Well it is time to turn the tables.  I've been on the hat-in-hand , small
end of the microscope end of job interviews for years.  But I've never had
to be on the big end of the microscope.  Frankly, in most of the job
interviews I have had, the interviewer was not very good at it.  Many of
them, the interviewer talked the whole time, and I got the job by being a
good listener.  Others, the interviewer focused on irrelevant information,
or asked dumb questions.

So what do you folks ask a prospective candididate for an electronics job?
(Don't get too excited, it's just a part-time summer internship, and my boss
hasn't approved it yet, and it's in the middle of nowhere in Missouri.
Fortunately there is an engineering college in town where we will look for
candidates.)

I am thinking about open ended questions like:
    What hobby electronics projects have you designed or built?
    How did you decide to go into electronics?
    What computer languages have you studied?
    Do you have any familiarity with microcontrollers?  PICs?
    Which of the following software packages have you used?
        Excel
        Word
         PC board layout CAD
         Compilers
        MPLAB
        AutoCad
        Pro-Engineer
        Other CAD, electronics, compiler, computer languages?
    What are your long-term goals?
    Have you held any electronics related jobs before?
    Have you done any large projects, senior projects or extracurricular
projects in college that relate to engineering?

The problem is, the qualities that will make an intern a good one are:
    Patience with detailed work
    Interpersonal skills
    Ability to concentrate and focus
    Manual dexterity and fine motor skills (surface mount soldering)
    Ability to learn a variety of mental and manual skills quickly
    Creativity

None of these are easy to measure, nor are any of them measured with my
admittedly lame list of questions.

Also , toungue in-cheek:
    Here are 32 pens and pencils.  How many of them does it take to do your
job? (Answer: All of them)
    What is the advantage of wearing natural fabrics?  (Answer: Trick
question! If the candidate knows the answer, he/she is not an engineer)
    Have you ever tried to fix a $5 radio, toy or clock?
    Do you have more than two computers?  How many of them are routinely
operated with the case off?  How many of them are taken apart or in need of
repair? How many run on Linux?
    Have you ever repaired anything with duct tape?  Do you consider duct
tape to be as essential as bailing wire, sheet rock screws, solder,
plumber's epoxy or electrical tape?
    Are you overweight, unkempt and have a scraggly beard?


-- Lawrence Lile
Sr. Project Engineer
Salton inc. Toastmaster Div.
573-446-5661 Voice
573-446-5676 Fax

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