<p>I'm currently a sophmore MechE and I have a phone interview for an engineering internship next week. This would be my first ever internship interview and I'm not really sure what to expect. I know that the people that will conduct the interview are the Director of Engineering and the VP of engineering. I'm very interested in getting this internship but slightly nervous about messing it up. What should I expect from this interview? Thanks for your help</p>
<p>I’ll answer just to bump it so you will get some better answers. S (CompE) had a number of phone interviews but the one that went best he prepared for (also ended in internship then job offer at pretty incredible place). He went over some basic stuff just to feel more comfortable. He made sure he was in a place that was quiet, would have no interruptions, that his phone was charged. He actually exercised earlier to relieve stress and had a high protein, lo carb meal before, but not too close to interview - that may seem overkill but it actually kept him relaxed and alert. Good luck! Hope you get some responses as to what to expect during the interview.</p>
<p>Get to a nice quiet place, pour yourself a nice cup of tea, have your resume out, and perhaps most important of all, GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFOREHAND.</p>
<p>Seriously though, don’t stress too much about it, that’ll come through during the interview. Hard to say exactly what to expect, some companies are more interested in how you’ll fit and will ask a bunch of behavioral questions rather than technical ones. </p>
<p>Try and think of responses to common behavioral questions beforehand (“Tell me about a time you’ve had to work with a difficult person” etc.). </p>
<p>If they do ask technical questions (which I’ve found to be surprisingly rare when interviewing for engineering internships), don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know something, but try and diffuse it a bit by demonstrating that you know how to get the information (“I’m not sure, but I know that I could find that in such and such”).</p>
<p>Do try and research the company before hand, and have a compelling reason you want to work there (“I need a job” is not compelling).</p>
<p>Have questions for the interviewers ready so you don’t have to stammer for a minute and a half trying to think of something.</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s all that’s coming to mind right now. Don’t freak out about it, be confident and I’m sure everything will go fine.</p>
<p>Tips:</p>
<p>1) Find a quite place with great reception for your call. This is critical. I know one too many people that don’t get offers because of missed/dropped calls.</p>
<p>2) Don’t panic. Think each question through before answering and reply with ease. </p>
<p>3) [optional] Dress up. Dressing up typically gives you confidence to talk without hesitation.</p>
<p>4) Practice! Whether its with a school adviser or a friend, practice interviewing. A typical mechanical engineering position consists of behavioral questions.</p>
<p>5) Have your resume out in front of you so you can follow along with the recruiter.</p>
<p>6) Research the company. Know what they do. Know the position you are applying to. The more you know, the more impressed the recruiter will be.</p>
<p>Gesture with your hands while talking. They can’t see you, and it may help you sound more animated and enthusiastic.</p>
<p>[Interviewing</a> Tips - Halliburton](<a href=“http://www.halliburton.com/careers/default.aspx?navid=2008&pageid=4211]Interviewing”>http://www.halliburton.com/careers/default.aspx?navid=2008&pageid=4211)</p>
<p>[Caterpillar</a> Hiring Practices](<a href=“http://www.caterpillar.com/careers/how-we-hire]Caterpillar”>http://www.caterpillar.com/careers/how-we-hire)</p>
<p>Phone interviews are much more laid back than on-site ones. You should sound enthusiastic and do not, under any circumstances, start to B.S. I have found that phone interviews are not terribly technical and usually involve you elaborating on points in your resume.</p>
<p>Be sure to give the manager a reason to believe that you would accept the offer if given it; for example, when I was interviewing for an internship in the Bay Area with a big tech company, I asked a lot of questions about the area itself. These questions were not something like “so… what’s there to do in the Bay Area”, but were more informed and invited the manager to elaborate on his own experience, such as “I hear there’s an [apocryphal] Mark Twain quote about San Francisco”. I can’t say for certain that this directly contributed to the outcome, but I was offered the internship.</p>