Imperial College London Interview Questions
& Process

The interview was a single, in-person session, about 30-40 minutes long. It felt rushed, like they decided fast, maybe in the first few minutes. The questions were very scripted and binary, not much space to show thinking. The team seemed dismissive, making it not very engaging. I think a quick virtual screening first would be good to check fit. Also, maybe smile more – it's a stakeholder job, and the people skills were surprising. The experience didn't meet expectations; more transparency or a staged process might have made me reconsider.

I discussed my undergrad thesis on finite element simulations. The interviewer asked follow-up questions to gauge my understanding of the basics. He then showed a diagram of a B-pillar crash and asked about modeling the dynamic response and optimizing for crashworthiness. I shared my thoughts on using surrogate models and mentioned some drawbacks.

The interview invite said the interview would be an hour long and asked me to call when I arrived. They gave me a long task that needed way more than 20 minutes to complete. I had to wait half an hour for the panel to be ready, not because they had other interviews, but because they just weren't available. Another candidate was waiting at the same time, which was awkward and unprofessional. The interview itself was fine but very intimidating. I think the department of materials is one to avoid. I hope other departments respect candidates' time better and set expectations. Really poor!

The interview process was pretty standard. I saw the job online and applied on a whim, mostly because I was having a bad day and just threw my CV at it. The system grabbed my info from it. I was surprised to get an interview invite so soon. I actually had a good time with it since it was more like a practice run for me, so I withdrew my application on the day of. The interview involved a presentation on a higher education topic. I talked about how admins are key to compliance in universities because it’s such a regulated field. I figured admins are the first point of contact for stuff like study variations, withdrawals, and general compliance questions, helping with marks, boards, and data. But, they said my presentation didn't clearly link external regulations (like UKVI, HESA, OIA) to the admin tasks. Also, I had to bring my own laptop for the presentation, which I didn't realize was a strict requirement. This caused a 10-minute delay trying to set up the projector. Thankfully, one interviewer lent me hers. It’s a good tip to check all the requirements beforehand with Imperial. I think I got a glimpse of the office while they scanned my passport. It looked like an open office but really cramped, and one staff member had a fan blowing on her desk because of poor ventilation, which is understandable in an older building.