Advice on Engineering Internship Interview

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

Thought I’d ask if any of you folks have advice/experience on how to tackle an interview for an engineering internship (oil and gas company). The age of internships before graduation did not really exist when I was in college. My S has an interview next week and it is his first. He does not have any prior internship experience, so that is not what got him the interview, nor can he talk about that. What probably did get him the interview was his GPA (3.6) and a good cover letter (talked about work ethic, teamwork, safety, desire for employment in company after graduation, willing to work/learn from the ground up).

He will do the mock interviews and such, but I always like to pass on words of wisdom for him to chew on. Any particular focus points when you don’t have experience?

2

Ask him if he has any interesting projects to discuss from his classes or perhaps from clubs (like Miini Baja, Hackathons, etc).

An internship interview is a lot like a real job interview. Feel free to share any general interview tips with him. For example, -

  • do some advanced research on the company
  • ask insightful questions
  • follow up with a thank you email / confirmation of interest
3

Thanks @colorado_mom - Referring to class projects is a good strategy.

4

Any club experience that may help? My D took a leadership position in one of the main engineering club at school. She can talk about the community projects she has involved in.