Finding a qualified maintenance technician is no easy feat! A maintenance technician is responsible for the installation, repair, and maintenance of production equipment and facilities. They play a key role in ensuring that the manufacturing process runs smoothly. While their daily responsibilities may vary by company and industry, maintenance technicians should always be excellent problem solvers and exercise regular safety precautions.
To lend you a helping hand in the hiring process, we’ve compiled the best maintenance technician interview questions for your convenience as well as explained the maintenance technician role for better context.
What a Maintenance Technician Does
Maintenance technicians are responsible for ensuring that machines and equipment are kept in good working condition. They may be tasked with repairing or replacing broken parts, cleaning and lubricating machines, and checking the quality of output. To qualify for this role, the candidate should have strong mechanical skills and a good understanding of how machines work. They must also be comfortable working with tools and can follow written instructions.
Skills a Maintenance Technician Needs To Have
Successfully hiring the right maintenance technician depends on what you are looking for during the sourcing and recruitment process, so your interview questions should be veered toward seeing if the candidate has the following skills:
- Excellent hand/eye coordination
- Good with tools and machines
- Knowledge of how machines work
- Understanding of written instructions
- Strong mechanical skills
- Critical thinking skills
Ensure that your prospective maintenance technician can communicate well, both orally and written. In this position there is regular contact with the plant manager and other technicians regarding what needs to be done and what was completed. They should also have good math skills, as the role will involve a lot of measurements and calculations based on what the equipment requires. The ability to multitask is essential as there might be several things going on during one maintenance session.
Experience working in a factory or shop is required because it deals with heavy machinery, which could weigh thousands or tons, so someone who has experience dealing with these types of projects would be best suited. Finally, good leadership skills are a huge plus, as they might end up leading a team of technicians in the future.
Top Maintenance Technician Interview Questions
There are simple questions that can be asked during an interview for this position which will provide insight into the candidate’s motivations, personality, and capabilities.
What is the most challenging maintenance problem you have solved?
What are your candidate’s strengths and weaknesses on the job? How did they address a challenging problem that they never solved before? This question provides fantastic responses on how your next potential maintenance technician addresses challenging workplaces. In addition, it provides great insight into what their strengths and weaknesses are.
If several machines break down, which one would you troubleshoot first?
How does your candidate prioritize their work schedule? How does your candidate diagnose and solve problems? This question is a great way to understand how your job seeker processes challenging issues. This is also one of our favorite maintenance technician interview questions because it allows candidates to demonstrate their time management and planning abilities.
Describe some of the equipment or facilities you’ve worked on in the past.
This question is a great way to evaluate your candidate’s previous experience and background. Do they have the knowledge and skills necessary to complete the job? Individuals have the opportunity to talk in-depth about their experiences in maintaining different forms of equipment or facilities they have previously worked with in the past. Use their response to determine if they would be the right fit for your company.
How do you stay safe on the job?
Does your maintenance technician have the proper licensing and certifications for their role? Maintenance technicians are often in risky and dangerous work environments, especially if they do not take the necessary safety precautions. These qualifications can vary by state, so make sure your candidate has the certifications necessary to work at your facility. This question also gives candidates the chance to show off their knowledge and practice of safety regulations and practice.
What steps do you take to troubleshoot equipment?
How does your candidate solve a problem? How do they decide what steps they will take to troubleshoot equipment? Does their process vary by machine? Their answers to this question can demonstrate their planning skills and judgment calls on how they decide to approach a broken piece of equipment. Candidates can demonstrate their safety knowledge application, as well as their equipment repair knowledge.
Tell me about what you did last time you had to deal with something that was broken.
How passionate the candidate is about their job will shine through here. As much detail should be provided on what happened without sounding too negative or positive. The more information shared indicates how involved the person is and how much they care about solving problems at work.
What would you do if you encountered something that you have never seen before?
This question tests problem-solving skills, as well as how proactive the person is. A wrong answer could lead to disastrous consequences, so it is important to see what kind of strategies the candidate has up their sleeve.
What is something you have learned recently that has helped you with your work beyond what was taught in school?
Experience trumps education. Those who have been working in the field for a bit longer will know what to do in various situations. This is a unique maintenance technician interview question that gives the candidate the chance to show how they use their experiences to continue learning beyond their higher education.
Hire the Best Maintenance Technician Through TruPath
It is crucial to hire someone who can communicate effectively and can take the initiative as this position requires a lot of multi-tasking. Even more, they must be attentive problem-solvers and an appropriate culture fit.
TruPath has the team and the resources to connect you with a highly-skilled maintenance technician who also has the right mindset and attitude. With 17 years of experience, TruPath looks beyond the resume to find candidates that are a cultural fit. Successfully filling over 16,000 roles, TruPath is a cost-effective and efficient way to find qualified maintenance technicians.