New American Tradesman™Tool
Tradesman Interview Guide
A candidate can sound great in an interview and still be the wrong hire. This framework is built to cut through polish and test what actually predicts whether someone can do the work, on their own, without you standing over them.
The Four Things to Test
- Can they do the work?
- Can they troubleshoot when the obvious answer isn't working?
- Will they work safely?
- Can you trust them to show up and work professionally?
The 30-Minute Structure
- 5 minWork historyWhat they did, what they were responsible for, what tools or systems they used.“Walk me through your work history: what you did, what you were responsible for, what tools or systems you used.”
- 10 minTechnical competencyA real job they diagnosed: what they found, what they tried, how they confirmed the fix worked.Choose a trade below for specific technical recommendations.
- 5 minSafetyA specific time they stopped or changed a job over a safety concern.“Tell me about a specific time you stopped or changed a job because of a safety concern.”
- 5 minReliabilityA specific mistake and what they did afterward.“Tell me about a specific mistake and what you did afterward.”
- 5 minCandidate questionsTime held open for whatever the candidate wants to ask.
Scoring Philosophy
Don't score the candidate on how polished the answer sounds. Score whether they can provide specific, credible details about what they actually did.
Pick a Trade
Each trade page adds role-specific technical questions and red flags on top of the framework above.
Electrician
Technical competency questions, red flags, and a printable worksheet for interviewing electrician candidates, built on the core 30-minute interview framework.
Open Electrician Guide →Plumber
Technical competency questions, red flags, and a printable worksheet for interviewing plumber candidates, built on the core 30-minute interview framework.
Open Plumber Guide →HVAC
Technical competency questions, red flags, and a printable worksheet for interviewing HVAC candidates, built on the core 30-minute interview framework.
Open HVAC Guide →Roofer
Technical competency questions, red flags, and a printable worksheet for interviewing roofer candidates, built on the core 30-minute interview framework.
Open Roofer Guide →General Contractor
Technical competency questions, red flags, and a printable worksheet for interviewing general contractor candidates, built on the core 30-minute interview framework.
Open General Contractor Guide →Landscaper
Technical competency questions, red flags, and a printable worksheet for interviewing landscaper candidates, built on the core 30-minute interview framework.
Open Landscaper Guide →