Tell me about a difficult engineering problem you have encountered and how you made it through it.

How to Answer
Answer Example

Being able to overcome difficult challenges is a critical skill computer hardware engineers need to possess. Not only is the interviewer interested in your ability to do this, but they also want to hear about the details of how you accomplished it. When answering questions like these, you can use the STAR format. Briefly state the situation, talk about the Task you needed to complete, discuss the Actions you took, then provide details of the Results you achieved. Using this framework will help you respond to any question which requires you to tell a story. Additionally, having your stories prepared in advance will make the interview easier and more effective.

"Once when designing a new control unit for an HVAC system, my team and I encountered an anomaly involving a voltage drop. As hard as we tried, we were unable to discover the cause of the problem. It occurred to me that we had recently switch vendors for some of the components on the motherboard. I went back to our old inventory and used some of the original components instead of the new ones. This solved the problem. We contacted the new vendor and learned that the components they provided did not meet our specifications. Once we cleared up this issue, the voltage drop went away, and we were able to complete the hardware design."

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How to Answer: Tell me about a difficult engineering problem you have encountered and how you made it through it.

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Computer Hardware Engineer job interview.

17. Tell me about a difficult engineering problem you have encountered and how you made it through it.

How to Answer

Being able to overcome difficult challenges is a critical skill computer hardware engineers need to possess. Not only is the interviewer interested in your ability to do this, but they also want to hear about the details of how you accomplished it. When answering questions like these, you can use the STAR format. Briefly state the situation, talk about the Task you needed to complete, discuss the Actions you took, then provide details of the Results you achieved. Using this framework will help you respond to any question which requires you to tell a story. Additionally, having your stories prepared in advance will make the interview easier and more effective.

Written by William Swansen on September 13th, 2021

Answer Example

"Once when designing a new control unit for an HVAC system, my team and I encountered an anomaly involving a voltage drop. As hard as we tried, we were unable to discover the cause of the problem. It occurred to me that we had recently switch vendors for some of the components on the motherboard. I went back to our old inventory and used some of the original components instead of the new ones. This solved the problem. We contacted the new vendor and learned that the components they provided did not meet our specifications. Once we cleared up this issue, the voltage drop went away, and we were able to complete the hardware design."

Written by William Swansen on September 13th, 2021

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