Mouchel -interview and Assessment center PLS HELP

Dear Wiki users

Following emix's mail, I do have one coming up soon as well. Could anyone help with what to expext re:interview questions e.t.c...or if you know someone who has had an interview with them, pls share their experience...Many thanks.

Hi Mobsyb,
What stage are you at the process..... we can talk further if you want.Am having a telephone interview in 2 days....

hello guys,
Anything at all regarding Mouchel, interview or ac pls share your views or experiences...... You guys can have a look at the site got lots of openings.......... Thanks
www.mouchel.com

Hey everyone, I am through to the telephone interview stage for the mouchel graduate academy (Civil Engineering). I was wondering if anyone has been through the process and if so, what are the type of questions they are likely to ask?

This will be my first telephone interview for a graduate scheme so I am quite apprehensive and would appreciate any advice that could be offered.

I had a telephone interview with Mouchel for a Civil Engineering position in November and the questions are pretty standard. E.g. Why Civil Engineering? Why Mouchel? your communication skills, how you share your work load etc.

However, I never heard anything back from them following the interview. I assume that this means I am unsucessfull but it would be nice to get a simple email to say I was unsucessful. Suppose thats too much to ask though!

Hey
I had mine already just got mail today saying I was not successful.I tot i did very well though because it was the basic questions you have just mentioned.Well I was advised to apply again for any other position I was interested in.
Questions -Telephone interview

Why do you want to join mouchel?
What target have you set out for yourself to achieve in the last one year? it has branching questions as you answer.
Tell me a time you worked in a team?
How do you share your workload and priorities?

@Jim I guess you should send a mail to who ever interviewed you.

 Hello I am on the graduate academy at Mouchel I graduated from university in 2009 (beng (hons)civil engineering) and currently working as a civil engineer.  

There were 5500 applicants to last year’s graduate academy and there were only 65 of us actually employed. I think around 3/4 of all applicants don't make it past the telephone interview stage, and only the select few make it to the assessment centre and even fewer make it to final interview at the relevant office.
If you would like my advice I can only say it’s about luck and being keen, you have got to be prepared to go the extra mile. When I applied I passed all the stages and got to the final interview only for the job to be removed due to workloads however I persevered and was put forward for another job because they liked me and hence was employed.
These jobs are massively competitive at the moment and the recruitment staff work really hard because of the sheer number of applicants but they are really good and keen to help, so if in doubt drop them an e-mail or give them a call and make sure they know you really want the job.
Make sure you know about Mouchel, get in touch with your local office and ask about what work they are doing e.t.c.

p.s.
Jim: The recruitment team was changed around dec so maybe you’re just lost in the system. Definitely get in touch with them.

Hi Civil Engineer, thanks for your suggestions. I contacted the HR team and I am due to carry out a technical interview shortly. I also have a classmate who has been invited to an assessment centre and he is very nervous about the whole thing. I was just wondering if you could provide some information about the assessment centre from your experience. For example, are reasoning tests involved? Is there another technical interview? Do you have to make a pressentation etc.... I'm sure everybody on this forum would grately appreciate it if you could tell us what the assessment centre entails. Thanks for your help and good luck with your career!

Hello Jim

Don’t worry about the assessment centre it is really relaxed and they want you to do well, they want to get the best out of you, I didn’t find it too taxing in comparison to other assessment centres although it is not easy either, nothing is in this industry. I had assessment centres with wsp, sellafield, Mouchel, & interviews with Jacobs, and a number of other companies. Mouchel's and wsp's were the best.
My friends at university had assessment centres with pretty much all the contractors and not one of them had a good experience.
I won’t give too much away about the assessment centre, but yes you do have to do a technical interview with a manager from the area in which you are applying. Make sure you know your subject so which ever job you have applied for do your reading.
When I had the mine I was asked: what the purpose of pre-stressed steel was in concrete? I had total head block but was just honest and made a joke about it and everything was fine I ended up getting really high scores. It depends on who is interviewing you some are more relaxed than others but the general day is very chilled. They don’t expect you to be technical gods they just want to make sure you have a good grounding and are willing to learn and more importantly keen.
Just remember they only need one technical expert in a team and the majority of engineers go on to management jobs not technical senior engineers. Any good manager will know this.
It is really difficult to get jobs these days out of a class of around 40 I was one of only 3 people that got jobs, and I know people at other universities who have said the same, some of the chaps in my class where first students, very good at engineering, much better than me, but are now working in crap jobs like cafes and warehouses they didn’t even get to the telephone interview at Mouchel.
You have to emphasise your out of university experience and any managerial or leadership roles, remember there are thousands of people with degrees yet only a few people who are potential leaders. I started university at 22 had plenty of work experience, had done a summer placement for a consultancy as well as military service.
So if you don’t get any jobs write to your local engineering offices for summer placements and go do a masters.

 Most of all be flexible on location, wage and job type. I wanted to do water engineering in the north yet ended up moving 250 miles down south, doing highways.

Let me know which office you have your assessment centre in and if I am around I will pop my head in and say hello.

Hey everyone,

I have been invited to Mouchel’s Assessment Centre (regulated industries) for a Civil Engineering position. Any past experience of what to expect would be greatly appreciated. The above info is very useful and if anyone can elaborate on it, that would be great. It’s my first AC so I’m fairly nervous. I thought the 1 hour technical interview was bad enough so I’m pretty apprehensive about a whole day of testing! PLEASE help!!

Cheers

Thanks for your help Civil Engineer. Unfortunately, I did not pass the interview stage and will not be progressing to the Assessment Centre. Good luck with your career.

To LFC: I think all you can do is research your subject area and the company. I contacted Mouchel a while ago for some basic information regarding the assessment centre but I got no information. Here is an extract taken from Mouchel's careers section of their website:

"We’ll let you know EXACTLY what you will need to do and give you any additional information that will help you PREPARE".

This statement refers to their recruitment process but judging by this forum, I would say it is false. When I contacted HR to get some information in order to prepare, I was simply told that the details of the assessments will be given on the day. This doesn’t exactly leave much time to prepare! Looks like their recruitment process involves choosing the person who is least nervous and gets lucky on the day unlike other companies such as Atkins and MottMacDonald who provide you with plenty of information in advance and choose the person who is most prepared (and therefore more likely to be a hard worker).

Anyway, good luck with the Assessment Centre!

jim/LFC:

There is nothing you can prepare for on the assessment day so it does not matter if they told you or not you couldnt do anything anyway. The assessment day doesnt really last a day you could probably have it finished by dinner time its only because there are a few people to get through that it takes a day.

I also explained I messed up my interview and they still saw past that and gave me a job. Mouchel is a fairly small organisation (in comparison to the household names that is) with big ambitions so they are selective.

They are not just looking for a graduate because they are cheap and they can pile up a load of crap work on. They are looking for someone to develop, all the graduates I know on the programme are managing their own projects of various magnitudes and are given a lot of responsibility.

LFC: You have made it to the assessment centre so you are halfway there already so you have done really well already not many actually make it to the assessment centre.

Dear Jim,

Could you let us know the timeframe between submitting your application to starting your job please?

Many thanks

Dont know whats with the delay between the telephone interview and getting a response about the outcome. Its been two weeks for me already and i have had nothing back. There must be a lot of apps for this year's entry

I think you meant to address that comment to Civil Engineer.

I failed at the technical interview stage. My friend passed though and attended an assessment centre a few weeks ago. He was told that he would be informed of the outcome within a week but he still hasn’t heard anything yet! They seem to like to make people wait after every stage of the process! It's a bit anoying considering people have spent time completing the application, preparing for and carrying out online tests, preparing for and completing the telephone interview, the technical interview and the assessment centre.

I've just been invited for a technical interview by mouchel. To those who have attended, does mouchel re-imburse travel expenses? Also, are the question technical or mouchel corporate issues are asked as well?
Thanks

I think that depends on which position you have applied to. In general, the technical interview involves a number of technical questions combined with some competency based questions and a couple of the usual questions (similar to those asked during the telephone interview).

Mouchel reimburse reasonable travel expenses as long as the cheapest method is selected. You should check with your HR contact in advance to clarify.

Pazua

Assuming you have got past the assessment centre the technical interview is with the hiring manager. I had 2 technical interviews.

one were I had 2 managers drilling me fairly hard on what I know. When that job was removed due to the economic problems I was then sent for an interview elsewhere.

This was with one manager (my now line manager) it lasted about 10 minutes and did not involve any technical questions. My line managers view was that the assessment centre sufficiently tested our technical abilities and he just wanted to get to know me.

It all depends on the manager if you have got past the assessment centre then you have done really well all ready, and the competition for the job will now be minimal.

re: Mouchel Corporate issues: if you dont know anything about the company then I am surprised you have got to the technical interview. They are not looking for managing directors or technical wiz kids they are fully aware that only 1 in every 100 will fit this description. They shouldnt expect you to know corporate issues but make sure you have an up to date idea of what is happening within the related industry.

Plus what you think is a mouchel corporate issues may not be relevant and may make you look stupid. If asked relate to industrial issues, market crash (middle east division lost us a lot of money) and cut backs in government sectors reducing fees.
I am one of those who has been deemed as having a lot of potential (you do psychological testing at the first academy event and my managers are impressed with my ideas e.t.c.) as a result I am working on the Business improvement plan (normally done by managers I am the only graduate and non manager) I am also asked to attend events by the business unit directors on different corporate issues so I can give my ideas (I am due to attend one next week with high level regional management & again the only graduate and non manager). So I am up to date on the corporate issues (although there are lots that I dont know about) and trust me they are not what you would think of or know anything about unless you working with or know someone privy to the information.

RE EXPENSES: We have a new system now so not sure on how you will do that but like Jim said contact hr.

@ civil engineer and jim,
Thanks so much for the info. Im actually applying for the electrical control and instrumentation position - water business and have not gone for the assessment centre yet. I'll do my best.

For your reference, the assessment centre follows the technical interview. The technical interview is nothing to be afraid of. Just make sure you know your specialist subject fairly well, a bit about the company and have some answers to competency based questions prepared. I was asked the following questions:

- Talk a bit about yourself
- Why did you choose Mouchel
- A question relating to teamwork with the emphasis on my role

I was then asked 3 technical questions relevant to the role I applied for. Hope this helps and good luck!

(FYI: Showing you have gained leadersip skills and communications skills etc from Uni/work is a good idea).

Hey,

I had all the interviews for a graduate position at Mouchel (online assessments, telephone interview, technical interview and the final assessment centre) but have not heard anything back now for over 2 months?

I’ve contacted them a few times (over telephone and by email) and I’m either ignored, or get told conflicting information. As such, I still don’t know if I was successful or not.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Any ideas on what I should do (just give up)?

Cheers : )

ECOL:

I will get you a contact tomorrow when I get into work. Which office and department were you applying to?

If I remember rightly it took a while for me as well just keep pushing.

deleted

hey civil engineer:

can you tell me anything about technical questions regarding project management or any other business related field? i have an interview on the 10th and am feeling a bit nervous about what 'tchnical' questions they can ask me about project management!

thanks.

stm

The answer to your question is simply no. I am a civil engineer I have an engineering degree so I dont have a clue about technical questions in GBS (Government Business services) or management consultancy.

Although I do very little engineering now a days I work mostly on commercial side of the highways business I still dont have a clue what they will ask.

The only thing I can tell you is after working with GBS (the consultancy side) & management Consultancy and being at a number of training events with them, they seem to do a lot of talking and not a lot of doing.

Just make sure your commercially aware and read up on your project management skills.

Not that it will help but in my interview I was asked about materials in construction, managing people, team work, and other technical civil engineering questions. (which I cant remember now)

hey civil engineer:

well i got through to the ac and was told that it consists of three parts: writing excersise, group excersise and presentation. is this similar to what you had? if so then is the written excersise an e-tray excersise or what?

thanks in advance

Mine was slightly different I had a writing/maths exercise, group exercise, presentation, technical interview, and an individual decision making exercise.

I went to a number of different assessment centres and it was one of the more enjoyable ones. As I have said before they are not looking for a technical genious they dont expect you to know everything about everything. Again as I have said before:

There were 5500 applicants to last year’s graduate academy and there were only 65 of us actually employed. I think around 3/4 of all applicants don't make it past the telephone interview stage, and only the select few make it to the assessment centre and even fewer make it to final interview at the relevant office.

I cant remember what the written exercise was, I think it was something to do with a fictional business and profit and loss or something.

It really is nothing to get worried about, and you really cant prepare for it anyway

Stm,

At my assessment centre the written exercise consisted of reading a lot of information about a company (such as financial reports, market share graphs ect) and then preparing a report advising the company of how to increase their profitability. This included things such as marketing, reducing costs etc. However, my AC was for a technical Engineering position so it may be different to the Management/Business ones.

As Civil Engineer said, you cant really prepare for these written analysis excercises. I didnt find it particularly difficult so I wouldnt worry about it. My advice would be to practice for the presentation and interview as these are the areas you can really stand out in if your preparation is good.

Hope this helps

hi stm,

could you tell me how did your interview go, i passed through the telephone interview and will have face-to-face one soon for project management too,
i contacted them to ask for some information to prepare for the interview but still no info received.
so i have no idea what could they ask in terms of technical questions especially.
pls share your experience.
thanks a lot.

hey smk,

they didnt really give me much information. i think they want sponataneity. mine obviously went decent enough. they didnt really ask me too many technical questions about project amangement. it was more of a standard comptenecy based interview. i think they asked me about leadership, teamwork, time management and a few autobiographical questions.

hope that helps ad good luck.

Hi,
I also attended the interview and the assessment center . I have also got an offer of employment as Academy Engineer.

The interview in all the stages was competency based for me. They did not ask any technical questions.
But that depends on the interviewer - that is what I got as a reply when I asked bout technical interviews.
The assessment center also was really good, with the market analysis exercise which I was quite new to and so it was quite interesting.

Happy to help
Mvt

MVT

Well done for passing the Academy process, it is very very competitive within the employment sector so you should be very very proud mate. I was 1 of 65 chosen from 5500 applicants last year, however this year it has been even more competitive.

It is truly a challenging time at the moment within Mouchel and the wider industry. All companies are currently going through massive structural changes (mouchel included). There is no single company that is not feeling the pinch from the prospective government cuts and the recession within our sector and the wider economy.

Hi civil engineer,
I am glad that I could get into the Academy. Could you please tell me how the work will be like? Enviroment, salary hikes etc?

regards
MVT

Does anybody actually know when the Academy begins or when the induction is?

MVT

Sorry for late reply.

The work is varied between offices, I work as part of a long term framework agreement for a county council so I only really do small scale schemes, however I do rotate across the business unit so I get varied work plus I work on fairly high level business stuff. The majority of my time is focussed on business related works, I have worked on tenders, efficiencies, supply chain, financial asset management etc because I am very good at the business of engineering.

Different offices have different work loads and different environments. I have worked in 3 different offices and all have been very relaxed and enjoyable places.

If your looking for massive salary hikes then you have joined the wrong industry, the consultancy sector is shrinking at an alarming rate because of various external economic factors, as a result huge restructuring and wholesale redundancies have been made and will continue to be made whilst there are public sector cuts and reduced financial liquidity within the markets.

ASDC: The academy starts whenever your line manager agrees a start date. The induction is usually late september early october.

Hey all,

The Academy Orientation Event is on in mid September in Birmingham. Anybody going to it?

HEy Civil Engineer, thanks for that.

I was also thinking about the orientation. How is it? They have given a lot of documents to read.
What is it all about, civil engineer, cud u help out?
thanks in advance
MVT

MVT

The orientation for us, was mostly BS, the only good thing was the psychometric testing were they told you about different personalty types and dealing with different people etc.

60% of it was boring for me, I stayed over in a hotel and got hammered.

Apart from that I cant really say much, you have to take advantage of the time away from the office because it is a bit of a novelty.

The trainers are really down to earth and are really helpful.

Hi Civil Engineer,

What is BS?

Also did u also have those preparatory documents?

MVT,

I think BS refers to Bulls**t!

And I think all those documents are just intended to give you a broad knowledge of the organisation. What business area are you joining??

My mate and I have been just talking about this specific topic, jane is continually trying to prove me wrong! I am going to present her this particular blog post not to mention rub it in a little!

http://www.wrinklecreamsreview.org