variyaa,
the answer depends on your experience and you should sit down and think about what you are going to say. Since you are an engineer, I am sure you have had project experience with a lot of design. Thus, as an engineer, it is easier for you to talk regarding behavioral questions. I will give answers to a couple of questions, I am sure you can carry on from that.

• Describe a situation in which you were able to use persuasion to successfully convince someone to see things your way.

           Personally, if I were to talk about my projects, I had to do a software engineering project where my team decided to implement a database system, which was not part of the requirement. My professor was initially against it saying that it would be too much work and large-scale. We then came up with a basic design of the system and presented it to her. We had to go on to do a lot of work (eg. making drawings, graphs,  detailed layout of modules) beforehand to try to convince that it would work...that meant  working a lot in the beginning to sell your idea. Eventually she bought it and our implementation paid off really well.

So, if I were you, I would talk about a situation, usually design project where you had to work hard, be it making detailed drawings of your project, or calculations before hand to make someone 'see' your point of view.

• Describe a time when you were faced with a stressful situation that demonstrated your coping skills.

This question should not be that hard, especially as an international student. You can start off talk with the cultural shock coming to US as a freshmen and how it was hard to convey your ideas in the beginning because of the vast difference between you and your American peers. This is definitely a stressful situation. You can talk about a particular course (could be engineering) where you had trouble understanding anything that was happening and how you resolved....like getting help from your professor or a tutor...Don't forget to mention that you nailed the course at the end. This shows that you won't be afraid to ask for help and also that you have shown you can transcend cultural boundaries when the time calls for it.

• Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem.

This is very specific to your major. If the people who are interviewing you are HR, then you might not want to go into details. But if there are engineers you can talk about particular problem in a design and how you decided to solve it.  Since it means good judgment and logic, you know designs always have trade offs, talk about why you used one approach vs. another, what did you give up and what you gained? Say you were designing a bridge, did you compromise the aesthetics for a robustness or safety factor? Think about the examples that you can relate to and how you can convey them.


Well, enough said, and I wish you luck for the interview. I have a few coming up in the following weeks. What I have gathered from research and other people is that you have to be well prepared, even if it means Bullsh*tting your answers and be sure you can answer the questions alexander posted.

Peace.