Interview Experience Overview
Duration: Approximately 30 minutes
Mode: Marker board-based technical interview
Panel: Initially 6 male panelists and 1 female panelist. During the interview, one more male and one more female panelist joined.
Interview Questions and Discussion:
- Introduction & Background:
- “Good morning, Kunal. Which year did you graduate?”
- Follow-up on work experience: “So you’ve worked as a Field Engineer at Nirma Limited?”
- Plant Experience:
- “Which specific plant did you work in?”
- Asked to list all products and raw materials handled at the plant.
- Handling & Storage:
- Detailed discussion on handling and storage techniques.
- Questions on the material of construction (MOC) used for different products.
- Sulfuric Acid Handling:
- “What is the use of sulfuric acid in your plant?”
- Asked to draw a P&ID diagram of a sulfuric acid storage tank, explain all instruments involved, and the purpose of the venting system.
- Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium (VLE):
- Application of VLE in real life.
- Significance, mathematical derivation, and how VLE is practically implemented.
- Pumps and Their Characteristics:
- Discussion on types of pumps, with a focus on centrifugal pumps.
- Asked to draw the characteristics curve, and explain:
- How pumps generate head
- Factors affecting efficiency
- Pump performance in series vs. parallel
- Effect of impeller changes and cavitation on performance
- Cooling Towers:
- Asked by the panelist to list types of cooling towers.
- Drew and explained natural draft cooling tower, describing all components.
- Definitions and significance of:
- Range
- Approach
- Efficiency
- Question: “What is the lowest temperature a cooling tower can achieve?”
- Impact of this on packing material, followed by discussion on different types of packing.
- Heterogeneous Catalysis:
- Asked to draw and explain resistance mechanisms in solid-catalyzed reactions for both porous and non-porous catalysts.
- Reactors in Catalysis:
- Types and applications of reactors:
- Bubble column reactor
- Fluidized bed reactor
- Packed bed reactor
- Types and applications of reactors:
- Thermodynamics and Solution Behavior:
- Application of partial molar properties in real-life scenarios.
- Differences between ideal and real solutions.
My Performance:
- I was confident and accurate while explaining topics related to:
- Pumps and characteristic curves
- Cooling towers
- Plant technology and operational details
- I could handle plant-based and practical technical questions well.
- However, I felt my responses were only moderate in topics related to:
- Thermodynamics (VLE, partial molar properties)
- Heterogeneous reactions and catalyst resistance modeling