Phone interview at GE - Hamble for Placement Year 2014 HELP!

Hi Guys,

I have a phone interview coming up in GE Aviation in Hamble in Engineering, could any of you help me regarding what to expect and your own experiences with it if you have had one.

Really appreciate it.

Thanx

Reply 1

SillyEddy

I can't speak for GE specifically, but I've done a couple of phone interviews, face-to-face ones and an assessment centre so far.

In the vast majority of cases, they provided me with a brief containing the things they want me to answer. Sometimes it's just a guide ("display these skills", etc), sometimes it had the questions listed in the exact order they would ask. You could probably email HR and just ask for guidance documents for the interview and to see if there is anything in particular they will ask you. In either case, it can help to have some answers prepared which you can read back to them. Try to do it in note form so that it sounds as if you're speaking to them and not just reciting.

Generic questions:

How did you find out about this job?
What attracted you to the company? (Maybe they did a talk at your university or you're interested in a particular project they're running at the moment)
What sort of research have you done to know this is the right sort of role for you?
Can you name a time when you've had to show teamwork/planning/initiative/leadership? (Remember, you're not there to work as a team leader or project manager, so they don't have to all be "executive role" examples)
What are your strengths and weaknesses? (More of an assessment centre question, but it comes up. I spoke about learning more languages or seeing more of the world, which linked back to their global opportunities. Just be careful not to accidentally use a strength as a huge weakness!)
What experience do you have that you can apply to this role?
How would your peers describe you?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

With all of these questions, link it back to the company in some way. For instance, in 5 years you might want to become accredited, and you see that the company can charter you through the IMechE. You'll probably only be asked a few of them (4-6 questions, typically), but just expect them to come up. They may word them slightly differently, so listen carefully for the core meaning of it.

They know you're young and probably inexperienced, so they just want to get a flavour for what you're like. It doesn't matter if you've not built a Space Shuttle in your garage, they don't expect you to. I even used university society as an example for the work I've done (leadership and management), so you need to give all-round answers. First and foremost, they are hiring a person, so show them your stuff. An important thing to use is the CARL method of context, action, response, learning. What was the problem? What did you do? How well did it work? What would you do differently next time?

They're not bad at all, but being prepared definitely helps. Dress smartly and brush your teeth - Even though they can't see nor smell you, it will give you the confidence of looking and feeling right and that will shine through. Start with a strong greeting and the rest will follow. Heck, in some interviews, I even started speaking to the person on the other end just to get communication in. It was along the lines of "I'd like to answer this question with regards to a hobby of mine. Do you mind if I ask if you've got any experience in [...] area/sport/whatever? No? Well, it's absolutely fantastic and I since became an executive member of our society from it. It's a sport which involves a lot of teamwork because we do [...]. There is one particular moment when [...]".... And so on.