[rcooled]

I'm a mechanical engineer and I've worked contract jobs for many years. This means that I've had to interview for positions quite often...2 or 3 per year sometimes. In my experience, I've found that most technical people conducting an interview have little or no idea how to do it effectively. They would mostly just ramble on about the company, give you a quick tour of the facility and ask about some previous experience related to the job in question. I once landed a job after an interview in which we just talked about motor racing for the entire time. I'm not saying that all interviews are like that, but I've personally found that good interviewers are few and far between. On the other hand, I've had interviews where I was grilled for nearly an entire day...sometimes by teams of 2 or 3 people at a time. HR people are generally better at interviewing because it's a significant part of their job. But they'll be focusing more on personality rather than on technical skills. The bottom line is to be prepared. Learn a bit about the company so you can ask a few intelligent questions about the position you're applying for. Dress appropriately, sit up straight, look the interviewer in the eye and project confidence. As mentioned before, technical skills can be taught on the job...a skillful interviewer for an internship will be looking for a positive attitude and a willingness to dig in and provide support for current projects. Be prepared for a question about your strengths and weaknesses. Again, relax and be yourself. And consider that a more than a few of the people you'll be working with wouldn't be able to find their ass with both hands. You WILL be able to do this job and you WILL be an asset to that company!