Hydrologist Interview Questions:
1. Describe an experience where your hydrology team, through research and analysis, successfully solved a problem. How did you solve it?
Hydrological research can determine things such as optimal water management to prevent scarcity. Look out for stories that detail each step of the problem-solving chain, including identifying a problem, establishing a research methodology, collecting data, and modeling it.
2. Are you more comfortable working indoors or outdoors?
Hydrologists will be required to gather their own data for analysis. They need to be comfortable with both aspects of the job; studious research and outdoor expeditions. Candidates who excel at research but find the outdoors unbearable, for instance, are not suited to the job.
3. Describe the kind of applications you would use in your job. Which are the most essential?
Candidates should demonstrate an awareness of and proficiency with hydrological software such as Geographic Information Systems and various data processing applications.
4. How would you manage and organize large amounts of data?
Data management skills are essential in a research-intensive role. Hydrologists gather environmental data from a plethora of sources and use it to create computational data models. Candidates need to be able to detail methods for effective data collection, storage, and organization.
5. What future challenges do you foresee in the field of hydrology?
This question is designed to provoke an insightful answer in the field of hydrology as it relates to public policy and society. Candidates should speak about government policy and its impact on the environment and what this spells for the future of water research.