Why This Matters
Over 60% of employers say soft skills, such as communication and problem-solving during interviews, are just as important as technical skills for engineering positions (National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2023)
Preparing for interviews is imperative to feeling confident and communicating your story well to a variety of people.
Quick Start
Here are various types of interviews you may encounter:
- Screening call: Initial phone/video to check your interest and core qualifications
- Technical interview: Solve engineering problems often including coding.
- Take-home project or essay: Complete a task independently.
- Personality/aptitude tests: Usually electronically administered assessments that inform employers about your personality traits, strengths, and can be used to determine fit
- Group interview (less common): Answer questions alongside other candidates. You may collaborate with them.
- Presentations (online or onsite): Explain a project or idea clearly. Typically reserved for final round
You will talk with many people throughout the recruitment process. Here are just a few and tips on what they do and how you might tailor your communications with each.
- Recruiter: Organizes your interview(s) & next steps, ask about process and schedule.
- Hiring Manager: Decides if you fit the team, focus on skills, experience, & your unique perspective.
- Peer Colleague: Future coworkers, interested in your communication and work styles.
- Senior Leadership: Understand their vision, strategy, and pain points to see how you can most.
The hiring process varies greatly depending on a number of factors – company size, economy, time of year, etc. Here are just a few norms to help you prepare.
- Process typically starts with screener call followed by assessments and then behavioral rounds. It can take several weeks to get through all parts before receiving a final decision
- Responses to most questions will be 2 -2.5min long.
- Pro Tip 🪄: Companies expect you to have done some research on them, their services/products, and arrive prepared. “You don’t want to be that person who asks a question that can easily be answered by checking out the website.” The Muse, 2025
- Candidates are expected to prepare questions for the employer. “Preparing good questions to ask an interviewer ahead of time is a great way to show your enthusiasm for the position … have at least 5 questions prepared so you can pivot accordingly.” Aston Carter, 2025
Pro Tip 🪄: These should be thoughtful and convey what matters most you.
Example: If you care about recognition, you might ask “when was the last time your team experienced a win and how did you celebrate?”
- Sending a “thank you” message within 24 hours to all those you spoke with is an appreciated sign of collegiality and professionalism. Here’s a 3 min. video to get you started
- Be prepared to talk about your use of AI as an integrated tool, not just an efficiency shortcut.
“Engineers must now be prepared not only to use AI tools, but also to understand their design, interpret their outputs, and collaborate effectively with intelligent systems.” Amtec, 2025
- Review typical questions and practice with online platforms using your Duke NetID.
- Big Interview – Best for behavioral questions. Get Started Video
- Exponent – Technical interview prep with questions from real companies
Job interviews are challenging enough when everybody’s speaking his or her first language. They’re even trickier for international ESOL students and candidates — and anyone who was raised in a different culture and/or with a different primary language.
Here is a great article from our partner, Big Interview, that outlines the challenges and tips on how to navigate through them.
Next Steps
Take inventory of your stories.
- Use the CART matrix (Dalton, 2022), to collect and organize your experiences into the CART framework while also mapping them to possible behavioral questions they apply to.
- Alternate method: If you tend to be more visual and/or creative, mind mapping may be a preferred method.
- Alternate tool: Draft and iterate multiple responses using Big Interview’s Answer Builder (STAR method)
- Translate your chosen method into just a few talking points. Avoid rehearsed scripts.
Frameworks & Examples
Tell Me About Yourself Frameworks:
Pro Tip 🪄: The question is “tell me about yourself. This means who you are, what matters to you, how you’ve gotten to where you are – NOT just a list of accomplishments. Let your personality shine!
- Who-Qualifications-Why here: Share who you are as a person (not just at work), why you’re qualified, and a brief note about why you want this specific opportunity. Draft responses here.
- Past-Present-Future: Share past experience, current skills, & future goals.
“I graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and spent two years in automotive design—where I learned how much detail goes into making sure every bolt and curve really counts. Now in my master’s program, I’m building deeper skills in CAD and simulation tools with an emphasis on sustainable energy —because as much as I enjoy designing cars, I’m even more excited about designing solutions that help keep the world running a little cleaner and longer.“
- Strengths-Examples-Goals: State your strengths, give examples, say your goals.
“One of my strengths is creative problem-solving. For example, I converted my own car from diesel to biofuel! Moving forward, I want to use this skill to optimize production in renewable energy industries.”
- Professional-Personal-Professional: Brief career info, supporting personal facts, back to career.
“I have three years of experience as a civil engineer working on urban infrastructure projects. Outside of work, I enjoy hiking and exploring new landscapes, which fuels my passion for sustainable development. Professionally, I want to contribute to eco-friendly city planning.”
Note: examples above simply provide the basic information for the framework. Responses are typically 2 minutes and should be more detailed than these small excerpts.
Below are two options to structure responses to behavioral questions which often start out with “Tell me about a time when…”
Note: You don’t have to use each element in order, but all elements should be represented in the story. (i.e. CART, could be told TCAR, or other configuration.) Use your judgment to represent yourself and your abilities best.
- CART (Dalton, 2020):
Context (describe situation)
Action (what you did & the thought process that led you to that action)
Result (what happened)
Takeaway (what you learned)
Example: Hand Soap Invention
Challenge – consumers not washing hands long enough (<30s) — tasked with solving through marketing or product innovation
Action – stubbornly stained hands gave me idea to mock up a color-changing soap. Built support by sharing mock-up with colleagues, then supervisor, then head of group. Wrote up business case for applications and cost
Result – got to demonstrate product directly to company founder and given excellent performance rating. Product was later patented
Takeaway – Appreciate that ideas can come from unlikely sources, so it pays to “circulate before you elevate” ideas
- STAR: Use the Answer Builder on Big Interviewer to draft your own stories using this framework.
Situation (briefly describe the setting and circumstances)
Task (what was the main problem that needed to be solved)
Action (what you did)
Result (what you happened because of what you did)
Example: Describe a recent project that required you to analyze a large amount of information and develop conclusions.
Situation/Task: “At my last job as office manager for a large dental practice, I was tasked with figuring out how to attract more business for the coming year.”
Approach: “With a limited marketing budget, I had to do some research to figure out the best place to spend for the greatest results. I went through and analyzed all of the data on past patient activity — looking for trends and opportunities. I noticed that we had a very high volume of existing patients who had gone one year or longer without visiting for a cleaning or follow up care.
Another trend that the data highlighted was a surge in demand for tooth whitening services during spring and summer.
Since it was early spring, I decided to initiate a direct mail and email campaign to remind patients that it was time to come back for a check-up — and offering a special discount deal on tooth whitening services for those who book appointments in the next month.”
Results: “The campaign was a big success! We saw an immediate 20 percent uptick in new appointments by old patients during the following month. We also saw a 50% increase in bookings for tooth whitening services overall. We were so happy that we decided to extend the promotion for another month and run similar campaigns at key points throughout the year. My boss was thrilled and I got a raise and a year-end bonus as recognition for my efforts.” (Big Interview)
Practice & Improve with Resources
Goal | Resource | Action |
Practice general and behavioral interviews | Use video tutorials and practice interviewing | |
Practice with a real person | Make a mock interview appointment in Handshake | |
Review and prepare for technical interviews | Look at technical questions from real companies. Review company guides for insider information | |
Organize & structure responses | Steve Dalton’s CART matrix | Apply framework for flexible, dynamic answers |
Email correspondence tips | Review and practice professional messages | |
Evaluate my values to inform my questions to employers | Take assessment and use results to form vital questions to ask employers |
Citations
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2023). Job Outlook 2023.
Dalton, S. (2020). The 2-hour job search: Using technology to get the right job faster. Ten Speed Press.
Dalton, S. (2021). The Job Closer: Time-Saving Techniques for Acing Resumes, Interviews, Negotiations, and More.
Some content generated by ChatGPT, 2025, Open AI
