Trainee Engineer Interview Questions & Answers


Trainee Engineers are fresh graduates who have joined a company to gain practical engineering experience. Trainee Engineers work under the guidance of a Manager or Supervisor, fulfilling various tasks ranging from assisting staff with new projects, offering suggestions on existing methods, conducting research, writing reports, and managing data.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Trainee Engineer or an employer preparing to interview candidates for Trainee Engineer position, these Trainee Engineer interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

Trainee Engineer Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based Trainee Engineer interview questions.

  1. What do you like about engineering?
  2. What field experience do you have for this role?
  3. Can you describe a time when you used logical thinking skills to solve a problem?
  4. How would you go about conducting research for an upcoming project? 
  5. Can you tell me about the most challenging report you had to write?
  6. What kind of education do you have? How much education do you have?
  7. What is your least favorite thing about engineering?
  8. What do you think makes a great engineer?
  9. What is your idea of having a successful team?
  10. Do you work better in a team or as an individual?
  11. Describe the steps you take when developing plans for a project.
  12. How do you handle surprises that arise when working on a project?
  13. What will be your biggest challenge in this position?
  14. Have you developed any new engineering skills in the past year?
  15. Who was your go-to person when you encountered a problem on a project that you couldn’t solve alone? Why was that person your go-to person?
  16. If you weren’t an engineer, what would you want to be doing instead?
  17. Describe a time when you had to work on a project with conflict involving professional interests. How did you solve the issue?
  18. Tell me about a time when you were successful in building a long-term working relationship with someone outside the engineering department.
  19. Describe the most challenging written technical report or presentation that you’ve had to complete.
  20. What checks and balances do you use to make sure that you don’t make mistakes?
  21. Do you have any patents? If so, tell me about them. If not, is that something that you see yourself pursuing? Why or why not?
  22. How do you stay current with the latest engineering developments?
  23. How would this traineeship help you to attain your career goals?

Trainee Engineer Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during Trainee Engineer interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

  1. What is Your Salary Expectation?
  2. Tell Me About Yourself
  3. Are You a Leader or a Follower?
  4. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
  5. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
  6. What is Your Greatest Strength?
  7. What is Your Greatest Weakness?
  8. Why Should We Hire You?
  9. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
  10. Why Do You Want This Job?