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Technician Interview Scorecard and Paid Working Interview

Contractor Lane editorial guidance. Reviewed October 12, 2026. Examples are illustrative, not industry benchmarks.

Short answer: score every technician candidate on the same written list, decide in advance what ends an interview, ask questions that force specific answers, and never hire on a resume and a conversation alone. A paid working interview shows you how the person actually works on a real call, with a real customer, in a real truck.

The scorecard

Score each item from 1 to 5 right after the interview, before you talk with anyone else about the candidate. Use the same list for every candidate for the same seat.

• Trade skill for the work this seat will do.
• Service call ability: can they run a call from arrival to payment?
• Sales ability: can they present options and price without pressure or discounting?
• Communication with customers and office staff.
• Coachability: do they take correction without arguing?
• Willingness to follow systems such as the price book, documentation and truck standards.
• Reliability: attendance and follow-through, from references and from how they handled the hiring process.
• Driving record and credentials that the seat requires.
• Fit with the team and the current leader. Can they take direction from whoever runs the field, not just the owner?
• Long-term fit: do they want a path here, and does your path match what they want?

Add the scores, but do not let the total override a very low score on reliability or systems. A gifted technician who will not follow the price book will cost you more than an average one who will.

Automatic stops

Decide these before the interview so you do not talk yourself out of them. Any one ends the process:

• Cannot work within a structure or a written process.
• Blames every previous employer for everything.
• Asks about doing side work for your customers.
• Refuses to sell from a price book or wants to set their own prices.
• Cannot explain a basic service call process from start to finish.
• Does not hold the trade credential or driver's license the seat requires.

Questions that get specific answers

1. Walk me through your last service call from the moment you arrived.
2. Can you run residential service calls on your own? Which kinds of jobs should we not send you to alone yet?
3. Have you sold from a flat-rate price book? How do you present options?
4. A customer says the price is too high. What do you say next?
5. Tell me about a callback on your work. What caused it and what did you change?
6. How do you document a job: photos, notes, materials?
7. Would you rather do service, installs or both? Why?
8. Do you want to lead others someday? What have you taught a helper?
9. What would your last supervisor say you need to improve?
10. What kind of shop do you work best in?

Vague answers such as "I just do good work" are a signal to dig deeper, not a pass. Ask for the last specific example.

The paid working interview

For finalists, set up a working interview of a half day to a day. Components:

• A ride-along on at least one service call, with the candidate leading the customer conversation where appropriate.
• Observation on an install or support job.
• A look at how they keep a truck, tools and work area.
• How they talk with the customer and on the phone with the office.
• Paperwork and photo documentation on the job.

If the candidate does real work, treat the day as paid work: put them on payroll for those hours and make sure your workers' compensation coverage applies. Confirm the setup with your payroll provider or L&I. Do not run unpaid trial shifts. If the candidate cannot find time for the working interview after several offers, treat that as information about reliability.

Washington rules that affect screening

• Criminal history: you may not ask about it, run a background check or otherwise obtain it until after you initially determine the applicant is otherwise qualified. Job ads may not exclude people with criminal records, for example "no felons" (RCW 49.94.010).
• Cannabis: in initial hiring you generally may not reject someone based on off-duty cannabis use, or on a pre-employment test that found only nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites. Exceptions include a safety sensitive position where impairment presents a substantial risk of death, and that position must be identified before the person applies (RCW 49.44.240). If you drug test, have your policy reviewed.
• Pay in postings: employers with 15 or more employees must include the wage scale or salary range and a general description of benefits in each posting (RCW 49.58.110).

These notes are general information, not legal advice. Have your hiring documents reviewed by an employment attorney or HR professional familiar with Washington law.

Reference calls that tell you something

Ask to speak with people who supervised the candidate, not friends or coworkers. Ask specific questions: How often were they late or absent? How did they handle a callback on their own work? Would you hire them again, and for what kind of work? Listen for hesitation. A reference who will only confirm dates is not a bad sign by itself, but it is not a good one either.

Making the decision

Compare scorecards side by side, read the working interview notes and call two references who supervised the candidate. Decide within a few days; strong technicians get other offers. If no candidate clears your bar, keep recruiting rather than lowering it. A bad hire costs more than an open seat, both in money and in the time your best people spend fixing the work.

Next: plan the first three months with the 30-60-90 day plan. If you are hiring office staff instead, use how to hire a CSR.