a nice suit and make sure your belt matches your shoes (brown belt w/ brown shoes, black belt w/ black shoes)

2) Smile and make sure you THINK positive. Always have a positive thought in your head. People can "read" your emotions. Even if you grandma dies crashing your Hemi-Cuda the morning of the interview, THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS.

3) Do NOT swear. Even if you get chummy with the interviewer, DO NOT SWEAR.

4) Do NOT talk politics or religion. Even if you THINK the interviewer has the same views as you. No complaining about Mexicans, Muslims, Bush, the Berlin wall or who and whatever. You never know who is what religion or has who in their family.
 
A tenth is not 1/10

Look over their catalog thoroughly. One thing I noticed was they described their guns as being machined to tenths.*

I used that term a couple of years ago on one post, and was challenged on it by a contentious poster who said he'd never heard of that usage --somehow leaving the impression that I didn't know what I was talking about.

But we had always used it in our shop, where it was assumed that a tenth was 0.0001 inches.

So after being challenged on it, I kind of thought that maybe our plant's use of that term was just local/regional to our machine shop.

But I'm glad to see that other outfits use that term.

Soooo.....upshot = you might have your work cut out for you if they routinely run things to "tenths."

Soooo....when you interview, think: precision!

And you might want to re-familiarize yourself with CNC techniques.


Also, they seem to have a lot of variations on basic models, frames, etc.

This implies that if they have any kind of high volume production (as opposed to a onesy-twosy operation), they might need someone who can schedule the production line (and keep in inventory the components) to meet varying demands for variations of a basic line according to demand.

Like in an automotive production line --this one needs an automatic transmission and an ashtray with blue paint, that one needs a manual and no ashtray and black paint.

After all, that's part of engineering as well.

And they might be more interested in that than the admirable gloss on your shoes.

--------
* See their Texican model, for example.
 
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Personally, for interviews I wear:
-a navy blue 2-piece suit
-a white wrinkle-free broadcloth shirt with no pattern and a point collar
-a white crew-neck undershirt (no "wifebeaters" under a light dress shirt, they're too visible)
-black oxford-style shoes
-black nylon dress socks
-a smooth black dress belt
-a polished steel tie clip
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Also, make sure your tie is fairly conservative and properly tied. Use a double windsor knot and ensure that the middle of the "Vee" is even with the top of your belt. With a navy suit, I always wore navy colored socks. But most importantly, make sure your carry weapon doesn't print!
 
You are applying for a technical job, you're an ME, right.

Actually, as an old engineer, I wouldn't sweat the dress too much. Neat but casual is fine.

I interview a lot of folks, and all we really care about is their technical skills and communication skills. My company has been growing recently, and I have probably interviewed 40 folks since January.

All the dress for success is for the business admin types that don't have technical skills. :) If you're business major, whoever has the prettiest tie and the shiniest shoes may make a difference.

If you are applying for a technical job, all they really care about is whether or not you can do the job. I don't really care if someone is a "gentlemen" or any of that crap - and I am pretty sure that I couldn't tell a sociopath from Mother Theresa in an hour interview. I can't even imagine noticing what someone wore, much less being concerned about it.

Be prepared to talk about any technical work you have done. Be prepared to talk about projects, etc. with people who may not know anything about your project.

One think people pay very close attention to is any team dynamics on any projects you've worked on. Don't whine about being stuck with a loser on your team. If you had someone on your team who was difficult to work with, then emphasize how you solved that issue. Emphasize your contributions to the team, but don't make yourself sounds like the Superman. "I was a strong member of a good team!" sounds a lot better than "They all sucked and I saved the day!"

They will mainly be there to assess your technical skills and your ability to work on a team of engineers.

Expect them to ask you some challenging thought questions - design, etc. You will sweat, and you will be nervous, but what they will want to see is how you think.

Mike
 
This may seem like stating the obvious, but ASK FOR THE JOB! I have been on several interview panels where the prospective candidate walked out the door and never asked for the job. Be prepared to answer the question "Why should we hire you?". I have also asked companies "Why should I want to work for you".

Good luck!:)
 
Sorry, I meant to reply to this earlier boredelmo.

Had the interview two weeks ago. I think the interview went well. Spoke with the Director of Operations for a while, then he showed me around the facilities. After the tour, I spent some time in QC and watched the QC Manager do a warranty repair and the process he goes through.

The whole thing was three hours, which was longer than I had expected so I guess that's a good thing. I dropped a thank you letter in the mail and then called them a week after the interview to check up.

Still no word from them. I think the main problem is that there was no job posting, it was me contacting them for the position so they would have to create a position for me. I think they are going to have to figure out whether or not they want to deal with that.

Yes or no, that's fine... I just want to know. :(
 
Two pieces of advice:
Be on your toes. Given that it's an engineering position, a lot of companies will give you a "dogpile" technical interview to see how you do under pressure. The object is not to answer everything correctly, it's to be cool under pressure.

Bring a portfolio of previous designs you have done if they're not under an NDA to someone else.
 
are they publically or privatly owned? do research b4 the interview as if you were interested in purchasing their stock. this will help you to ask some 'interesting' questions outside & beyound those connected to your specific job criteria. plus all of the above.
 
Still no word from them. I think the main problem is that there was no job posting, it was me contacting them for the position so they would have to create a position for me. I think they are going to have to figure out whether or not they want to deal with that.
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Don't fret.

What may not be clear to you is how incredibly cheap you are for them as a co-op.

At least most tech companies use them extensively (we call them "lab rats") because they are so much cheaper than full-time salaried employees. We can hire a co-op, pay him $25/hour, and that's still probably 25-30% of what it would cost to hire a salaried employee. It's a good deal. For a college student, $25/hour is a lot of money, but for the company, it's dirt cheap.

We can almost always create a co-op position for a qualified candidate.

Mike
 
Don't fret.

What may not be clear to you is how incredibly cheap you are for them as a co-op.

At least most tech companies use them extensively (we call them "lab rats") because they are so much cheaper than full-time salaried employees. We can hire a co-op, pay him $25/hour, and that's still probably 25-30% of what it would cost to hire a salaried employee. It's a good deal. For a college student, $25/hour is a lot of money, but for the company, it's dirt cheap.

We can almost always create a co-op position for a qualified candidate.

Mike
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I think that's another issue. I put the average pay that a senior at my school makes at a company that size, $16/hour. He seemed to think that was a bit steep. :-/
 
I interview candidates for the company where I work. The one thing that really turns me off is B...S.... As my Step-dad told me " you don't have to know everything, just know where to look everything up"
 
I think that's another issue. I put the average pay that a senior at my school makes at a company that size, $16/hour. He seemed to think that was a bit steep. :-/
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Wow - things must be very different outside the tech world! (I went from Peace Corps to the tech world, so I don't know much about what other professional jobs pay.)

I worked as co-op for IBM in the early 90s at $17.50 an hour, and most people thought I under-priced myself. I was in grad school, but that was 15 years ago. I am pretty sure we offer undergrads who are still wet behind the ears $25/hour.

At any rate, $16/hour without benefits has to be very cheap labor for them. If they offer any benefits, a minimum wage worker probably costs them that much.

I guess I should be grateful for my geek genes. If I could only dance ... :)

Mike
 
Any need for co-ops at your company?
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My guess is that playing with guns is a lot more fun than staring at code until you get old and fat and start drooling on the keyboard. :)

Mike
 
My guess is that playing with guns is a lot more fun than staring at code until you get old and fat and start drooling on the keyboard.

Mike
Click to expand...

Yeah, but at this point I really need to get a co-op (required for graduation!)... which is why I just want STI to make a decision.
 
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