Behavioral questions are part of any interview process, regardless of industry, experience level, etc., and the question above is one of the most asked behavioral interview questions for mechanical engineering roles.
Having the engineering technical chops isn’t enough alone to land an offer. Behavioral questions are often under-appreciated by interviewees but serve as your best chance to present yourself as a wholistic candidate capable of seamlessly integrating into a work environment and progressing the culture. More to come later on HOW best to answer behavioral questions, but below is a condensed sample response that hits all the critical touch points you need to include in any behavioral interview response.
When I was the team leader for an electromechanical design project of a cleaning robot, there was one team member who failed to complete their portion of the work on time, which prevented us from hitting our routine deliverables. I met with him to discuss what was going on, and he said that he wanted to help more but had trouble staying focused and reserving time for his work. To get the project back on track, I set up a recurring weekly block of time during which he and I would both work on the project in-person to ensure he could remain focused. After implementing this, not only did he exceed his portion of the work, but the full team decided to join and enjoyed taking that reserved window to all work together in person. This not only helped us in winning the “best overall prototype” award, but it also built great comradery among the team.
