Common Construction Job Interview Questions

Normally, construction job interview questions break down into a couple of categories.

One category includes questions which are intended to show the interviewer how you work, and what kind of working conditions you enjoy. Some examples of these kinds of job interview questions include: “How well do you work with a team?” “How do you deal with conflict in construction job sites?” “What are you looking for from a construction job?” “What are your long range career goals?” “Tell us about a difficult situation in your last job in a construction project and how you deal with it.” “What kind of hours/salary/benefits do you look for in a job?”

The interviewer will also ask job interview questions which are designed to open a window into your personality. These questions can be deal breakers, since they determine whether or not you will fit in with other employees. An interviewer might ask: “What would your former coworkers or bosses say about you?” “What’s your favorite book?” “What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses?” “How do you handle mistakes?”

Other questions are intended to directly probe your work experience. An interviewer will ask about previous relevant employment, along with your experiences in other workplaces. If you have been fired from a job, you will need to disclose this, but if you think about the answer, you can turn it to your advantage. Don’t say “I left construction company X because I was fired,” say “my supervisor decided that I was not a good fit with that company, but I think that certain traits would help me fit in really well with you,” and enumerate those traits.

Most employers also want to see how much you know about them. Read up on the companies you interview with so that you can answer questions about what the company does, people on the staff, and what you want to do with that company. You should also impress your interviewer with your desire for the position; if you are applying for other positions, try to minimize this fact, focusing on why working for the interviewer’s company is your goal.

Finally, one of the most common construction job interview questions is “Do you have any questions for me?” This question is not an invitation to haggle about salary, benefits, or working hours, but it is a chance to impress the interviewer with your interest in the position. You could make yourself memorable by asking a distinctive question, or you could pose a question about the direction of the company’s future or goals.