Hints:Tips:Advice

Dufftronic

Hi Guys,

Just looking for a bit of advice from some of you more experienced sparks out there, particularly those of you who have worked in industry. I served my time in the food industry as a maintenance technician, moved to england about 2.5 years ago (when i completed phase 7)and am currently working in a printing press as an electrical engineer.

I have been called back for a second interview for a position as an maintenance engineer in a prestigious car manufacturer.

The first interview went really well and was mostly focussed around questions such as "tell me of a time when....", "what are your strongest skills...", "What are your weaknesses..", all that sort of stuff.

I have been told that the second interview will be a similar structure but will be a more technical interview. The thing is, i don't really know what that is going to entail. I've been studying basic plc programming over the last couple of days as i haven't had much practice in my current job and have forgotten a fair bit. I have done a lot of automation in my current job so am quite happy where that's concerned, along with basic factory maintenance (ie, motors, gearboxes, conveyors, inverters, interbus, hydraulics, pneumatics, etc..)

If any of you have had this sort of interview before, or even if you are responsible for hiring people, what sort of questions would YOU ask a potential new recruit?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

cheers,
Brendan.

2011

Dufftronic wrote: »

I have been called back for a second interview for a position as an maintenance engineer in a prestigious car manufacturer.

I would imagine that your strong points are that you are a qualified electrician with an engineering degree. Therefore if it were me I would think about the bestselling points from both, what sort of work you did on your tools, final year project for the degree and experience (if any) working as an engineer.

The first interview went really well and was mostly focussed around questions such as "tell me of a time when....", "what are your strongest skills...", "What are your weaknesses..", all that sort of stuff.

I hate the "What are your weaknesses.." type questions. My normal answer to that is that I am too committed and work too hard
A stupid answer to a stupid question I guess.

I have been told that the second interview will be a similar structure but will be a more technical interview. The thing is, i don't really know what that is going to entail.

The technical questions are most likely to focus on the type of work you will be doing.
So you need to know exactly will your role be.
Hopefully you have a good handle on this form the last interview.

You say you have been studying PLC programming, I take it that you see this as being part of your role?

Do you know what type of PLCs they use, if not you should try to find out?

If any of you have had this sort of interview before, or even if you are responsible for hiring people, what sort of questions would YOU ask a potential new recruit?

Considering your background I would want someone that understood the entire process from the instrument in the field, to the wiring to the PLC/control system, right through to the control philosophy, programming, and system architecture. This is important for fault finding which is something that I imagine will be part of your remit if the maintenance technician cannot solve a particular problem. I would expect also you to be comfortable with power distribution, MCCs, motor schematics, you should know a bit about pneumatics and hydraulics and preventative maintenance programs. I assume that you would also be writing technical reports and SOPs and involved with design review. Therefore I would expect technical questions to be based on all of the above.

My experience of technical interviews is that they were not as technical as I had expected. They generally produced drawings and asked me to explain them.

Of primary importance to all employers is attitude and enthusiasm. Anything that the applicant is lacking in the above technical skills and/or experience he/she will learn over time, but attitude can't be taught.

Always remember that safety is a primary concern for all employers. There always seems to be a few questions regarding this.

Good luck with the interview!

whizbang

Ask them about Scheduled downtime, cost of downtime, Production delay costs.

In a related industry, Poor workflow was a massive, unpredictable cost, that both created and ended, workers careers.

Dufftronic

Thanks for your replies guys. Delighted to say that i got the job. Starting after i give notice to my current employers. Just to give you feedback on the sort of questions i got asked in the interview:

was shown a quick sketch of a car sitting on a transportation block, on a conveyor, moving toward a lift system. I was asked how many plc inputs i would expect to complete the operation with the car finishing on the next floor. I went through the process of proximity sensors, limit switches, safety interlocks, ramp up / down speeds etc. I counted 22. The interviewer said they had between 25 - 28 inputs so he was happy with that answer.

i was also asked that if it takes approx 67 secs to produce one car how would i improve on output targets. I suggested looking at cycle times and seeing if half a second could be saved here and there. Over the course of a shift you could possibly be producing one extra car. again, he was happy with that.

That's just two of the many questions i was asked in an interview lasting about 1.5 hours. If anyone ever has a similar interview, PM me with any questions you might have and i'll be able to give you a more detailed answer.

Cheers
Brendan

2011

Dufftronic wrote: »

Delighted to say that i got the job.

Great news, congrads.