Hiring industrial engineers

Process analysis is an important part of an industrial engineer’s job, and a good industrial engineer will use it to study all operations for a company. The candidate should be able to tell you how process analysis is productive, and how it’s used to modify things to increase efficiency and overall effectiveness.

Industrial engineers are responsible for finding ways to reduce waste by streamlining processes; they should be able to identify areas of improvement — and map out how to retool workflows to capture efficiencies. This question assesses the candidate’s ability to make baseline calculations.

Above all, industrial engineers need reliable data, because it forms the foundation for how they’ll retool processes and recommend improvements. This question explores the care that a candidate takes to validate the integrity of their data, cross-referencing sources, factoring in risk, and avoiding error.

Conflict is particularly relevant for industrial engineers, who may be recommending or requiring changes in an environment in which colleagues and other workers are set in their ways. The candidate must draw from previous experiences to describe how they would overcome resistance — and work effectively to achieve overall implementation.

Industrial engineering is an evolving industry. Good industrial engineers should keep themselves actively embracing change, industry evolution, and constantly learning new skills and software. This question will help you understand the candidate’s willingness to embrace learning and change.

Not only do industrial engineers streamline and tighten manufacturing processes, they also work toward better occupational safety. A good industrial engineer should be able to recount success.

This is an opportunity for the candidate to showcase their own relevant strengths and other qualities. The answer should also reveal their own values and approach to their career.

Manufacturing environments are often demanding and fast-paced — with an emphasis on productivity and optimization. As mentioned above, industrial engineers may also encounter conflict and resistance to changes they recommend — all of which can generate a fair amount of stress. This question will help you assess the candidate’s personal resilience and ability to stay on goal — despite difficulties.

A good industrial engineer has a growth mindset — and actively seeks to continue learning new skills throughout their career. This question assesses the candidate’s interest in keeping their knowledge sharp — and their skill set up to date with current industry trends and technological advances. If they aren’t aware of changes in the industry, they might be slow to adapt to new methodologies and techniques.