How to Answer: Tell me about a time when you had to work under pressure.
Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Manufacturing Engineer job interview.
5. Tell me about a time when you had to work under pressure.
How to Answer
The position of manufacturing engineer will probably require you to handle more than one project at once. It will also involve working in plants which can be noisy, dirty, and often are not temperature controlled. The interviewer is asking if you know how to manage being in a stressful environment. Avoid mentioning a situation when you created the stress or saying that you fold under pressure. Instead, focus on showing how you took action to manage the pressure caused by an external situation.
Written by Allison Atkinson on January 8th, 2021
Answer Example
"In my last position, I was a Quality Engineer in the automotive industry responsible for day-to-day production. At one point, I was responsible for adjusting a jig that was screwing on car doors incorrectly. I was nervous because the whole line was stopped due to this one jig, and it was up to me to get it going again. The key here was verification. After adjusting the jig, I watched a couple car doors go through to make sure the fix was working correctly. Soon after, the line was up and running again, and I was relieved."
Written by Allison Atkinson on January 8th, 2021
Experienced Example
"Once, I had a workload of 90 order lines to fulfill in 3 months which was 3 times higher than I had been used to. My supervisor would consistently check on them. In order to compensate, I would routinely ask if any coworkers had availability to receive delegated work. Additionally, I worked 12-hour shifts until the deadlines resumed normal levels."
Written by Daniel Neuhaus on November 4th, 2022