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General Contractor Interview Guide

What’s Hard to Evaluate in a General Contractor Interview

A GC's core skill isn't swinging a hammer, it's coordination judgment: sequencing trades, catching conflicts before they become expensive, and managing subs and schedule under pressure. That's much harder to fake in a real story than in a resume line.

Print this page for a combined worksheet with this trade’s questions plus the full 30-minute framework: notes lines and a rating scale after every question, ready to fill out by hand during the interview. Use your browser’s print function (Ctrl/Cmd+P) to generate it.

Technical Competency Questions

Walk me through a job where two subs' work conflicted (plumbing vs. framing, electrical vs. HVAC ductwork). How did you catch it and resolve it?

This tests the coordination and sequencing judgment that NASCLA's own exam content (estimating, scheduling, contract management) is built around, not hands-on trade skill.

Tell me about a change order that got contentious. How did you handle it?

Change-order and contract-management competency is a defined, testable skill area, not just "good communication." Listen for whether they protected scope and documentation, not just whether the client stayed happy.

Describe a time a sub fell behind and put your schedule at risk. What did you do?

Tests real project-management response versus passive hoping-it-works-out.

Red Flags

General Contractor Interview Worksheet

Candidate name: Date:

Work History (5 min)

Walk me through your work history: what you did, what you were responsible for, and what tools or systems you used.

Notes:

Rate interviewer response 1–10, 10 being the best12345678910

Technical Competency (10 min) -- Question 1 of 3

Walk me through a job where two subs' work conflicted (plumbing vs. framing, electrical vs. HVAC ductwork). How did you catch it and resolve it?

Notes:

Rate interviewer response 1–10, 10 being the best12345678910

Technical Competency (10 min) -- Question 2 of 3

Tell me about a change order that got contentious. How did you handle it?

Notes:

Rate interviewer response 1–10, 10 being the best12345678910

Technical Competency (10 min) -- Question 3 of 3

Describe a time a sub fell behind and put your schedule at risk. What did you do?

Notes:

Rate interviewer response 1–10, 10 being the best12345678910

Safety (5 min)

Tell me about a specific time you stopped or changed a job because of a safety concern.

Notes:

Rate interviewer response 1–10, 10 being the best12345678910

Reliability (5 min)

Tell me about a specific mistake you made on the job and what you did afterward.

Notes:

Rate interviewer response 1–10, 10 being the best12345678910

Red Flags -- check any that apply

Candidate Questions (5 min)

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