Heavy Equipment Operator Interview Questions and Tips

So you have your heavy equipment operator training under your belt, your certification diploma now hangs on your wall, and the phone calls are coming in requesting an interview. You are ready to work on site and take on some of the monster toys you have been working so hard to play with. Next comes the moment of truth – the heavy equipment operator job interview. A job interview can be intimidating and can determine the difference between a great job and mundane one. However it does not have to be that bad.

Many companies will hire on the spot since the demand is so great for heavy equipment operators. None the less, this is a chance for you to meet the team/company and a chance for the prospective employer to meet you. Being well-prepared for the interview and its questions can arm you with getting the best offer you are worth. Below are some tips and sample questions that have accumulated specifically to heavy equipment operators. The day of the interview, wear nice dress slacks with a nice shirt, tie optional.

5 General Tips to Always Remember During the Interview:

1. Never Lie. Always tell the truth. Make sure your resume does not include lies either. They want to know why they should hire you and how you can benefit their operations.

2. Be Confident and Positive. The interviewer will not be confident in you unless you exhibit confidence in yourself. They want to see positive can-do attitudes.

3. Sit up and Stand Straight. Don’t slouch or seem unnaturally stiff. Just sit straight up with good posture.

4. Smile. Smiling will relieve some of the stress and allow you to be more personable with the interviewer.

5. Be Respectful and Courteous. The interviewer may be viewing your every move as generally they are signs of your behavior and attitude. Since you have already gained an interview opportunity, they have already expressed interest in your capabilities and experiences/education.

They are not allowed to ask personal privacy rights questions. Most interviewers are aware of this. They can not discriminate or ask about age, gender, or race. Do not get too personal, and remember to be positive.

Questions that Seem to Come Up during a Heavy Equipment Operator Interview

Common in the construction industry, interviewers will ask behavioral type questions such as the following:

What is your greatest personal achievement?

Where do you see yourself in five/ten years?

What is your favorite color?

What is your worst quality?

What are your strengths/weaknesses?

Do you have any questions for us? Always answer this. Do not say you don’t have any questions. Ask about the company history, the size of the company, who you are replacing, anything about the position. Basically you want to show them that you are equally interested.

Remember you want to show that you are positive and will be a great asset to their operations. Always lead back to this and you should do fine. Be confident and well-prepared and you will soon be part of a team. Have fun with the monster toys!

About the Author

Heavy Equipment Operator Interview Questions and Tips made possible by Monster Toys.

Two Person Heavy Videos

Rescue "8" Descender Part 2 "How to Rig for Heavy Loads"

There Was a Child Went Forth by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

Two Person Heavy Q&A

If a person were to lie supine on a board and two other people lifted the board is there a heavier end?

I am a paramedic and I lift people on a 7ft x 2ft 130lbs cot with a partner. Some of my partners insist there is a hevier end (the head) when a patient is on the cot. Because we lift the cot multiple time with each patient (4-6x), I am able to lift both at the head and foot and find no noticable difference. Most patient weigh at least 200lbs ranging all the way up to 600lbs.

If there are two peolpe lifting a board at two ends does moving the weight on the board make one end heavier than the other? Assume both people lifting with approx the same force and are approx the same height. Also try to visualize patients who have a higher BMI so the weight is not always as evenly distrubuted as people with a lower BMI.

If there is a difference in patients who have a much greater bulk and the head end of the cot, would sitting them up so the weight is more in the middle help even out the weight distribution?

As a fellow Paramedic, I have heard this too.. Personally I don't believe it. In fact as far as physics go it does not make sense.

What is your favorite band or grou, that most people have not heard before, but should!!?

If you have never heard of a band called OURS you must check them out!! distorted lullabies is great!! Give them a chance, Jimmy Gnecco's Vocals are unrivaled... heavy and dark at times with vocals so pure it can resonate into your soul!!

Also Check out Jackie Greene, American Myth is Awesome Album, rockish almost bordering on rolling stones, great music!!

The greatest ever is easily Jeff Buckley, if you never heard of him you are the luckiest person on earth to hear him for the first time..!!! Stop what your doing right now, go buy Grace and sketches for my sweetheart the drunk.. two albums that came from heaven.. Im serious!!

Leave your comments and lets share in some music together!!

peace, love and rock and roll!

Jeff Buckley is WOW.......no words to describe him......he's only really known as that guy who did the version of Hallelujah that is so haunting. This guy had a great voice with so much depth and emotion and power. His music was amazing.....its a shame that many don't know who he is. Beginners to Jeff might want to pick up So Real or Grace (a masterpiece)....doesn't really matter since 8 out of the 10 tracks on Grace appear on So Real. Live at Sin-e and Live at L'Olympia are definite acquisitions for Buckley lovers.

Sooo.......back on track......Dramagods is a band I definitely recommend. They're huge in Japan. I was introduced to them via Nuno Bettencourt......the lead guitarist/vocalist for the band, also guitarist from Extreme (of "More Than Words" fame). Man, the musicality and talent of this band blows me away. Their cd Love is available on iTunes......and that's pretty much the only place you can get it.....unless you want to pay an obscene amount for an imported copy.

William Elliott Whitmore is another great artist in which many do not know about......I had the pleasure to meet and see him in March when he opened up for the Pogues. Listening to him, he has a Johnny Cash/Tom Waits sound, its bluegrass/soul......great music. He sounds like a 60 year old broken man who in all reality is a handsome 20 something. His albums (Hymn of the Hopeless, Songs of the Blackbird, Ashes to Dust) are full of emotion that just reach into your core............man, good stuff