Mock Interviews for Engineering Students
Mr. David Bolt, Vice President of Cormorant Engineering, visited Saint Francis University to do mock interviews with students during the week of March 12th. Bolt has over 30 years of experience in hiring both prospective and veteran engineers.
The one-on-one interviews were also filmed for further learning feedback. The purpose of filming the interviews is not for students to manage their behavior, but instead to see how they appear and to notice any nervous habits of which they might not have been aware. Mr. Bolt encourages the students to review the videos, but not have too narrow of a focus on doing any one thing. He says students should ask themselves, “How do I look, am I nervous with my hands flying all over the place?” He also advises, “Don’t get hung up on giving the ‘right’ answer. I’m looking for honesty.”
Bolt adds, “My goal is to help students understand the perspective of the hiring manager and give them tactics to improve their opportunity for success. A hiring manager is seeking to make the “best decision”, because hiring the wrong candidate is very expensive.”
“This is an excellent opportunity for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering students to get out of their comfort zone, practice interviewing for a future job or internship, and learn how to improve themselves,” says Dr. Alireza Shahkarami, Assistant Professor of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering.
Bolt was Vice President of Engineering at several different companies. One of those was Veeder Root in Duncansville Pa, and Hartford Connecticut. One of his many responsibilities being to hire the best engineering candidates. He is professionally trained in the skill of interviewing potential candidates and has hired over 200 Engineers in his life. He is a successful Engineer with over 20 patents and over 40 years of executive level engineering experience.
Before his mock interview, Junior Connor Whitman said, “I’m looking forward to the interview practice and being able to review myself in that situation on film. It’s a good opportunity for us as students before going out into the real world.”