Hard Interview Questions: STEM Fields for Monte

In summary: This is definitely a trend in the engineering and technology fields - as jobs become more managerial, questions that demonstrate understanding and fluency in those areas become more important. Overall, I think these questions demonstrate that the interviewer is looking for someone who can think on their feet and communicate effectively.
  • #1
Monte_Carlo
72
0
Over the years I've heard gruesome stories about engineering/science/tech interviews - questions that they expect you to get on the spot (or nearly so) but which would require me to spend a good day thinking. I've already read Poundstone's books but I have to say there are very few good ones like that out there about interviews/relevant puzzles (any suggestions are welcome.)

While I know it may have to do with specific knowledge (like propulsion) I suspect even in aerospace they sometimes test applicants with generic diffucult analytical problems. I would appreciate visitors of this forum to post some difficult STEM interview questions (i.e. not soft like 'what was your most difficult project' but something which required a precise answer.) These may be something you've been asked or asked as an interviewer. Overall, such information may help me figure out if I am a fit to STEM fields at all. My preference is data analytics/computer science followed by all kinds of engineering.

Thanks,

Monte
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Monte_Carlo said:
I've already read Poundstone's books

So you're not smart enough to figure out that interviewers also read books? OK, we'll call you back (or maybe not...) :biggrin:

Monte_Carlo said:
questions that they expect you to get on the spot (or nearly so) but which would require me to spend a good day thinking.

What you know may be less important than how you think, especially "thinking on your feet". In that case, your strategy won't work. If a candidate "knows the answer", we just keep changing the question till we find something he/she doesn't know about. And if we are feeling vindictive (or the candidate seems really good and we want to find out just HOW good), we might disagree with whatever he/she says, even if it's correct. (We know plenty of wrong answers to the interview questions - we learned some of them from previous interviewees!)
 
Last edited:
  • #3
Questions/Problems

Can you mention some specific questions/problems/puzzles to get a feel for difficulty levels? Anything concrete would do.
 
  • #4
Questions I've been asked:
1) How do mobile phone calls work? What can effect them?

2) If bikes had all there weight distributed on the circumference of the wheel what would happen?

3) If all cars in the world switched to hydrogen power, would the water produced raise sea levels significantly?

Hope these help
 
  • #5
Concrete Interview Questions

Wolfmax, looks good, what are the answers to 2 and 3? I would appreciate more visitors posting similar questions - I know I should ideally consult literature but it's of no use, I better hear it straight from the source.
 
  • #6
With the bike it would be harder to steer due to larger angular momentum. It would also be harder to pedal. With the hydrogen car one it was more a test of your estimation skills. The answer is not important, it's to let the interviewer see how you try to figure something out and if you have a feel for what you need to know to work it out. Also it probably weeds out people who stare blankly for 10s and say 'I dunno'
 
  • #7
Actually, since the hydrogen comes from electrolysis of seawater, it cannot raise sea levels. Indeed, it will slightly lower them.

It is a sad but true fact that there are college graduates who are technically inept and/or incapable of effective thinking and/or communicating. The point of these questions is to try and not hire them.
 
  • #8
I worked as a programmer for 30 years before retiring and interviewed countless people.

You bet interviewers ask questions that make you think on your feet - especially those that demonstrate understanding - not rote learning.

My favorite one was most software projects actually fail to deliver on time and on budget and its generally considered to virtually never be the fault of lack of technical expertise but rather failure of methodology and/or management. Why do you think that is? And what would you do about it?

Now the cause is a matter of opinion and the solution to the problem just as much an opinion - the specific answer is not the point of the question, but rather do you understand the issues involved. My preferred solution personally was a RAD many steps often approach where we pull back and analyse the outcome of each step before proceeding. But other approaches most certainly are used - its not the particular approach that is of interest to the interviewer - but rather do you understand the issues involved.

Another issue to consider is the level of the job you are going for. Generally if its a base level job questions at a detailed technical level are asked but as you go up the ladder you will find management types start to appear on the interview panels and those types of questions also get asked. On one I was on for a team leader position which is what I was my director was also on the panel and she of course has a different focus. She asked - what are the types of things you can manage. The blank looks and fumbling that we got to that one was unbelievably shocking - I just couldn't believe it. As a team leader you only really are involved in a bit of management but you should have some general knowledge.

Thanks
Bill
 
Last edited:
  • #9
When I interview someone I ask about a project listed on the resume. After the candidate explains it, I drill down and ask questions, deeper and deeper, until the candidate doesn't know the answer (I usually won't know either, but I can tell if the candidate is hand-waving). Then you get to see what the candidate is made of, and only then.
 
  • #10
Vanadium 50 said:
Actually, since the hydrogen comes from electrolysis of seawater, it cannot raise sea levels. Indeed, it will slightly lower them.

It is a sad but true fact that there are college graduates who are technically inept and/or incapable of effective thinking and/or communicating. The point of these questions is to try and not hire them.

That's what I thought as well - and that's not my background.

Actually my experience in the area of software engineering is most graduates are technically sound but what they lack is the ability to think with that knowledge and apply it beyond what they learned. Its something they pick up with some job experience. It always amuses me when I see posts of people wanting to get into some ultra elite and prestigious program thinking the knowledge they gain in such programs is what will give them the edge. That's not it at all - the edge is in being able to think with what you do know not the amount you actually know.

That's what the interview questions I, and others I know, were aimed at. Fortunately for me my interview was a joke - they simply asked rote questions with rote answers from a software engineering textbook - back in those days there was massive short supply of programmers so interviewers were looking for any way they could give someone a job. Unfortunately its not like that now.

Thanks
Bill
 
  • #11
Vanadium 50 said:
Actually, since the hydrogen comes from electrolysis of seawater, it cannot raise sea levels. Indeed, it will slightly lower them.

It is a sad but true fact that there are college graduates who are technically inept and/or incapable of effective thinking and/or communicating. The point of these questions is to try and not hire them.

Most hydrogen in industry (the hydrogen economy) comes from hydrocarbons.
Electrolysis accounts for 4%.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrog...ydrogen_market_.28current_hydrogen_economy.29
 
  • #12
Devils said:
Electrolysis accounts for 4%.

Today. But if you put every car on hydrogen (the premise), you don't have enough fossil hydrogen to do it. Apart from the political issue of replacing one fossil fuel with another. But the point of questions like this is not whether you can get the right answer on your feet: it's to show you can think on your feet, can consider issues, and can prouce a coherent answer.
 
  • #13
Vanadium 50 said:
But the point of questions like this is not whether you can get the right answer on your feet: it's to show you can think on your feet, can consider issues, and can prouce a coherent answer.

Exactly. When I asked questions of that nature the exact answer given was unimportant - what was important is could you give a reasonable answer and justify it under examination by the interviewer. In the workplace generally junior staff go to the team leader to resolve issues they can't figure out for themselves. As a team leader I didn't want to constantly have to supervise them but allow them to be as autonomous a possible so I could do one of two things depending on the exact political setup of where I worked. If it was a place where the team leader did the more complex technical stuff and that's what the powers that be judged them on then you needed time to get on with it. If it was a place where all the team leaders basically did was management stuff like keep track of the status of a teams tasks and attending meetings then you needed time for that. And at places of the second type sometimes your team leader did not have a technical background - it being thought that all you needed to be was a manager - which produced a rather interesting team dynamic. I worked in both situations as a team leader and each had it own challenges - especially the second one - which I was never really happy with. But either way team members needed to be able to show initiative and autonomy - that's what the interview is about.

Thanks
Bill
 
  • #14
bhobba said:
I worked in both situations as a team leader and each had it own challenges - especially the second one - which I was never really happy with. But either way team members needed to be able to show initiative and autonomy - that's what the interview is about.

Thanks
Bill
You weren't this argumentative when you used to read Omni Magazine & Douglas Hofstadter.
 
  • #15
Devils said:
You weren't this argumentative when you used to read Omni Magazine & Douglas Hofstadter.

Gee - that must have really been in my past over 30 years ago when I was doing my degree part time and worked as a clerk in a government department. Since then a LOT has passed under the bridge including exactly how technical team structures actually work. I rose pretty quickly from base level programmer, to senior programmer to team leader but stalled there because I was judged to not really have any management expertise.

That's the real key to job advancement - not technical expertise.

Thanks
Bill
 
  • #16
bhobba said:
Gee - that must have really been in my past over 30 years ago when I was doing my degree part time and worked as a clerk in a government department.

Well back in those days, "operators" didn't have degrees & programmers knew how to program. Now I see "help desk specialists" with masters degrees, and people with IT degrees who never program. With so many people getting degrees these days, you almost need one to make the coffee.

I would never recommend IT now, it has no barriers to entry. Instead people are going into nursing, engineering, teaching, even trades like carpenter or plumber. You need a formal qualification for these, and the qualifications are readily transferable internationally.

Probably the best skills you can have in life are likeability (plenty of psych literature on it) & communication. High IQ like most have here may get you to some low paid postdoc position at age 30.

Success is not well correlated with intelligence; its more correlated with persistence. If you read "The millionaire next door", the meek guy who is a cleaning contractor with 10 employees, making $200K & driving a 10yo car, could be far better off than some stockbroker earning $500K and spending it on status symbols.

And yes you did cook a nice steak.
 
Last edited:
  • #17
Devils said:
Well back in those days, "operators" didn't have degrees & programmers knew how to program. Now I see "help desk specialists" with masters degrees, and people with IT degrees who never program. With so many people getting degrees these days, you almost need one to make the coffee.

Oh dear - too true - too true.

Devils said:
Probably the best skills you can have in life are likeability (plenty of psych literature on it) & communication. High IQ like most have here may get you to some low paid postdoc position at age 30.

Yea. But it varies. The first place I worked at after graduating, the Federal Police, I was VERY well liked and got along with nearly everyone. Then I moved elsewhere - and it was mixed - some just loved me (strangely they were mostly business people - my director then constantly gave me feedback they just loved me and I was the only programmer she ever came across like that - mostly business people think technical types are elitist and think they are 'above' non techies), others thought I was so so, still others including the director I had before retiring (not the director referred to earlier) thought I was a total idiot.

Since this is a career advice section those just starting out take note - find a place where you are well liked - that's much more important than anything else. I absolutely regret leaving the Federal Police chasing bigger bucks and better career prospects. The most important thing by far is what others think about you.

Devils said:
Success is not well correlated with intelligence; its more correlated with persistence. If you read "The millionaire next door", the meek guy who is a cleaning contractor with 10 employees, making $200K & driving a 10yo car, could be far better off than some stockbroker earning $500K and spending it on status symbols.

One of my favorite books - read it years ago - should have taken it to heart more.

Devils said:
And yes you did cook a nice steak.

You must have known me just after I graduated - I didn't do much cooking before that - I stayed with my parents.

Thanks
Bill
 
  • #18
When you march into the working world, a funny thing happens. Nobody gives a damn about theories. They care about results. A theory is only a model of reality, not the reality itself. This is not about doing some stupid word problem; this is about coming up with answers that are achievable and that make sense.

So what did you sweat all that time in school for studying theory? You study it in the hope that you'll find the concepts useful. And here's the rub: most of what you learn in university you'll never use again. You'll use maybe 10% of what you learned. We don't know which 10% it will be, but we know that it is unlikely that you'll use more than 10% of what you learned as an undergraduate. And with each degree after that, the figure drops in half.

What I'm trying to convey is that Interview questions are designed to see how well you reason, how pragmatic you are, and what you make of a truly unusual situation. Why? Because that's what you'll see from now on.

The mentality that most learn in school is that there is usually a right answer and that's it (unless you're dealing with roots of an equation). In the real world there are a multitude of answers, and we're trying to figure out how you'll wallow your way through them all, and how you reason toward an answer that is close enough to get the job done without undue effort.

This is why I always hated word problems. You might get answers, but the questions usually sucked.
 
  • #19
Devils said:
Probably the best skills you can have in life are likeability (plenty of psych literature on it) & communication.
Dont studies show that individually being a jerk is the best strategy because you are perceived as more confident and competent. On the other hand the success of the organization as a whole is actually undermined by the same incentive to be a jerk mechanism for individuals.
 
  • #20
Specific Questions

bhobba said:
You bet interviewers ask questions that make you think on your feet - especially those that demonstrate understanding - not rote learning.

Bhobba,

Could you provide specific examples? I love to hear actual programming interview questions which make you think intensely. If you could recall a few, that would be nice. Also, if you could recall how much time was given to a candidate, that would be awesome. But remember - these don't have to be programming questions, they could be generally algorithmic so applicant won't have to know language in detail.

Monte
 
  • #21
jesse73 said:
Dont studies show that individually being a jerk is the best strategy because you are perceived as more confident and competent. On the other hand the success of the organization as a whole is actually undermined by the same incentive to be a jerk mechanism for individuals.

"Being a jerk" for me means alpha male traits, doing your own thing and to hell with what anybody thinks. Alpha male-ness is something pop psychologists talk about but there is very little in the academic literature. Its totally taboo for a psychologist to tell you that you should be more "alpha male", but its fine for them to say you should be more "assertive".

Many psychological traits tend to be fixed for life. You can train to be a better tennis player but you cant' train to change from introverted to extroverted. Not easily anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits

There has been work on emotional intelligence too, but its predictive power is debatable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotio...or_the_predictive_power_of_EI_are_too_extreme
 
  • #22
Monte_Carlo said:
Could you provide specific examples?

Hi Monte

Actually specific programming questions don't come into it a lot - it is assumed if you are a graduate you are a competent programmer. You will get questions about structured programming and why its used - the answer is programs spend most of their time in maintenance so you need to make that phase as easy as possible. However that's standard software engineering stuff people should and most do know - although I have to say a little before I retired knowledge of that sort of thing wasn't a given as it once was - the thought was objective programming was some sort of magic bullet. If you got answers like that you would pursue exactly why they thought that - but that was only just starting when I left - don't know what its like now.

The 'tough' ones are the ones that are asked to test your understanding of how programming is used to solve business problems.

Here is an example. Let's suppose you work for an organisation that has a penalty system for late payments, the penalty varying according to how long the amount has been in arrears and the amount. You have to write a program to put in place a payment plan to pay it off.

1. You get people say its easy - you divide the arrears by the time and that's what you pay say each month. Wrong - they are accumulating arrears during the time they are paying it off so that won't work.

2. You realize that but have no idea how to write a program to do it - which actually is the correct answer - but for the wrong reason.

3. You think of a way to do it ie have the program do a reasonable guess then calculate what amount will be owed or in credit at the end of the period and use that to make a better guess and keep iterating until you hit the answer

4. Then you realize that during the payment plan to pay off the arrears they may miss other payments so you may have to put changes in as it goes. You have to figure out how to handle that.

5. And then you have the real answer. If the business person can't figure out how to do it then they can't ask you to do it so you go back to them and say - can you give me the business rules of that?

The question is to see how well you think on your feet and what REAL experience you have in writing programs to meet an organisations needs.

Thanks
Bill
 
Last edited:
  • #23
Devils said:
"Being a jerk" for me means alpha male traits, doing your own thing and to hell with what anybody thinks. Alpha male-ness is something pop psychologists talk about but there is very little in the academic literature. Its totally taboo for a psychologist to tell you that you should be more "alpha male", but its fine for them to say you should be more "assertive".

Many psychological traits tend to be fixed for life. You can train to be a better tennis player but you cant' train to change from introverted to extroverted. Not easily anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits

There has been work on emotional intelligence too, but its predictive power is debatable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotio...or_the_predictive_power_of_EI_are_too_extreme
Its not just being alpha but being negative http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022103183900343
 
  • #24
bhobba said:
Actually specific programming questions don't come into it a lot - it is assumed if you are a graduate you are a competent programmer.
I thought this was now assumed to not be true which is why people have asked "fizzbuzz" type questions.
 
  • #25
jesse73 said:
I thought this was now assumed to not be true which is why people have asked "fizzbuzz" type questions.

Can't follow that one. People that don't have a good programming background will not meet the selection criteria for any job that requires programming and they wouldn't even get an interview. I realize I have been out of it for a while now but I doubt it has changed to the point where people without programming knowledge even get an interview - they certainly wouldn't for any job in my team.

What I can tell you is business people are all the time being told you don't need programmers anymore, our tools are so advanced anyone can write programs. Seen that one many times. I say - well let's send a business person to a course and see what happens - I think it would be great if they can write programs - it will free the computing professionals time up to concentrate on higher level analysis stuff. Guess what - I think the longest any business person lasted at one of those courses was two days - it was with a product called Cool-Gen. My director came to me and said - hey Bill this is supposed to be a code generator - why can't business people do it. I found it hard to hold back the laughter - yea - its a code generator but you have to look at what it generates code from and its no better than other supposedly higher level languages. But feel free to test out the companies spiel. Sale pitches to upper management is often full of crap like that - the smarter managers take more experienced techies with them but some get caught up in it and fall flat on their faces.

Added Later:
Now know what you mean by Fizzbuzz:
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/02/why-cant-programmers-program.html

It doesn't worry me if they take 10-15 minutes to write code for Fizzbuzz. It's that they can write it if they have to. You can easily tell from a resume or courses taken at colleges if they can do that. Anyone I ever hired, or would hire, can to that one no problem. Nor does it worry me if they can or cannot do recursion - in all my years of on the job programming I only ever saw one program that used recursion and I was given the job of removing it - remember programs spend most of their life in maintenance - its good for the bottom line of a system that it does it as simply as possible and stays clear of stuff like recursion.

Thanks
Bill
 
Last edited:
  • #26
bhobba said:
What I can tell you is business people are all the time being told you don't need programmers anymore, our tools are so advanced anyone can write programs. Seen that one many times. I say - well let's send a business person to a course and see what happens - I think it would be great if they can write programs - it will free the computing professionals time up to concentrate on higher level analysis stuff. Guess what - I think the longest any business person lasted at one of those courses was two days - it was with a product called Cool-Gen.
Young William, Same was said about the 4GL languages back in the 1980s. Same was said for query-by-example.

In today's market, if you are a programmer you need to reinvent yourself as a business analyst, database administrator, data scientist, or something that is independent of the current fad technology.

I like what Kalzumeus says http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/

(You still playing with loudspeakers? )
 
  • #27
Devils said:
Young William, Same was said about the 4GL languages back in the 1980s. Same was said for query-by-example.

Not that young anymore - 58 now - retired about 50 - sick and tired of the same rubbish day after day especially with an arthritic condition I have. Fortunately I had good superannuation.

Yea - seen it many times in many guises. Never lived up to the hype. 4gl's are great - used one myself for years - Natural with a product called Natural Construct. Faster than 3gls and well worth it - but getting rid of programmers - that's an entirely different ball game.

Personally I like Smalltalk these days with a well managed business specific object library. If its done well I believe Smalltalk is so easy and clean business people can take over quite a bit of the programming load - but not all.

Devils said:
In today's market, if you are a programmer you need to reinvent yourself as a business analyst, database administrator, data scientist, or something that is independent of the current fad technology.

It has long been realized you start out as a programmer and move on to other stuff like higher level analysis, maintaining the models in a product like Natural Construct etc etc.

Devils said:
(You still playing with loudspeakers? )

Have a good relationship with a maker of speakers down the Gold Coast these days and he builds my stuff. The latest pair he is building for me is really wild being lined with 1/4 inch copper to reduce resonances, 10 gauge air core inductors and Duelund Cast Capacitors in the crossover that cost $1k each. He built a pair for a customer as a special order and when me and other guys heard it he had eight orders on the spot. But that's just the start - he has plans for even wilder isobaric speakers. Its really great fun.

Again since this is a career advice forum make sure you have an interesting backup for when you retire.

Thanks
Bill
 
  • #28
Specific Examples

bhobba said:
Actually specific programming questions don't come into it a lot - it is assumed if you are a graduate you are a competent programmer.

Bill, just want to make sure we're on the same page here. I've read two books by Poundstone - one on Microsoft interviews and the other one about Google + some others. Those described some very specific questions which had right answers to them and presumably were asked on interviews to new computer science grads. In your experience, is that a prevalent practice to actually do a whiteboard or paper and pencil test like let's say longest common substring problem (just throwing it out there) or binary search complexity? If yes, what do you think about it (1) and have you heard of other questions like that (2) asked to engineering/science grads (non-comp-sci)? I believe estimation questions are Fermi style calculations (like back-of-the-envelope stuff) asked to analysts? Sometimes engineers (non-entry) are tested using general puzzles (just to see how fast they think).

By the way, how would you rate a speed of thinking and importance of that in comp sci / programming / IT / engineering?
 
  • #29
Hi Monte

One of the issues here is that software engineering is a very wide area. You can work in places like Microsoft, Google, companies that build electronic devices that are software driven, and developing commercial systems to meet the business needs of government and private organisations. Most people end up in the latter category and that's where I ended up ie developing commercial systems to meet organisational needs, in particular for the Federal Police and then the Child Support Agency. When doing that type of work rather than being a gun programmer writing complicated highly efficient code with recursion and other advanced stuff it is much more important to write code that is easily maintainable and meets business needs - it being highly efficient is a very minor concern - hardware is cheap compared to paying people to write more efficient code. Because of that the questions asked at those type of job interviews are generally not of the type that test your programming ability - if you have a software engineering or related degree you will have good enough programming ability 100% for sure. What guys like me check in interviews is how well you apply it to solve business problems - like in the example I gave. Problems like finding the longest substring etc etc are not in general ever seen in the type of programming you find in computing departments. I can't comment on what companies like Microsoft or Google will ask you for the type of work they do - but what I can tell you is most people with Software Engineering, Computer Science and related degrees will likely not end up in those places. They will more than likely end up writing program's to meet business needs in some organisation like I did.

Being bright and able to think quickly is of great value in any area and certainly for what I did. But the real key for the work I did was not so much in how quickly you thought but being able to relate what you know can be done by writing programs and what people need to carry out their job.

Thanks
Bill
 
Last edited:
  • #30
bhobba said:
HI can't comment on what companies like Microsoft or Google will ask you for the type of work they do - but what I can tell you is most people with Software Engineering, Computer Science and related degrees will likely not end up in those places. They will more than likely end up writing program's to meet business needs in some organisation like I did.

That is true. Big banks, instance companies & government employ maybe 30% of programmers. The code they write is deadly boring, including using mainframes & COBOL (gasps of horror!). Maybe 10% of programmers are in high tech and science, and would ask mathematical/logical reasoning questions.

Worse still, many people with software development degrees are forced into doing help desk work because that's where jobs are.

http://www.itworld.com/career/341879/cobol-will-outlive-us-all
"The reason that I’m telling you about COBOL is that I predict that over the next few years, new COBOL programmers are going to be in high demand and very possibly paid a premium for their efforts. Generally speaking, the COBOL programming skill set resides in baby boomers that have been programming in COBOL their entire career. The issue is that these baby boomers have begun retiring in enormous numbers. Additionally, new college recruits have neither the skill set nor the interest in replacing them. The problem for companies employing these COBOL programmers is that if the software stops, so does the company. "

------------
Here's a funny story. Many years ago I applied to a mining company for a programming job. There were many jobs on offer & they gave all applicants the same tests. I scored better than most engineers on the engineering test. That doesn't mean I know anything about engineering, it means I have a maths degree & studied some physics. These "aptitude" tests should not be correlated with real technical ability.
 
Last edited:
  • #31
Monte_Carlo said:
While I know it may have to do with specific knowledge (like propulsion) I suspect even in aerospace they sometimes test applicants with generic diffucult analytical problems.

I guess I work in aerospace (defense side of things). I have only interviewed a few times but never been asked the generic analytical problems. It has always been more on past experience and specifically what I did on projects, what problems I encountered, how I solved them.

Right now I am in the process of trying to interview and hire several software engineers and those are the same types of questions I ask. Some people list projects they worked on (especially if they are large projects like say development of the F-22) but do not say specifically what they did. So the key is trying to drill down and find out what their experience really was: were they a bump on the log, did they really contribute, or were middle of the road. You can usually tell by how well they understand and can explain what they worked and to what detail they can go into where they fit in that scale.
 

1. What are some common hard interview questions for STEM fields?

Some common hard interview questions for STEM fields include:
- Can you explain the concept of [specific scientific concept]?
- How would you approach solving a complex problem in your field?
- Can you provide an example of a time when you had to troubleshoot a difficult experiment?
- How do you stay updated on developments and advancements in your field?
- Can you walk me through your research process and methodology?

2. How should I prepare for hard interview questions in STEM fields?

To prepare for hard interview questions in STEM fields, you should:
- Research the company and the specific position you are applying for to understand their focus and priorities.
- Review your resume and be able to speak confidently about your experience and achievements.
- Practice answering common interview questions and be ready to provide specific examples.
- Brush up on your technical knowledge and be prepared to explain complex concepts in a clear and concise manner.
- Stay calm and confident during the interview, and don't be afraid to ask for clarification if needed.

3. How can I demonstrate my problem-solving skills during a STEM interview?

To demonstrate your problem-solving skills during a STEM interview, you can:
- Share specific examples from your past experiences where you successfully solved a complex problem.
- Walk through your thought process and explain how you approached the problem.
- Highlight any innovative or creative solutions you came up with.
- Emphasize your ability to think critically and adapt to new challenges.
- Ask thoughtful questions and engage in a discussion with the interviewer about potential solutions.

4. What are some tips for answering difficult technical questions in a STEM interview?

Some tips for answering difficult technical questions in a STEM interview include:
- Take a moment to think before answering. It's okay to pause and gather your thoughts.
- Be honest and don't try to fake knowledge or experience you don't have.
- Use visuals or diagrams if it helps you explain your answer more clearly.
- Don't be afraid to ask for clarification if you don't understand the question.
- Show your problem-solving skills by breaking down the question and approaching it step by step.

5. How important is it to have strong communication skills in STEM fields?

Having strong communication skills is crucial in STEM fields for several reasons:
- You need to be able to effectively communicate your ideas and findings to colleagues and superiors.
- Collaboration is often required in STEM fields, and good communication is essential for successful teamwork.
- In some cases, you may need to present your research or findings to non-technical audiences, so being able to explain complex concepts in a clear and understandable manner is important.
- Strong communication skills also demonstrate your ability to think critically and articulate your thoughts, which is highly valued in STEM fields.

Similar threads

  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
13
Views
1K
  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
127
Views
16K
  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
25
Views
4K
  • Precalculus Mathematics Homework Help
Replies
1
Views
735
  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
33
Views
1K
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • STEM Career Guidance
Replies
1
Views
4K
Back
Top