Top Interview Questions to Ask Construction Candidates

Hiring quality construction candidates is vital for ensuring your projects are completed on time and on budget, with minimal disruptions. While a job application can help you screen candidates for skills and experience, it won’t tell you how the person applies their abilities, behaves on the job site or how reliable they are. Even referrals and on-the-job trials cannot guarantee success, and since not all construction roles require CVs, recruiting the right people can often be a challenge.

So, how can you ensure you’re hiring a qualified candidate? By asking the right questions during the interview.

How to hire the best construction workers

To help you with your interview preparation, we have put together a list of the top interview questions to ask construction candidates that will help you hire better talent, regardless of whether you need casual labourers or skilled managers to drive outcomes in your next construction project.

Interview Questions for Construction Workers

If you want to hire the best construction workers, you need to look for people who are reliable, hardworking and who have the skills to adapt to problems and changing conditions on site. These common interview questions for construction workers will help you find the right fit for your needs.

Can you describe the construction projects you have worked on in the past?
How do you ensure that the sites you work on are safe for you and those around you?
What would you do if you saw a colleague working in an unsafe way?
Have you ever made a suggestion on the job that was implemented?
Describe a situation where you disagreed with a supervisor or co-worker on a job site. How did you handle it?
Have you ever been injured on the job? What happened? What would you do differently to prevent it from happening again?
What is on your checklist to ensure you are ready to leave the job site at the end of the day?
Have you ever worked in a team where someone hasn’t turned up for work and your team was unable to complete the project? What happened and how did you feel about it?
What does the term reliability mean to you?

Interview Questions for Construction Site Supervisors

When considering how to hire a Construction Site Manager, it’s important to look not only at technical skills but soft skills as well. Ask construction interview questions that will help you find out more about the candidate’s leadership abilities, interpersonal skills and organisational skills, in addition to questions about technical requirements.

Describe your competency with reading and interpreting blueprints.
What would you do if the workers on your site were not using the necessary safety equipment?
How do you measure your success as a supervisor?
How do you keep workers motivated when on a job site?
Have you ever experienced conflict with a worker on your team? How did you respond?
Tell me about a time when you encountered a major obstacle during a project. What steps did you take to overcome it?
How do you prioritise and delegate tasks with competing deadlines?
Do you enjoy teaching new concepts and helping others develop their skills?
Most workers indicate that they prefer a manager/supervisor to lead by example, are you prepared to work on the tools and work in with your team regularly?

Interview Questions for Project Managers

Asking the right interview questions for Construction Project Managers will help you identify the right person for the role, ensuring your project stays on track. When interviewing a Project Manager, remember to consider the traits of your ideal candidate, focus on past results and ask follow-up questions to gain further information where needed. Find out if they have the experience and the hard skills required by asking role-specific questions and evaluate their soft skills through situational and behavioural interview questions.

If a project is behind schedule or overruns in cost, how do you address the situation?
What do you consider when structuring a team for a project?
Describe a common problem you have faced while managing a construction project. How did you resolve it?
How do you stay updated on a project’s progress? Do you rely on reports or visit the site yourself?
How do you determine if a construction project is well-executed? What do you look for in terms of quality control?
Have you ever had a conflict with a client and how did you diffuse the situation?
Describe a time when you had multiple projects to complete at once. How did you prioritise them?
Which project management tools are you familiar with and which ones do you prefer?

Get Specialist Construction Recruitment Support in New Zealand

When it comes to recruiting construction workers you can rely on, having a market specialist to guide you through the process can minimise the hassle and stress of tasks such as interviewing construction candidates while helping you secure the right people for your business.

The OneStaff team can provide you with interview tips, recruitment advice and practical support with hiring the best construction workers on the New Zealand market. Get in touch with your local branch today to find out more about our construction recruitment services.