Ideas for Fresh New Interview Tasks and Questions

[Phil Buchanan]

Will be doing some interviews for the next couple weeks as we need to add a couple more E&I technicians with lite PLC programming and heavy troubleshooting experience and I am looking for some fresh ideas on non hardware based quick test/task items and questions to get down to the best candidates.

What are some good tests and questions you ask?

We are not trying to write a formal test as we already have one that is very hard but we try to narrow it down to 3-4 people max before we have them take that.

I have about 40 great resumes but I have found many people with 10-20 years experience in various plants learn enough of the common and repeat problems that they are a super star in their current workplace but when faced with a new and challenging problem they crumble because they don't have the basics down and don't have a good grasp on what Peter Nachtwey calls "Forever Knowledge"

I can normally get the basics of their experience after 3 or 4 of my favorite questions but I also don't want to have a 5 minute interview with a person that drove and hour or two in Atlanta traffic to come in and interview with us and give them a good round of various questions to be fair to everyone.

Looking for some new content to help weed through.

 

[ASF]

You could ask them to sketch out some first out logic on a piece of paper? I'm always amazed at how many programmers can't do it at all, or can't do it completely correctly.

 

[osmanmom]

give them a paper, test with 4-5 math question primary school standard

and the back paper page write and the bottom line write 'do not answer the question'.

 

[jrwb4gbm]

give them a paper, test with 4-5 math question primary school standard

and the back paper page write and the bottom line write 'do not answer the question'.

And at the very top on the front page write "Read everything before doing anything."

 

[ASF]

You could also ask them to sketch out a hardwired start/stop DOL circuit, then the same thing for a reversing motor. I know that they're programmers not electricians, but a good programmer should fully understand what goes on outside the PLC as well as inside. EVen if they don't get it 100%, it'll at least give you an indication of how much hands on experience they have, vs. theoretical knowledge.

 

[Diameter157]

Give them a printout of a program, ask them to explain each step of the program and what it is for. Do that with a few programs.

Could ask some things about retentive memory or sequential function chart.

 

[Paullys50]

I had an interview where they put the Wonderlic test in front of me. About a quarter of the way through I realized it was the test that sports broadcasters reference when talking about NFL drafted quarterbacks. The didn't give me my results and I ended up declining the position.

Honestly, it probably is an accurate indication of intelligence in pressure situations and would weed out many of your candidates. You only have 12 minutes to complete it so it's not much additional time required. I have no idea how much it costs. You can always go the behavioral question route to try and figure out if their thought process/experienced behaviors align with you and your team.

 

[Paullys50]

I can normally get the basics of their experience after 3 or 4 of my favorite questions but I also don't want to have a 5 minute interview with a person that drove and hour or two in Atlanta traffic to come in and interview with us and give them a good round of various questions to be fair to everyone.

Phone interview for round 1?

 

[willxfmr]

The best question/test for troubleshooting skills I have seen during an interview was simply 3 pictures, and you were asked to find the problem based on what you see, and give a brief description of how you would proceed. The pictures were all of the same control panel, and you could see the PLC rack, 24V power supply, and various relays, fuses, and terminal strips.

In picture #1 the power supply had no lights on it, and one fuse holders was lit up.

In picture #2 The AB Guard Master controller only had one of two channels showing green

In picture #3 The PLC was faulted.


I thought it was a good test of how well you know electrical equipment in general, and if you can spot the obvious even if you had no idea what the machine did.

Another good question I was asked was to explain the difference between the AFI and AOI instructions in RSL5K. I chuckled at that one and asked after the interview how many people got tripped up on that one, and was told "Enough that is a standard question for that company to ask."
I've had a lot of people ask me code questions like how many degrees of bend can you put in a single run of pipe. And how many 12 awg wires you can put in a 3/4 pipe, but I always thought those kind questions were a waste of time for a maintenance/troubleshooting position.



Will.

 

[FactoryTalktotheHand]

At my previous job we did a first and second interview test. The first interview, we gave them an electrical schematic with all of the descriptions removed, and we numbered several components. The interviewee simply had to identify the component type (disconnect, relay, fuse, etc.).

You'd be surprised how many people with very impressive resumes failed this test miserably. One had PLC programming and electrical troubleshooting on his resume and couldn't tell the difference between a relay and a solenoid. He literally looked at the solenoid symbol and said, "....relay?"

If they passed that part, we'd ask them what they think that machine does. It was a dumper, so it was a pretty basic up and down circuit. So we'd pretty much accept any answer that resembled the function of going one direction or the other; lift, dumper, etc.

If they got a second interview, we gave them the panel that the drawing was based from, and put bugs in it. We did things like tape a neutral wire and put it in the terminal so it wouldn't make a connection, take fuses out of fuse holders, disconnect another neutral and hide it in the wire duct, take terminal jumpers out, etc. Only one guy passed it and got it working. Almost everyone else we had to stop so they wouldn't screw it up worse than it was. The guy who passed the test was hired.

 

[gclshortt]

Ask them to write the logic with bits only to do a one shot.
This will explain the basic scan logic of the PLC.
I also get them draw a working bicycle. This explains the level of thinking mechanically without going into allot of detail. (You will be surprised at some of the drawings!)

Regards,

 

[damica1]

I would like to add my 2 cents worth on this matter. What are you looking for? Someone who can jump in without any training and do the job or someone you can invest some time and money in and end up with a "Super Tech".

Now here's why I say that. I'm an electronic engineer with 40 years experience in developing firmware for different electronic devices. I have programmed in C, Assembly, Visual Basic, worked with Microchip, Intel, Microsoft, Etc.. I wanted to change careers a few years back and become an Industrial Maintenance Manager.

I did get an interview, but did not get the job because I did not know 3 phase motors. How long do you think it would have taken me to learn 3 phase, and there would have been so much more I could have brought to the table.

I think for companies to find quality help nowdays they need to open their eyes, take off the blinders and try to see the bigger picture.

I could go on and on but I won't.

 

[RET]

I would like to add my 2 cents worth on this matter. What are you looking for? Someone who can jump in without any training and do the job or someone you can invest some time and money in and end up with a "Super Tech".

Now here's why I say that. I'm an electronic engineer with 40 years experience in developing firmware for different electronic devices. I have programmed in C, Assembly, Visual Basic, worked with Microchip, Intel, Microsoft, Etc.. I wanted to change careers a few years back and become an Industrial Maintenance Manager.

I did get an interview, but did not get the job because I did not know 3 phase motors. How long do you think it would have taken me to learn 3 phase, and there would have been so much more I could have brought to the table.

I think for companies to find quality help nowdays they need to open their
eyes, take off the blinders and try to see the bigger picture.

I could go on and on but I won't.

I think you're right on the money. The problem with all of the above responses is with the interviewer. They have a hard-on for the one area that they have experience in, and any interviewee who doesn't have quite the grasp on it as they do, it instantly a moron...instead really finding out how motivated and capable that individual is of seeking out information and learning about that subject.

I'd rather hire a motivated, trainable person than a know-it-all.

 

[gclshortt]

Remember this is an interview. Its an opportunity to see if an individual will fit within the organization. Its also an opportunity for the person being interviewed to determine if they could see themselves working with this individual and the company.
It takes at least two to have a conversation, so make it count. Either party can walk away from the table any time they want.

 

[OkiePC]

At my previous job we did a first and second interview test. The first interview, we gave them an electrical schematic with all of the descriptions removed, and we numbered several components. The interviewee simply had to identify the component type (disconnect, relay, fuse, etc.).

You'd be surprised how many people with very impressive resumes failed this test miserably. One had PLC programming and electrical troubleshooting on his resume and couldn't tell the difference between a relay and a solenoid. He literally looked at the solenoid symbol and said, "....relay?"

If they passed that part, we'd ask them what they think that machine does. It was a dumper, so it was a pretty basic up and down circuit. So we'd pretty much accept any answer that resembled the function of going one direction or the other; lift, dumper, etc.

If they got a second interview, we gave them the panel that the drawing was based from, and put bugs in it. We did things like tape a neutral wire and put it in the terminal so it wouldn't make a connection, take fuses out of fuse holders, disconnect another neutral and hide it in the wire duct, take terminal jumpers out, etc. Only one guy passed it and got it working. Almost everyone else we had to stop so they wouldn't screw it up worse than it was. The guy who passed the test was hired.

I like this. Hands on testing, if possible, is always going to be better than any written thing you can come up with. Someone else mentioned drawing a start stop circuit. I was given a job a couple years back because I could do this. I was told that fifteen people before me drew a blank when asked to draw a simple start stop circuit with a motor contactor.

Sure, paper skills can be important. A person in this type of position needs to be able to record and document the unknown, undocumented or altered things they deal with. A person should have at least rudimentary computer skills in nearly any job in this millennium, but if you hand him a meter and a screwdriver and he/she can't figure out why machine is not making widgets, what real good can they do for you?

My first job in this line of work required paper and hands on testing and the hands on portion was weighted higher than the written part. They were timed too. We had to wire circuits in 45 minutes on test stations and they had to work when the clock tiem ended. Pressure can make or break some folks, get them killed or reveal their skill.