Define your task first
Equipment connection, cabinet assembly, cable routes and commissioning are different tasks. Give the candidate a brief description so the discussion addresses relevant experience.
Agree essential skills with the technical lead. Clarify documents, working language and site conditions. Assess language in the situations the person will actually face.
Discuss a completed project
Ask about one site: the equipment, assigned work and who accepted the result. Distinguish the candidate’s personal tasks from the team’s overall achievement.
- What equipment did you connect yourself?
- Which drawings and installation plans did you use?
- What did you do independently or under supervision?
- How did you check completed work and record issues?
- Who handled discrepancies in the documentation?
Explore documentation and safety
Discuss how the specialist checks drawing revisions, clarifies unfamiliar symbols and reports a difference between the design and the site. Ask for an example of pausing work to obtain clarification.
A competent technical person should organise practical assessment in safe conditions. Do not ask for dangerous demonstrations or improvisation on a live installation. Agree assessment criteria beforehand and check documents separately.
Avoid a memory test
Do not rely on terminology alone. Ask for the preparation sequence for a familiar task, relevant documents and the process for clarification. Concrete experience is more useful than a general promise.
Group findings into experience supported by examples, skills requiring technical assessment and unfamiliar tasks. This makes comparisons clearer than subjective impressions.
Before the start
- Scope and expected independence.
- Required documents and assessment arrangements.
- Working language and technical contact.
- Induction, access, tools and protective equipment.
- Task assignment and acceptance process.
Agree project arrangements with the recruiter and technical lead before work begins. A suitable person still needs a clear understanding of the actual assignment.
