New hire interview questions

SeanKroll

Treehouser
Joined
Oct 13, 2016
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Location
Olympia, WA
What are good questions for screening employees, particularly rookie groundies/ experienced groundies/ experienced climbers?

How do you suss out things like physical fitness and aptitudes?

I was thinking of a past application is had for a prospective job that had self-ratings, 1-10, on various skills.
As applicable to groundworkers:

chainsaw skills, 1-10, add details
knot skills, 1-10, add details
chipping experience, 1-10...
mini-loader...
driving trucks...
hitching trailers...
communication...
 
I ask for resumes and a cover letter through email, no calls. If they can't do that to start, they're out. Next step is a full day, working interview. See what they got, then yea or nay.
 
Christ Sean, you can overthink stuff. You really love forms!

Here's my interview technique.

Come along Monday, let's see how it goes.
 
I sniff them to see if they smoke tobacco and ask if they are allergic to dogs.
If they look fit, they get a one week trial.
 
What are good questions for screening employees, particularly rookie groundies/ experienced groundies/ experienced climbers?

I was thinking of a past application is had for a prospective job that had self-ratings, 1-10, on various skills.
As applicable to groundworkers:

chainsaw skills, 1-10 .................... 9
knot skills, 1-10, ................... 9
chipping experience, 1-10 .............. 10
mini-loader... ............... 0
driving trucks... ............... 9
hitching trailers.................. 9
communication... ............... 8

A fun quiz to take.

I hired a guy once because he was bowed up and could do a backflip.

What is bowed up and how did he work out?

I sniff them to see if they smoke tobacco and ask if they are allergic to dogs.
If they look fit, they get a one week trial.

Literally the 'sniff test', gotta love it.
 
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  • #8
Maybe so, Mick. I'd rather see if they can fill out a form, and do the leg work for me.

I get so many plain responses that I have to waste time again and again asking for elaboration, examples, details.

I've had a guy show up for storm work fill in who was doing physical therapy 6 times a day for a broken spine. He wanted to be able to do the job. I didn't remember to ask, and he forgot to volunteer that info.
Water off my time.
 
What is bowed up and how did he work out?

He lasted about 6 months then went back to work on the river.

Bowed-up means he had muscles. Full blooded Polack, born in Poland.

He eventually hung himself, no idea why.

RIP, Damien.
 

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Wow, he almost looks like that famous, crazy guy with the one Popeye arm.

RIP
 
I don't know why it looks so small in that pic.

Meh. He was a stout 'lil Polack. He lived with his parents, who could barely speak English.
 
I have always done a one day trial to see if they fit in and are capable. My expectations are lowering rapidly.

I had a grad student try out and I asked him how much fuel was in the chipper, it has a sight tube run up the side of the tank. He said he couldn't figure out how to read it??

The last guy we let go had zero concept of danger. He would stand directly under a 4000lbs pick as it was cut, I asked him to back up and he literally backed up 3 steps.....

Looked at a TreeMek ??
 
I had a grad student try out and I asked him how much fuel was in the chipper, it has a sight tube run up the side of the tank. He said he couldn't figure out how to read it??

That is one for the record books.
 
I get this with fuel cans for equipment.
I ask... How much fuel is left in the can after you top off the Dingo? or whatnot......
Now, there are increments on most of our cans... You would think.....
 
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Me: How low is the oil?
Him: 1/4" on the dipstick
Me: (thought to myself, I measure boards in 1/4" measurements, or a 1-quart cross-hatched dipstick area in 1/4s.) How much oil do you think it needs, considering that its on a slope?
Him: 2 quarts.
Me: Ummm.





This new guy has about 15 jobs groundman jobs in the Bay area under his belt, of varying sizes, with Valley Tree Service in Woodacre CA. The company website shows some big crane removals and such. We'll see.






More than interview questions, it would be interesting to hear your recruiting approaches and avenues overall.
 
I don't know about you but we have had some doosies apply over the years. First question to a climber is "What's your favorite knot? No answer, no job. Or, the guy that answered "square knot", he didn't get employed. Our favorite though was a quick field test outside to put on spikes. HAHAHA he put them on with the spikes on the outside. Still makes me laugh.
 
Ah the old "in the presence of a hottie" test.
I ask if they can read?
One of my subs has a guy that asked me if he could put a 24" bar on a saw if he needed a bigger bar but the saw already has a 28" bar on it. The guy is a little dumb but has a strong back so he drags brush.
 
Before I let any of the newbs work with me I ask them to solve one simple problem... "I need four gallons of water measured out but I only have a three and a five gallon bucket, explain how to measure it." I don't ask to see how dumb they are but how lazy.
 
Before I let any of the newbs work with me I ask them to solve one simple problem... "I need four gallons of water measured out but I only have a three and a five gallon bucket, explain how to measure it." I don't ask to see how dumb they are but how lazy.

Interesting use of the brain teaser.
 
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