I have an interview for an internship - what to bring?

[DyslexicHobo]

I've finally landed an interview for a mechanical engineering internship for the summer and I want to make sure I'm as prepared as possible. The job will be as a Mechanical Reliability Engineer intern.

I've practiced interview questions for hours and proofread my resume too many times to count. I thought I was good to go, but I've been talking with my adviser through email over spring break and she said to bring a portfolio. This is the first time I've been told to bring a portfolio to an interview. It seems like a good idea, but I'm unsure exactly what to put in it.

So far I've included this things:
A picture of the CAD drawing of an air compressor I built for a school competition
A picture of the CAD drawing of a mechanical walker I built for a school competition
A business card for my side job (computer repair)
Three copies of my resume
A technical paper I've written (about 6 pages of body; 10 pages total)

I really have no clue if these are things that should be in there or not. They're just the only things I could think of.

Is there any other pertinent documents I should include? It's too late to get a copy of my transcript. Should I not include the technical paper?

Thanks for any help
-jz

 

[98whbf]

All that is good for your portfolio. Also you may be able to print an unofficial transcript to stick in there. They can request official one if they desire

 

[fasterthanjoao]

Things such as this are probably not essential but can be great to have. If they ask a question about a project that you've done, for instance, you can talk about one of the CAD works and "I have a picture of the final design" etc. It shows preparation, and also helps to make it much clearer to the interviewer what you're trying to say - giving a much better understanding of your answer to their question.

I would offer the copies of your resume to the interviewers at the start, they'll likely accept them and have a quick scan over so they can go a bit deeper with probing questions.

The technical paper is probably unlikely to really be of any use (too long for them to read it, but they likely wouldn't want to anyway - they're there to ask you questions, I'm sure by this point they know you're capable of writing), but there's no harm bringing it along just incase.

Just make sure when you pack all of these things together that they are easily accessible in a folder - there isn't any need to hand all of them out to the interviewer, since you might not even get the opportunity to explain their relevance and it would just be a distraction for them.

 

[kote]

Yep, don't forget the high quality resume paper. And your suit, of course, unless you've been instructed otherwise. All I brought was resumes and paper for notes. I'd suggest more than three resumes though, just in case. Offer a copy of your resume to everyone you meet. Even if they have an electronic copy, the real thing on their desk on high quality paper can make a difference. They may not bother going back to find the electronic version.

 

[DyslexicHobo]

Thanks for the responses. I had my interview and I feel like it went pretty well. The interview lasted for about 35 minutes and then we talked outside his office while waiting for someone for about another 15 minutes. I guess a lot of face time with the man in charge is a good thing. I had the opportunity to show him my CAD drawings when he asked about my projects which was nice. He didn't want a copy of my resume, but I'm glad I brought it anyway.

Thanks a lot for the advice.