Use these questions when interviewing automotive technicians to help identify the best potential fit for your automotive shop or dealership.
Gathering enough information in an interview to determine if an automotive technician is the right fit for your business can be a challenge. In order to make the best use of your time during an interview, preparing a list of well-thought-out interview questions is key. By asking the right interview questions, you can not only get a clearer idea of their skills and experience, but can also get a sense of their character, personality, and ability to think quickly and solve problems.
In this article, we'll discuss three of the main categories of questions to ask in your next technician interview, as well as provide tips for each category.
Screening Questions
The purpose of this category is to help identify any major potential incompatibilities upfront before investing more time in a candidate. For example - is the candidate seeking incompatible work hours? Do they live within a reasonable distance of your shop? Are they seeking higher compensation than you're willing to offer? To save time and energy, consider using an initial phone interview to go over these questions and ensure there are no major roadblocks before scheduling an in-person interview.
Why are you looking for a new employer?
Why do you have gaps in your work history? (if applicable)
How close do you live to our shop?
What are the responsibilities of your current position? (this can give you an idea of if their abilities correlate with your current job opening or not)
How much are you earning now?
How much are you looking to earn?
What are your ideal work hours?
Is there any pertinent information we should be aware of upfront? (e.g. any criminal history or transportation challenges)
Would you have any issues passing a background check, drug test, etc? (if applicable)
If selected, when are you available to start?
Another purpose of this category is to find out why the technician is searching for a new position. Is the commute to their current shop too long? Do they want a more promising career path? Were they recently fired? Once the true motivation is uncovered, determine if you can offer a solution to their problem. Or if they do not appear to be a good match, save yourself some time and rule them out.
Behavioral Questions
Getting to know a technician's personality, character, and motivations in just a couple of interviews can be challenging. The purpose of this category is to uncover as much information as possible about these attributes in the short period of time that you have with the applicant. Ask open-ended questions that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no so you can evaluate their body language and confidence level while they explain. Also, try to ask probing questions that evaluate their problem-solving abilities and overall aspirations.
Here are some examples:
Will you tell me a bit about yourself? Some people might think this question is too simple, but it’s actually a crucial part of the interview. It helps put the candidate at ease by giving them an easy question to answer upfront and can help provide powerful insight into their personality, interests, and motivations.
What are your greatest weaknesses? This is one of the most common questions asked during the interview process as it enables you to determine whether the weaknesses a candidate may possess could interfere with the requirements of the job or reduce their ability to perform at their best. Additionally, it helps you to gauge how self-aware they are of their flaws and their ability to address them.
What are your greatest strengths? By focusing on strengths in addition to weaknesses, a candidate has the opportunity to further demonstrate their level of self-awareness and humility. This question also gives them the opportunity to showcase how their skills are suited to the job and how they may be able to help the company achieve its objectives.
Why did you become a mechanic? Your applicants’ passion for working with vehicles should shine through when they answer this question. You want to see that they are genuinely passionate about vehicles and intrinsically motivated to continue honing their skills.
Where do you see yourself in five years? Identify an individual who is invested in their professional goals and suggest how your business can provide them with an avenue to reach these ambitions. Locating an eager candidate who believes that your company can give them the platform to grow in their career significantly boosts the probability that they will be content with the position in the long run.
What are your long-term career goals? This question can help gauge the technician’s dedication to success and how ambitious they are overall. It can also help you evaluate if their career aspirations are in line with the vision and goals of your shop. If their goals cannot be fulfilled while working at your store, then they may not be the best fit.
What’s most important to you in a new employer? It's essential to remember that the interviewing process is a mutual exchange, especially in the current job market. Take the time to get to know what is important to the job seeker and how you can show them the advantages of working with your shop.
How many jellybeans can fit in a suitcase? This guesstimate interview question provides the opportunity to gauge the problem-solving skills of potential candidates. Rather than expecting an exact answer, consider how the person approaches the question. Do they take time to ask relevant questions? Can they break the problem into manageable components? Encourage the candidate to think aloud, allowing you to observe their thought process.
What questions do you have for me? Generally, the most serious applicants will have thought through a few relevant questions for a hiring manager. However, after a lengthy and thorough discussion, the candidate may have already covered these queries. In that case, it's quite all right if no additional questions are posed.
A few more questions to consider:
What about this position attracted you to apply?
What do you know about our company?
What do you like about your current employer?
What don't you like about your current employer?
What could your current employer do to be more successful?
Tell me about your favorite supervisor or manager that you have worked for, what made them great?
What makes you a good fit for this role?
What aspects of being an automotive technician do you like the most?
What aspects of being an automotive technician do you like the least?
Technical Questions
Evaluating an automotive technician's capabilities through specific questions pertaining to on-the-job responsibilities is a great way to get an in-depth understanding of their technical expertise. Asking the right questions will also help authenticate the experience listed on their resume and help you make an accurate assessment of their overall abilities and skill level.
Which vehicles do you work on regularly?
In your most recent position, what kinds of jobs did you get a lot of?
What training have you done?
What are your favorite jobs to do?
What are your least favorite jobs to do?
What types of repairs do you need to learn more about?
Do you have any specialized knowledge, in either specific car brands or types of repairs?
Tell me about a time when you made a mistake on a repair. How did you handle it?
What was your most difficult repair job? What did you learn from it?
If someone needs advice on buying a new car, what do you tell them?
How do you feel about borrowing tools or lending tools to other technicians?
Describe some of the more difficult problems you solved during their past employment
Ask specific questions about how would diagnose or perform repairs relevant to the job for which they are applying. For example:
What process do you use to diagnose vehicle issues?
Which diagnostic tools do you have experience using?
How do you diagnose battery or alternator issues?
A customer's engine overheats, what do you check first to determine the origin?
In Closing
Interviewing an automotive technician provides an invaluable opportunity to determine if they are the right fit for your organization. Utilizing a thorough list of specific questions provides you with the best opportunity to determine if they possess the necessary skills, have the potential to build a great rapport with the rest of the team, and overall if they will be a positive addition to your automotive repair shop or dealership.
If you need help finding applicants to ask these questions - don't hesitate to reach out. Our team of recruiting experts specialize in finding technicians for auto repair shops and dealerships all over the US. If you want help from the pros, schedule a quick call today!
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