Disclaimer: I am a civil engineer and I have written this article based on my interview experiences and in Civil engineering context. The points mentioned below are applicable for any branch of engineering.
Basic concepts:
In one of the interviews, I was asked to find the moment of inertia of an I-section beam. Now this is very basic and a second-year student can easily answer this. Revise all the important basic concepts from Strength of materials, Fluid Mechanics, Theory of structures, Transportation engineering and environmental engineering.
Examples
What is shear force? What is bending moment? A solid beam and hollow beam, which has more strength? What is an aquifer? What is yield of a well? - IIM Indore PI
What is an earthquake? What causes an earthquake? How many earthquake zones are there? - IIM Kozhikode PI
Explain the stress-strain curve. - IIM Calcutta PI
Mostly, the interview starts with questions on fundamental concepts or basic definitions.
Application of concepts:
Once you explain the concept, you can be asked for a solution to a problem using the concepts of the subject.
Examples
How the problem of annual floods can be solved in Mumbai? (This question was asked after the interviewer saw Town Planning in my mark sheets.) – IIM Indore PI
What kind of building this is? How can be this building made earthquake resistant? (After the panelist saw Earthquake Engineering in the mark sheet) – IIM Kozhikode PI
What are the techniques used to make this room heat or noise isolating? - CAP PI
Latest innovations and discovery:
Now, this is something you should be aware of. Just Google this before the interview.
Examples
What is a green building? – IIM Indore PI
How to build a shadow less building? (This question was asked to one of my friend)
Civil Engineering industry:
Questions are asked on the latest happenings in the industry. You can be asked to name some civil engineering companies (India and worldwide), some of the major projects in India and their contractors and designers.
Examples
Name 5 Indian civil engineering companies? – IIM Indore PI
Name some famous civil engineering companies in the world? – Mock PI
Famous structures and civil engineering marvels:
If questions are asked on this topic, they are mostly on famous structures in your city or engineering marvels of the country.
Examples
Name of the tallest government owned building in Delhi? What is special about Signature bridge? – CAP PI
Which company constructed the Bandra Worli Sea link? – IIM Indore PI
Civil engineering and MBA:
The number of applicants from civil engineering background are quite less for MBA. So, you can expect questions like “Why MBA after civil engineering?”.
Examples
How a degree in civil engineering can help you in the field of marketing? – IIM Kozhikode PI
If you become a manager in a civil engineering company, how would you manage people with several years of work experience in that field? – Mock PI
In some interviews the candidate is asked for his/her favorite or least favorite subjects. There is a high probability that the questions can be asked on the subjects in which the candidate got poor grades in under graduation.
