The Question That Separates Good Candidates From Great Ones in Engineering Interviews
Nick Koop • April 22, 2026
About the Author
Nick Koop, Director
With over 11 years in recruitment, Nick has worked closely with engineering professionals across Australia, from small consultancies to global firms. He’s built his approach on honesty, consistency, and actually listening to what people want, not just what’s on paper.
Melbourne born and bred, Nick’s usually either following sport, chasing his kids around, or finding a decent spot for a quiet pint. He’s a long-suffering North Melbourne supporter, which probably says enough about his resilience.
Contact Nick
Want to discuss your next engineering hire? Give Nick a buzz or drop him a line via:
📧 nick@vividrecruitment.com.au
You can also connect with Nick on LinkedIn or follow the Vivid Recruitment LinkedIn page for more industry insights, news, jobs and general chit chat and tips!
Want Better Interview Advice That’s Actually Useful?
If you’re preparing for a move in engineering, planning, or construction and want straight answers, reach out. No scripts. No fluff. Just a proper conversation.
Most candidates treat the end of an interview like a formality. It’s not. The questions you ask can leave a stronger impression than anything you’ve said before it. If you’re working in engineering, construction, or design, one simple question can tell you what success actually looks like and quietly position you as someone worth hiring.
Why the Last 5 Minutes of an Interview Matter More Than You Think
We’ve sat in on a lot of interviews across engineering and construction. Civil designers, project engineers, planners, you name it.
And one thing keeps happening.
The interview wraps up, things are going well, and the hiring manager asks:
“Do you have any questions for us?”
Half the time, the candidate says something along the lines of:
“Nah, I’m all good.”
That’s a miss. A big one.
Not because it’s rude. But because you’ve just skipped one of the easiest chances to stand out without having to sell yourself.
The Question That Actually Gets People Remembered
Here’s a question we’ve seen land really well:
“When you think about your top performers in this organisation, what qualities or mindset set them apart from someone who simply meets expectations?”
Simple. No fluff. But it does a lot of heavy lifting.
Why This Question Works (Especially in Engineering and Construction)
1. It Shows You’re Thinking Beyond the Job Description
Anyone can talk through their CV. Most engineers can explain a project they’ve worked on.
But this question tells the interviewer you’re already thinking about how to succeed in their environment.
Not just how to get through probation.
2. It Gives You the Real Version of the Role
Job descriptions in our industry are… optimistic.
Every role sounds like a mix of technical delivery, stakeholder management, innovation, and leadership. In reality, every business values different things.
Some care about billables and utilisation.
Some care about client relationships.
Some just want someone reliable who doesn’t create headaches.
This question cuts through the polished version and gets you closer to the truth.
3. It Positions You Without Saying It Out Loud
You’re not saying “I’m a top performer.”
But you are making it clear that’s where your head is at.
That subtle shift matters.
Especially in a market where good engineers are hard to find but great ones are even harder to keep.
What You Should Be Listening For in Their Answer
This is the part most candidates miss.
Don’t just ask the question and nod along.
Pay attention to what they actually say.
Look for patterns like:
- Ownership vs hand-holding - Are their best people self-sufficient or heavily managed?
- Technical depth vs client-facing skills - Do they value design excellence or relationship building more?
- Hours vs output - Are top performers the ones staying back late or the ones delivering efficiently?
- Culture signals - Do they mention teamwork, ego, communication, or just KPIs?
This is the stuff that tells you whether you’ll actually enjoy working there.
Interviews Go Both Ways (Even If People Pretend They Don’t)
There’s still this old-school thinking in parts of construction and engineering that interviews are one-sided.
They’re not.
If anything, in the current market, candidates have more say than they realise.
You’re not just being assessed on whether you can do the job.
You’re working out:
- Will I learn here?
- Will I be backed by leadership?
- Is this place going to burn me out?
If you’re not asking questions that help you answer those, you’re flying blind.
Other Questions That Actually Add Value (Not Just Filler)
If you want a few more that don’t sound rehearsed, here are some we’ve seen work well:
- “What does success look like in this role after 6 to 12 months?”
- “What’s been the biggest challenge for someone in this position previously?”
- “How does the team typically handle pressure when projects get tight?”
- “Why did the last person leave?”
None of these are fancy. That’s the point.
They’re real questions that get real answers.
A Quick Reality Check From Recruitment
We’ve worked with enough hiring managers across consultancies, contractors, and developers to say this confidently:
Candidates who ask thoughtful questions get remembered.
Not always because of what they asked, but because of what it signals.
It shows:
- Curiosity
- Commercial awareness
- A bit of self-respect
And in an industry where a lot of interviews blur together, that’s often the difference.
Final Thought
If you take nothing else from this, take this:
Don’t waste the last five minutes of an interview.
That’s where you stop being just another CV and start looking like someone who actually gets it.
Vivid Recruitment - Your specialist partner in:
Architecture & Interior Design Recruitment | Urban Design & Planning Recruitment | Mechanical Engineering Recruitment | Electrical Engineering Recruitment | Structural Engineering Recruitment | Civil Engineering Recruitment | Acoustic Engineering Recruitment | Hydraulic Engineering Recruitment | ESD / Sustainability Engineering Recruitment | Fire Engineering Recruitment
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Coordinated Studio Days For architecture, planning and engineering teams, time together in the studio still matters . Coordinating in office days allows for: design reviews mentoring team connection social interaction This is often where hybrid working works best. 4. Structured Mentoring Graduates and junior professionals benefit from regular access to senior staff. Studios can support this through: scheduled mentoring sessions regular design or project reviews clear development pathways This helps reduce the feeling of being overlooked or disconnected. 5. Encouraging Breaks and Boundaries Working from home can blur the line between work and personal life. Encouraging people to step away from their desk, take breaks and reset during the day is simple but effective. 6. Connection Beyond Work Not all connection needs to come from the workplace. Strong relationships outside of work can help balance periods of isolation during remote working. Flexibility Still Matters, But So Does Connection Flexible working is not going anywhere. For professionals in architecture, planning and engineering, it remains a key factor when choosing a role. However, this conversation is evolving. It is no longer just about where people work. It is about how people feel when they work . Studios that focus on both flexibility and connection are more likely to build engaged, motivated and high performing teams. The Takeaway for Employers and Candidates For employers: Flexibility needs to be supported with intentional collaboration, mentoring and communication. For candidates: It is worth considering not just how often you can work from home, but how connected you will feel to your team. At Vivid Recruitment, we are seeing these conversations happen more frequently across architecture, planning and engineering practices. The most successful teams are not choosing between flexibility and connection. They are finding ways to make both work together. Speak with the Team Need help with your career or talent? Get in touch with our guys to help you out. Nicholas Koop , Principal Recruitment Consultant, Engineering & Planning - 📲 0426 180 254 📧 nick@vividrecruitment.com.au Lee Stevens , Principal Recruitment Consultant, Architecture & Design - 📲 0406 470 020 📧 lee@vividrecruitment.com.au You can also connect with Lee on LinkedIn and Nick on LinkedIn or follow the Vivid Recruitment LinkedIn page for more industry insights, news, jobs and general chit chat and tips! Vivid Recruitment - Your specialist partner in: Architecture & Interior Design Recruitment | Urban Design & Planning Recruitment | Mechanical Engineering Recruitment | Electrical Engineering Recruitment | Structural Engineering Recruitment | Civil Engineering Recruitment | Acoustic Engineering Recruitment | Hydraulic Engineering Recruitment | ESD / Sustainability Engineering Recruitment | Fire Engineering Recruitment
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A specialist recruiter can provide current salary benchmarks across: Commercial Architecture Interior Design studios Urban and Town Planning consultancies Civil, Structural and Building Services Engineering Client side Project Management Recruitment fees are typically linked to salary, so there is a practical incentive to secure a strong offer for you. If you want to negotiate effectively, ask: Based on the current market, what should someone with my experience be earning in Melbourne or Brisbane? How flexible is the client on salary for the right person? What have similar candidates in Architecture, Planning or Engineering secured recently? If the offer comes in lower than expected, how would you position a counter offer? Transparency leads to better outcomes. 3. Specialist Architecture, Planning and Engineering Recruiters Deliver Better Results The Australian built environment sector is tight. Reputation travels quickly. A recruiter who focuses purely on Architecture, Interior Design, Planning and Engineering will: Understand technical capability, from BIM to planning scheme knowledge Know the difference between private consultancy, developer side and local government roles Recognise the nuances between Tier 1 firms and boutique practices Have established relationships with Directors and hiring managers Understand hiring trends linked to infrastructure pipelines, residential growth and policy changes A generalist recruiter covering multiple industries cannot offer the same depth. If you are speaking to a recruiter about Architecture jobs, Town Planning roles or Engineering opportunities in Australia, test their expertise: How many Architects, Planners or Engineers have you placed in the last 12 months? Which practices are actively hiring but not advertising? Who are the strongest employers in this discipline right now? What sector trends are shaping hiring decisions this year? 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Key themes we are hearing from architects and designers include: Work life balance, flexibility and culture now matter as much as salary Local experience is highly valued Strong documentation skills and BIM capability are in high demand Relocation is on the table, but only for a clear step up Candidates are not against moving roles. They are just less willing to move sideways. What architecture firms are worried about From the employer side, caution is still driving decisions. Fee pressure remains, and the cost of hiring the wrong person feels high. Many studios are nervous about needing to rehire within six to twelve months. Common concerns include: Hiring someone who interviews well but struggles with delivery Ongoing shortages in documentation and coordination skills Client-facing capability becoming harder to find Project pipelines that look healthy, but lack long-term certainty Studios are hiring, but they want people who can genuinely reduce workload and risk. Architecture and design sectors gaining traction Not all sectors are moving equally, but several are keeping studios busy: Hospitality, retail and experiential interiors in major cities Health, education and infrastructure-adjacent projects Sustainability-led design, modular construction and Build to Rent Multi-residential projects in Brisbane High-end residential remains patchy and relationship-driven Architecture and design salary trends Salaries across architecture and interior design are steady to slightly up . We are not seeing broad salary jumps, but premiums are being paid for hard-to-find skills. In particular: Project Architects in Brisbane remain difficult to secure Senior Interior Designers are still in short supply Contract and fixed-term roles are becoming more common Candidates moving fastest through hiring processes typically show: Strong documentation capability Confident client communication End-to-end project exposure Engineering Job Market in Australia 2026 Melbourne engineering market The Melbourne engineering market is active but measured. There are roles across civil, structural, electrical and building services engineering, particularly linked to health and commercial projects. However, many employers are waiting for funding certainty before scaling up hiring. 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Major infrastructure projects and Olympics-related development are driving sustained need for engineering talent. On the ground this means: Strong demand for civil and project engineers Increased contract and interim hiring Movement of talent from interstate Greater focus on flexibility and professional development For engineers considering a move, Queensland presents a genuine opportunity window. Adelaide engineering market Adelaide remains a smaller, project-led engineering market. Hiring is typically tied to specific developments, often in health and transport. Roles can be competitive due to the smaller talent pool, but there are quality opportunities for the right skillsets. Planning Job Market Update 2026 In Planning, activity is currently stronger in the public sector than the private sector. Local councils are leading demand, while private sector planning roles are moving more slowly. We expect private sector hiring to follow as project pipelines firm up later in the year. National Built Environment Hiring Trends Across Architecture, Engineering and Planning, several national themes stand out: Workforce shortages remain, particularly for experienced engineers and delivery-focused professionals Digital skills are no longer optional. BIM, systems thinking and data literacy are becoming standard expectations Civil, transport, power and infrastructure roles remain among the most in-demand Even where hiring feels cautious, demand for skilled built environment professionals remains structurally strong. What This Means for Employers and Candidates in 2026 For employers, building talent pipelines early is becoming essential. Waiting until projects are fully mobilised increases hiring risk. For candidates, understanding project pipelines, team structures and delivery expectations is key to making a smart move. 2026 is shaping up to be a year of considered hiring and considered career decisions . If you want to talk through what this looks like in your discipline or city, we are always happy to have a conversation. Contact the Team Get in touch with our guys to help you out. Nicholas Koop , Principal Recruitment Consultant, Engineering & Planning - 📲 0426 180 254 📧 nick@vividrecruitment.com.au Lee Stevens , Principal Recruitment Consultant, Architecture & Design - 📲 0406 470 020 📧 lee@vividrecruitment.com.au You can also connect with Lee on LinkedIn and Nick on LinkedIn or follow the Vivid Recruitment LinkedIn page for more industry insights, news, jobs and general chit chat and tips!  Vivid Recruitment - Your specialist partner in: Architecture & Interior Design Recruitment | Urban Design & Planning Recruitment | Mechanical Engineering Recruitment | Electrical Engineering Recruitment | Structural Engineering Recruitment | Civil Engineering Recruitment | Acoustic Engineering Recruitment | Hydraulic Engineering Recruitment | ESD / Sustainability Engineering Recruitment | Fire Engineering Recruitment
A couple of years ago, if you’d told me I’d be spending so much time thinking about AI, I’d have assumed you had the wrong person. I’m a planner and have been for over 20 years. I came up through the world of council planning, policy, plan development, statutory frameworks, community outcomes, and then found myself leading ‘walkable urbanism’ and 20-minute neighbourhoods . What changed wasn’t my identity as a planner; it was the nature of the work, and the pace of technological advancement around it. For most of my career, I’ve watched talented, committed people spend an extraordinary amount of time on tasks that are not “planning” at all: chasing missing information, reformatting reports, repeating compliance checks, the list goes on and on. Planning complexity has kept rising, but the tools and workflows haven’t kept pace, and the result was predictable: frustration, delay, and professional judgement being crowded out by administration and rework. That’s the context in which AI became interesting, not as a fad, but as a better way of working. And it’s why I set up Spero-ai : to bring AI into planning and development work in a way that is trustworthy, auditable, and grounded in how regulated decisions are made.  Spero-ai is led by experienced planners, not led by the tech, so domain expertise and deep sector understanding sit at the heart of everything we do. AI is disrupting planning, not replacing planners When people talk about AI disruption, it’s often framed as replacement: AI taking jobs, automating decisions, removing professionals from the loop. That’s not what I believe will happen, and it’s not what good adoption should look like. What’s being disrupted is the economics of time in planning. AI is changing how quickly information can be pulled together, how consistently documents can be checked, and how rapidly first drafts can be produced, freeing up capacity for higher-value human work: judgement, interpretation, stakeholder conversations, negotiation, and design thinking. Organisations don’t want to be left behind. They can see competitors moving faster, they can see teams experimenting quietly, and they can see that those who learn to use AI safely will compound an advantage over time. But they also want trusted partnerships and sensible guardrails, because, if not designed properly, AI can be confident and wrong. It can miss nuance, overlook a buried condition, misunderstand a local policy context, or produce language that doesn’t sound right. The planner’s job in the AI era: define the problem, control the risks In my view, the planner’s advantage is not technical; it’s contextual. You don’t need to build AI tools to get value from AI. You need to know the problem you’re solving, the constraints that matter, and what “good” looks like in a regulated setting. AI performs best when it’s given a clear task, strong inputs, and explicit guardrails and rules, which is exactly how we already think when we brief a graduate, or a consultant. Just as importantly, planners need to stay on top of what AI can and can’t do, because safe adoption depends on knowing where the boundary sits between “useful assistance” and “unacceptable risk”. Right now, AI is strong at factual drafting, summarising, extracting, comparing, reformatting, generating checklists, and highlighting likely omissions. Where it still needs professional leadership is factual reliability, interpreting ambiguity, and applying local policy nuance. In other words: the human remains responsible for meaning, judgement, and accountability, and the technology needs to be implemented in a way that makes that responsibility easier to discharge, not harder. This is central to how Spero-ai operates: AI should support the professional, not replace them, and it should make checking and traceability easier, not harder. Many have been burnt by tech, and that history is shaping AI adoption Another theme I hear constantly is that many organisations have had poor experiences with technology procurement. The traditional model has often been: a vendor goes away, builds a product, sells it to you, implements it, and then leaves you with it. You’re left with a tool that doesn’t match your needs, requires workarounds, and locks you into a contract or platform for years. That history matters. It creates scepticism, and honestly, it should. In planning, we can’t afford systems that add friction or reduce confidence, because the downstream cost is delay, dispute, and reputational damage. A newer delivery approach: agile, integrated, fast, and tailored One of the most encouraging changes is that AI enables a different way to deliver technology. Instead of “rip and replace”, modern tools can sit between systems: integrating with what you already use, drawing from your existing documents and data, and fitting into workflows rather than forcing a wholesale rebuild. You can start with a single workflow, prove value quickly, and iterate from there. This agile approach changes the cost and speed equation. Meaningful improvements can be delivered quickly, sometimes in weeks or months, without multi-year implementation programmes. And because it’s iterative, the solution can be tested, changed, and tailored as you learn what works for your team, your local context, and your risk settings. That’s also why starting small isn’t a lack of ambition; it’s a smart path to scale. A growing opportunity for planners This is where the recruitment lens becomes important. AI is creating demand for professionals who can bridge between domain work and digital capability. In my view, the planners who will thrive are those who can define problems clearly, understand risk and evidence, stay current on AI capabilities and limitations, and design workflows where AI improves quality rather than eroding it. That combination, deep sector expertise plus practical AI literacy, is going to become increasingly valuable. Final thought If you’re leading an organisation, the goal isn’t to just “use AI”. This is a fundamental shift in how work gets done, and it needs broad organisational and strategic thinking, with a plan, not just scattered experimentation. A sensible approach is to start by defining the outcome you’re aiming for, and then test your way towards it through light, low-risk adoption. What is the goal: Staff spending materially more time on high-value professional judgement? Faster turnaround with fewer rework loops? More consistent quality and compliance? Or freeing capacity to expand into work you’ve always wanted to do properly, better engagement, stronger strategic planning, improved urban design input, proactive place strategies, deeper due diligence, or more rigorous post-approval follow-through? AI can help unlock that, but only if it’s treated as a capability: governance, skills, workflow design, and trusted delivery that integrates with the systems you already rely on. Start small, prove value, refine fast, and scale with intent. And if you’re a planner considering your own path: you don’t need to build the technology. But you do need to understand what it can and can’t do, and you need the confidence to direct it with clarity. That combination will be hard to beat. James Mant MPIA is a town planner and the CEO of Spero-ai. After two decades in planning, he now focuses on helping organisations adopt AI in a practical, low-risk way that keeps professional judgement and accountability at the centre.