Electrician interview questions you need to be asking

Are you looking to invest in people in order to expand your electrical business? Whether it’s your first hire as a trade business owner or you’ve already gone through the process before, we’re here to help.

The interview stage is crucial. This is because it’s when you can see what skills, qualities, and experience someone has. That’s why we’ve pulled together all sorts of interview questions for electricians that you might want to ask.

For those interested in joining the industry, this might be a useful source of information to use for practice ahead of your interview.

What qualities and answers should you be looking for?

In all honesty, the qualities and answers you’ll want to look out for during an interview depend on what type of person you want to hire.

If you’re looking for someone junior, it’s less about their previous experience as they probably won’t have too much to say. Therefore, you might want to focus more on whether:

• They’re a hard worker
• A quick learner
• And a good cultural fit

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for someone who’s been in the industry a while, you’re probably going to ask more direct questions. This might include:

• Their previous experience
• Accreditations
• Testing them on technical aspects of the job

Diversity is also another important factor to bear in mind. The UK has a notable skills gap, and your trade business could be part of the solution to the issue.

For example, as a business owner, it’s important to do your part in encouraging women to become electricians. This is especially important as many trades can be heavily male-dominated.

Apprentice electrician interview questions

As we mentioned, apprentice electrician interview questions are there to help you understand someone’s current skills, motivation, and knowledge. This is because you’re likely looking out for potential rather than previous experience.

Here are some examples of questions you could ask those at the start of their career and looking to train to be an electrician:

1. How would you describe your work ethic?
2. Where do you see yourself in five years?
3. Generally speaking, how do you overcome challenges?
4. Why do you want to become an electrician?
5. How are your multitasking skills?
6. What motivates you?
7. Can you explain some ways electricians can stay safe on the job?
8. Can you explain the steps you’d take to deal with outages?
9. How would you react if a co-worker got an electric shock?
10. Do you prefer to work independently or as a team?

Interview questions for electricians with experience

Compared to apprentices, interview questions for electricians with experience can cover lots of different things. For instance, this could include accreditations, previous experience, career goals, and background in the electrical industry.

Ultimately, asking a broad range of questions should help you narrow down your choice based on who showcased themselves best.

Here are some examples of interview questions for electricians with experience that you might want to use:

1. What are three words your co-workers would use to describe you?
2. What has been the biggest mistake you made as an electrician? How did you overcome it?
3. Which three qualities do you think make you a better electrician?
4. What drew you to apply for this job?
5. Do you specialise in any particular kind of electrical work? If so, what?
6. How many years have you worked in the industry?
7. Do you have any additional certifications? What about a gold CSCS card?
8. Why should we hire you?
9. What’s the most difficult job you’ve worked on before? How did you deal with that?
10. When talking to a customer, how would you rate your ability to communicate problems to them?

Technical electrician interview questions

In an interview, you’ve got to ask the right questions to get the answers you’re after. Working as an electrician requires technical knowledge in order to solve issues so it’s always worth checking someone’s thinking the right way.

Depending on the particular role you’re hiring for, you might want to ask about situations that are likely to happen.

The purpose of technical electrician interview questions is to make sure that you’re hiring someone with the right expertise.

For example, there are different skillsets involved with those working as a commercial electrician vs as a domestic electrician. That’s why it’s important to be confident that the person you’re hiring is fit for the job.

See your electrical business achieve success with Checkatrade

Starting your own electrical business comes with a lot of responsibility aside from hiring employees.  For a lot of businesses, the thing stopping them from achieving success is not winning enough business. Luckily, that’s where we come in.

As a Checkatrade member, you’ll be listed in our trade directory. This means more homeowners will be able to discover your business leading to more job opportunities for you.

Plus, homeowners trust our tick of approval as they know members have to pass our checks.

As current members will already know, there are lots of benefits that come with joining Checkatrade.

This includes exclusive partnerships on everything from training and accreditation to workwear and tools. We also offer different membership options so you can choose an account for your current needs.

If you’re interested in signing up, be sure to get in touch with our team today to find out more about our vetting process.