Interview Technical Questions - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: neilbus
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 09, 2012, 10:58:45 pm
content: Hi everybodyI am trying to get into an electronics technicians job in the UK. I am getting some interviews but not others. My main problem when getting interviewed is with technical questions being thrown at me. They don't give you any clues as to what they are and expect you to do calculations in the interview itself.I had an interview with the Ministry of Defence and they asked me to bring a project along so they could discuss it with me, but in the interview they cast it to one side and went into making me calculate various circuit calculations that I was not prepared for. I didn't feel that I could express how good I was because they would not let me go through my project.All technical interviews in electronics seem to be different, but because of the employment situation in the UK they are testing me even in the interview itself which throws me out of sink. They could at least inform me of a test any the areas I may be tested on and put me in a separate room to work it out before or after the interview.Are there any tips.Neil

author: 8086
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2012, 11:05:56 pm
content: What sort of things were they asking you to calculate?

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2012, 11:52:22 pm
content: Usually with technical interviews like this they are not asking you to rattle off the solution cold, they are testing your ability to analyze and think on your feet.For instance, you might be expected to talk through the problem and show you understand what is being asked, explain what concepts are needed to solve it, then indicate what method is appropriate to use to find the solution. Then, if they still want you to, you go ahead and work the problem, but give a commentary out loud as you go through it, explaining each step as you go along.They will (should) make allowances for interview nerves, but what they are really trying to do is to filter out the clueless.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 10, 2012, 05:30:30 am
content: Quote from: IanB on July 09, 2012, 11:52:22 pmYes, which is why I deliberately ask very easy questions. Like basic opamp topology for example. I stear clear of calculations, and instead ask questions that test practical knowledge. For example, a "tough" one might be "Is a 10M pullup resistor ok on a digital input?" It isn't a yes/no answer. The correct answer is of course to get you to explain that "it depends" on the input leakage current and input high threshold level etc. I wouldn't bother to get you to calculate it, as I've already weeded out if you are clueless about that or not.Dave.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2012, 06:12:10 am
content: I was in an interview for an electronic engineer position and they asked me 4 question:1) Do you own a car?2) Do you own a motorcycle?3) Do yow own a laptop?4) Are to able to lift heavy boxes?I just left...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 10, 2012, 06:30:08 am
content: I went for a position at a small contract design firm once where the owner offered me a can of coke from the fridge FULL of just coke, as we walked past the piled up pizza boxes.I declined the coke and was given the dirtiest look ever.It went downhill from there.Something told me it wasn't going to be a 9-5 job...Dave.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2012, 06:42:43 am
content: There can be advantages in politely telling them off when they ask stupidly hard questions. (or questions you just don't know)For example....Q: Here's a piece of paper and a pen, could you please write a coupled differential equation for an electrical circuit containing....X, Y, Z.A: Are you serious? you want me to write an advanced math equation purely from memory without any of my reference books or notes?Q: Yes, please. I want to see how skilled you are.A: I don't memories that sort of information or do advanced calculations from my head. It's just not worth the risk of getting it wrong in a product. When i need to do a calculation like that i'll consult my books and internet resources then figure out the best approach to solving the problem and make sure i get it right.Q: No, please, i want you to try and solve it.A: If you leave me the question i'll solve it tonight and email you the answer tomorrow, but i'm not going to do it now.It's better to come up with a legitimate reason to refuse to do something rather than try and do it when you have NFI.Offering to solve it later then get back to them is a good plan too.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2012, 09:31:30 am
content: Quote from: neilbus on July 09, 2012, 10:58:45 pmI'm afraid my "knee jerk" reaction was to say "Suck it up,Princess!",but on reflection,it is a good question.If you are looking for a job as a Technician,your customer base is somewhat different to that of someone applying for a position as a Design Engineer.An Interviewer may only need a cursory glance at your project to learn several important things:(1) You can perform the mechanical functions required to complete the project,in a satisfactory way.(2) It has been done in a safe manner.The questions are,as IanB said, to "see if you can think on your feet".Techs are confronted by emergent situations in many parts of their job,& if you have to "sit down & work things out" each time,no matter how smart you are,it is a mark against you.The Interviewer's job is not to accommodate him/herself to you,so they won't let you sit down in a quiet room to work it out!They probably don't want precise answers to everything,if you show you understand the process of calculating the answer,many times they will accept that.If you don't know something,tell them so,they may give you more information.If you possibly can,do a bit of research on your prospective employer's business.OK,its a bit hard with the Ministry of Defence,but most Private Sector employers will have websites which will at least point you in the right direction.You will probably not get questions on Radio Propagation at a Hearing Aid company,for instance.Some Interviews are just disasters--put them behind you & try again.I have usually been the Interviewee,but on a recent occasion,I was one of the Interviewers.Not the most pleasant experience!We were confronted by very smart,highly qualified people who didn't have the first clue on how to do the job.Many applicants were EEs with published papers on esoteric subjects,who were applying for a job to do day to day maintenance on Electronic & Electromechanical systems which they had never seen before.The Technical Officer position was also,by default,the Handyman.All very nice people,but just looking at most of their CVs we could see they were not suitable.Even out of those who made the Interview,most of them were write-offs after the first 5 minutes.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2012, 10:56:13 am
content: Yeah, it can be a bit random.Sometimes you just have to keep going until you randomly get an interview where the questions asked are on subjects that you could talk about for hours in detail with confidence.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 12, 2012, 04:43:45 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on July 10, 2012, 06:42:43 amA: You guys don't have a spice simulator for that kind of time-consuming-if-done-by-humans stuff ? You must not be very effective in the time-to-market domain. What a bunch of cheapskates you are .. ( walks out )There's another thing as 'interviewee' you need to prod for ... are these guys serious ? is there budget ? or iam i going to be shoveling coal for the rest of my life ?i had an interview years, before i started my current job, with a companiy. They needed someone to make automatic test setups for testing and aligning large screen projection systems. The interview went well and i was given the obligate tour of the facility. All old dumpy test equipment , breadboards dangling everywhere .. wired up to an ( then already old ) apple-Ii computer.I prodded a bit... like:Q: are we going to buy some switch multiplexers ?A: we got some wirewrapped stuff the previous guy built. we use that. the relays die and there's bad contacts. one of your jobs (besides making the testprogram) is to maintain those... when one dies ont he factory floor they will call you and you need to fix as soon as possible becasue it holds up production.q: you don;t keep a hot spare around ?A: no . too expensiveQ: surely you would benefit from aving a real computer with a gpib card and some software ...A: gpib boards and gpib cables are expensive. we used some flatcable and a wirewrapped io card the previous guy built.Q: so what is this automation software you want me to develop.A: oh that's just a description. all we really need is for you to maintain the setup , patch it where necessary and wire-wrap some new setups if we expand the factory floor. the computer only switches some stuff around. the operators look at the screen and write the numbers down on a piece of paper that travels the floor with the unit to be tested.. we don't collect data directly from the machines. The previous guys said it would be expensive and the software would take a year to develop. so we went with his thing.q: you mentioned making a testprogram before. where does that kick in.a: tahat'sthe bit where you make a copy of the floppy disks ...right .. a coal shoveling job then... thank you . bye ..

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 12, 2012, 05:26:21 pm
content: Hey F_E, I worked for a place like that............ Of course the Apple was the latest generation of computer as well. we used punched tape, disk was too expensive, and the TTY was integrated into the test equipment. We did have a line printer though..........

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 12, 2012, 06:13:23 pm
content: Ask the person who is interviewing you, "If you were driving a car at the speed of light and you turned your head lights on, would you see them?" If they respond, "No", say "I don't want to work for you then"!

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2012, 01:49:42 pm
content: Quote from: neilbus on July 09, 2012, 10:58:45 pmThey just pick the best one out, so if nobody answers correct, you're still in.How skilled are you in saying "I don't know" combined with showing something else?Keep in mind that the interviewer often isn't the most skilled person also. Often you dont want to work for him (a very long time)Just keep on trying. Don't expect too much. Get used to be interviewed.If every time there are 20 candidates, you have 5% chance. So get invited by 20 companies.Good luck

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 22, 2012, 05:29:05 am
content: Quote from: Psi on July 10, 2012, 06:42:43 amhow does that work?I have often asked difficult questions. Not to look for an answer but to gauge how a prospective applicant goes about solving a problem, and more importantly if the subject tries to solve the problem.Stating "I don't understand" doesn't draw any negatives if effort is made to seek out an answer.The types of applicants you want to weed out are the cock sure, think they know everything and wont be told types, the next lot are the sit do nothing and bleat "its too hard, we weren't taught that" types.I always found asking this sort of question was a great way to identify those willing to learn and participate.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 22, 2012, 05:51:41 am
content: Sadly they don't all do that. Some ask hard questions and expect a complete answer on the spot.And those people need to be told off, they're being stupid.Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying tell them off after they politely ask a hard questions.Just if they repeatedly prompt you to fully solve something on the spot and aren't accepting your description of how you might approach the problem.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 22, 2012, 06:20:23 am
content: Quote from: Uncle Vernon on July 22, 2012, 05:29:05 amYeah,most people with fairly good experience in some branch of Electronics will call on that experience & some commonsense to "nut out" a possible answer to a question.You might not "hit the nail on the head",but the interviewer,who in many cases will be your prospective boss,will generally accept a good try,if it gets fairly close.For example,if you go for a job at a place that fixes Hearing Aids,you should be able to work out from commonsense & your previous knowledge,that they contain a microphone,an amplifier,some signal processing,& an earpiece.On the other hand,I worked with a bloke who was a really nice person,& a "gun" at digital stuff,but couldn't for the life of him,understand analog TV.He kept insisting that the sync pulses were carrying data----what he thought the other stuff was,I don't know!Even after using a waveform monitor which drew a "strobe line"on an associated picture monitor,so you could pick out parts of a test card signal & show him the resultant video waveform,he still didn't get it!Eventually,they found him a digital job,& he never looked back!