Unless you are a psychic or getting interviewed by a friend you won’t know the questions you will get asked until you are at the interview. Nevertheless, it is important to know some of the typical questions which you can expect to encounter. These may include:
Role-generic questions
Requirements will vary depending on the role (apprenticeship, A-Grade electrician, etc) you are applying for. The following questions provide examples on how employers assess your generic skills:
- How long have you worked as an electrician?
- Where did you learn your skills?
- Do you have any specialist skills that you could bring to this role?
- Can you tell us about a past project(s) and talk about times that you had to use your initiative to solve an issue when there was no one to assist?
- Why are you interested in this particular type of work?
- Tell me about a time you managed to motivate an apprentice?
- Recall a time you offered excellent customer service as an electrician?
- Tell me about the most challenging task you had to perform as an apprentice?
- When you made a mistake/errors on the job, how did you rectify them? and what did you learn?
Role-specific questions
Role specific questions are usually tailored to the industry the employer operates in. For example, someone operating in an industrial setting may require a different skill set than one who works in commercial or domestic. The following questions provide examples on how employers assess your specific skills:
- What are your experiences in construction/industrial/commercial/domestic setting?
- What did you find most challenging during your apprenticeship?
- What is your experience with troubleshooting a PLC?
- What is the most necessary piece of PPE (personal protective equipment) for an electrician?
- How experienced are you in fault finding?
- What would you do if a co-worker got an electric shock?
Questions you can ask
It is always a good idea to have a list of questions that you would like to ask the interviewer as it shows that you are interested in the role.
Questions may include:
- Is there scope for progression within this role?
- Is there possibility for additional training or gaining new qualifications?
- Can you describe the team I am going to be in?
- Can you describe what a typical day look like?
We recommend spending a couple of hours prior to an interview crafting answers to these and other interview questions so you can be as prepared the interview.