Interview questions?

Hey there guys, I have an interview today at a new shop and I'd like to know what kind of questions I should ask the company. My usual questions are about employee development, ie. training opportunities, higher education assistance, lateral transfers etc. General questions about employee benefits, 401k, health, dental, vision, etc.

As a shop owner/manager/foreman/interviewing supervisor/etc. what kind of questions do you want to hear from the people you interview?

Personally I'm pretty flexible about most things so I don't tend to get into anything specific.

Flash728 said:

Hey there guys, I have an interview today at a new shop and I'd like to know what kind of questions I should ask the company. My usual questions are about employee development, ie. training opportunities, higher education assistance, lateral transfers etc. General questions about employee benefits, 401k, health, dental, vision, etc.

As a shop owner/manager/foreman/interviewing supervisor/etc. what kind of questions do you want to hear from the people you interview?

Personally I'm pretty flexible about most things so I don't tend to get into anything specific.

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i would be more prepared on what they will ask you.
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i went to a mastercam programmer interview and they ask me to hand write a gcode program with pencil and paper and no reference material. i admit to being out of practice and if i even practiced for 10 minutes i would have done ok. unexpected questions can be tricky like
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we run out facemills at 600 sfpm what do you run your facemills at ? i answer depends on depth of cut and length of tool holder and whether part is vibrating and whether roughing or finishing and all i get is blank stare and told we always run same sfpm all the time
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have you ever failed at something and what did you do ?
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just saying many things can be answered given time but when you got 2 people staring at you and are expected to have a instant on the spot answer it often is not as easy to go through job interview. and some answers there is no right or wrong its more what answer they want to hear. for example have you ever failed at something maybe they want to hear
1) you asked for advice
2) researched something and found a answer
..... one is asked for help and other is found answer yourself and maybe one employer values one and different employer values the other. hard to say what answer they want to hear. for example machine wont turn on and you are sure you are pressing correct button. you look in the operator manuals and it says keep pressing button til it turns on
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one person might interpret that as keep pressing and letting go of button and another might interpret as press AND hold button in. you can struggle for long time figuring it out or ask person who in 10 seconds who explains press AND hold button in til machine turn on....... hard to explain. so do they want independent figure it out yourself ability or do they want some one who can ask fellow worker for help as some never talk to other workers but just struggle with their job

There was only one thing I considered a dis-qualifier, when a "Machinist" or even
just a "helper/shop assistant" didn't want to see the shop, or see the
kinds of parts we were working on..

An experienced guy who has been there and done that will still want to see it.
They might not be in awe, but they will usually ask questions.. The college
kids, they'd want to watch a machine run for an hour... And then ask 3000 questions.

A phrase *I* liked to hear "I really want to learn (blank)".. That made me happy...

And NEVER ask the interviewer if they want to smell your finger. Ever!!!

DMF_TomB said:

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i would be more prepared on what they will ask you.
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i went to a mastercam programmer interview and they ask me to hand write a gcode program with pencil and paper and no reference material. i admit to being out of practice and if i even practiced for 10 minutes i would have done ok. unexpected questions can be tricky like
.
we run out facemills at 600 sfpm what do you run your facemills at ? i answer depends on depth of cut and length of tool holder and whether part is vibrating and whether roughing or finishing and all i get is blank stare and told we always run same sfpm all the time
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have you ever failed at something and what did you do ?
.
just saying many things can be answered given time but when you got 2 people staring at you and are expected to have a instant on the spot answer it often is not as easy to go through job interview. and some answers there is no right or wrong its more what answer they want to hear. for example have you ever failed at something maybe they want to hear
1) you asked for advice
2) researched something and found a answer
..... one is asked for help and other is found answer yourself and maybe one employer values one and different employer values the other. hard to say what answer they want to hear

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I understand that, I know the questions I may be asked could be all over the place. And truthfully I'm a bit better than most at answering tough questions like that by just being brutally honest. At my previous job I was asked if I was familiar with GD&T symbols, I responded with, I haven't used them in some time but if I saw them I could recognize them and pick up on them pretty quick, he then showed me a blueprint with a bunch on it and asked me what they were. I gave my best guesses and I was in the right area on all of them so I got the job. My friend who interviewed for the same position responded to that same question with, I have never seen those symbols ever in my life (he had, we went to the same school), and he didn't get the job. In fact the manager told me, why the fuck you sending me people that don't know shit? (as a joke).

But what I'm most interested in is what questions I should ask them, since that's one of the few things I can control in an interview.

Flash728 said:

I understand that, I know the questions I may be asked could be all over the place. And truthfully I'm a bit better than most at answering tough questions like that by just being brutally honest. At my previous job I was asked if I was familiar with GD&T symbols, I responded with, I haven't used them in some time but if I saw them I could recognize them and pick up on them pretty quick, he then showed me a blueprint with a bunch on it and asked me what they were. I gave my best guesses and I was in the right area on all of them so I got the job. My friend who interviewed for the same position responded to that same question with, I have never seen those symbols ever in my life (he had, we went to the same school), and he didn't get the job. In fact the manager told me, why the fuck you sending me people that don't know shit? (as a joke).

But what I'm most interested in is what questions I should ask them, since that's one of the few things I can control in an interview.

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some expect knowing answer without looking at reference material and others are ok using reference materials to look up answer
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i would ask do they have much overtime work available ? and why are they hiring ? if they say they are always looking for good people most would wonder why are they always looking for good people ? are they firing people or are people quitting ??
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wouldnt be first time former employee crashed machine or scrapped a part and got fired and they are looking for replacement that knows answers just by looking and not needing to look stuff up

Bobw said:

There was only one thing I considered a dis-qualifier, when a "Machinist" or even
just a "helper/shop assistant" didn't want to see the shop, or see the
kinds of parts we were working on..

An experienced guy who has been there and done that will still want to see it.
They might not be in awe, but they will usually ask questions.. The college
kids, they'd want to watch a machine run for an hour... And then ask 3000 questions.

A phrase *I* liked to hear "I really want to learn (blank)".. That made me happy...

And NEVER ask the interviewer if they want to smell your finger. Ever!!!

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At my current job I actually received a job offer without an in person interview or a shop tour. So I declined the offer until they could bring me in for a tour. I'm actually quite excited to see their shop floor. I think it'll be pretty epic. And I don't think there is anything I wouldn't like to learn, hence my questions about employee development. I haven't worked anywhere so far where they'll let you cross train on other stuff so you could fill in when needed. But I can see how that would look good on a candidate to be eager to learn more.

And dang that's my closer move, smell my finger, smell that? That's the odor of success.

often during interview you are talking with a boss or the main machine operator who you will directly have to keep happy. that person might be easily pissed off at certain things.
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for example have little patience for people who ask too many questions. they expect when they say jump you will only say how high do you want me to jump SIR !
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for many they demand and expect a show of respect. and little bosses or people who might not appear to be that important might demand far more than expected show of respect

DMF_TomB said:

often during interview you are talking with a boss or the main machine operator who you will directly have to keep happy. that person might be easily pissed off at certain things.
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for example have little patience for people who ask too many questions. they expect when they say jump you will only say how high do you want me to jump SIR !
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for many they demand and expect a show of respect. and little bosses or people who might not appear to be that important might demand far more than expected show of respect

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Good thing my experience in the military prepared me for those kinds of bosses haha

And I call everyone sir or ma'am.

As for asking questions I do tend to ask a lot of questions the first few months of my employment, but that tapers off pretty quickly.

Flash728 said:

Good thing my experience in the military prepared me for those kinds of bosses haha

And I call everyone sir or ma'am.

As for asking questions I do tend to ask a lot of questions the first few months of my employment, but that tapers off pretty quickly.

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1st month training often work side by side with somebody

2nd month start working alone and make a mistake and maybe crash machine. most dangerous time when new guy first starts working alone and nobody there to catch their mistakes
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most employers favor being honest and admitting to crash and asking for help to check if machine is ok rather than employee who hides or dont admit to it and machine runs badly for months til somebody else figures out why machine running badly
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during apprenticeship if i didnt have a pencil and paper or notebook on me to write stuff down i was immediately send to the office to get them. many dont like people asking same questions over and over. or making simple mistakes cause they cant write stuff down to help remember

Flash728 said:

...As a shop owner/manager/foreman/interviewing supervisor/etc. what kind of questions do you want to hear from the people you interview?

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Kind of hard to answer since we don't know what position you are going for or your experience level.

You should ask what their expectations are, and listen to the answer. If there is something in the reply you are unsure of, speak up.

Make it clear- you are there because you want the opportunity, and show up for the interview ready to go to work.

says alot if you come with pad of paper and pencil with a few questions listed to ask and write answers down
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some bosses dont like too many questions. asking what is normal overtime work available is a normal question to ask.
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i have had 2 people at interview and big boss wants to hire cause he dont want to pay 1.5x overtime pay rate and little boss at interview he likes overtime pay and is looking to find fault or reason NOT to hire more people
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just saying be aware not everybody got same priorities

If asked about anything that requires thought to be correct and close is fail then simply state that you need to consider then react and answer.

Broad statement but example here with made up stuff...we are not a pro but you interviewer may be desk driver with a list of questions, example is to determine how to answer such not relevant or bad questions.

Once was given a skills test listing possibilities for a symptom and none of the possibilities would cause it and a couple were not possible.

If asked about heat load into material caused by some set of parameters and how that head load would effect the accuracy of the finished part you can "return fire" by asking valid and specific questions that would help determine this, type of coolant and flow rate or many other "fine detail" type of questions.

This shows your general knowledge of all of those parameters even if the question is bogus you can use it.

Remember they are checking your personal skills so a bogus question may be more to test your personal skills in how you feel with the B.S. sample given.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

guest said:

Kind of hard to answer since we don't know what position you are going for or your experience level.

You should ask what their expectations are, and listen to the answer. If there is something in the reply you are unsure of, speak up.

Make it clear- you are there because you want the opportunity, and show up for the interview ready to go to work.

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The position I'm applying for is listed as set up person.
I have 3 years of experience in set up, light programming, and operating mostly lathes although I'm currently working with a portable CNC mill which is a nightmare. (hence why I'm leaving soon)

DMF_TomB said:

says alot if you come with pad of paper and pencil with a few questions listed to ask and write answers down
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some bosses dont like too many questions. asking what is normal overtime work available is a normal question to ask.
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i have had 2 people at interview and big boss wants to hire cause he dont want to pay 1.5x overtime pay rate and little boss at interview he likes overtime pay and is looking to find fault or reason NOT to hire more people
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just saying be aware not everybody got same priorities

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This will be my first interview of my latest job search.
I don't mind overtime, I'll do it if it's neccessary but I'm not entirely a fan because of how much I get taxed when doing so. When I was making $15/hr I worked 20 extra hours on my 2 week check, so I was expecting an extra $400-ish in my paycheck. But what I ended up getting was just $200 over my usual 80hr paycheck. But making more per hour I think would lessen that. idk

Flash728 said:

Hey there guys, I have an interview today at a new shop and I'd like to know what kind of questions I should ask the company. My usual questions are about employee development, ie. training opportunities, higher education assistance, lateral transfers etc. General questions about employee benefits, 401k, health, dental, vision, etc.

As a shop owner/manager/foreman/interviewing supervisor/etc. what kind of questions do you want to hear from the people you interview?

Personally I'm pretty flexible about most things so I don't tend to get into anything specific.

Click to expand...

First off things here are probably very different as possible question like healthcare, sick leave and vacation time are regulated by law. I can't imagine them being "popular" questions at a job interview in the USA if you want the job.

I asked my wife who is a HR manager and got a long pause before I repeated the question.

The answer I finally got, after much thought was, "Tasks to be expected and Responsibility". What also is normal here is that you get a contract before starting so you can see what you are letting yourself in for.

What some also ask here, and it isn't regarded as negative is "What about extra education and attending exhibitions?" Companies that do that foot the bill here.

Flash728 said:

... I'd like to know what kind of questions I should ask the company. My usual questions are about employee development, ie. training opportunities, higher education assistance, lateral transfers etc. General questions about employee benefits, 401k, health, dental, vision, etc. ...

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I would be very off put to have those questions asked of me in your first interview.

Gordon B. Clarke said:

First off things here are probably very different as possible question like healthcare, sick leave and vacation time are regulated by law. I can't imagine them being "popular" questions at a job interview in the USA if you want the job.

I asked my wife who is a HR manager and got a long pause before I repeated the question.

The answer I finally got, after much thought was, "Tasks to be expected and Responsibility". What also is normal here is that you get a contract before starting so you can see what you are letting yourself in for.

What some also ask here, and it isn't regarded as negative is "What about extra education and attending exhibitions?" Companies that do that foot the bill here.

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Here in California/USA most of those have mandatory minimums that are required by law, although a company is free to offer you more. If they offer more then that's a good sign that the company is very mindful of their employees and might be worth making a lower salary offer to secure the position. I always ask about extra training and education because I would like to grow as an employee rather than just settle for the "easy money".

Yan Wo said:

I would be very off put to have those questions asked of me in your first interview.

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Why's that? An employee that's interested in being trained further, or is asking for higher education would be a benefit to your organization? Asking about lateral transfers, in my opinion, means that the candidate is willing to be flexible within your organization and possibly fill a position they're probably better for rather than be miserable and quit if they don't like it.

As for the rest of the benefits, I value my time as you probably value yours. If I interview at a company and I ask about their benefits and they say, "We ain't got none, you should be happy you've got a job" then I'd just leave because they clearly don't value their employees. So if asking about employee benefits near the end of the interview rustles your jimmies, then maybe you aren't the boss for me, there are plenty of machinist jobs out there. I just can't imagine what someone with that attitude would do if someone tried to negotiate their salary. The audacity! /jokes

On a more serious note, if anything my question about those would more be if they offer them in general. Because like I mentioned up in the previous quote, if they don't offer health, vision, dental, then I'll ask for more money to compensate for the fact that I'll have to spend my own money for the full amount of coverage. As for 401k, I don't really care for them because I keep my own Roth IRA. I try not to rely too heavily on the company benefits anyway.

Flash728 said:

Here in California/USA most of those have mandatory minimums that are required by law, although a company is free to offer you more. If they offer more then that's a good sign that the company is very mindful of their employees and might be worth making a lower salary offer to secure the position. I always ask about extra training and education because I would like to grow as an employee rather than just settle for the "easy money".

Why's that? An employee that's interested in being trained further, or is asking for higher education would be a benefit to your organization? Asking about lateral transfers, in my opinion, means that the candidate is willing to be flexible within your organization and possibly fill a position they're probably better for rather than be miserable and quit if they don't like it.

As for the rest of the benefits, I value my time as you probably value yours. If I interview at a company and I ask about their benefits and they say, "We ain't got none, you should be happy you've got a job" then I'd just leave because they clearly don't value their employees. So if asking about employee benefits near the end of the interview rustles your jimmies, then maybe you aren't the boss for me, there are plenty of machinist jobs out there. I just can't imagine what someone with that attitude would do if someone tried to negotiate their salary. The audacity! /jokes

On a more serious note, if anything my question about those would more be if they offer them in general. Because like I mentioned up in the previous quote, if they don't offer health, vision, dental, then I'll ask for more money to compensate for the fact that I'll have to spend my own money for the full amount of coverage. As for 401k, I don't really care for them because I keep my own Roth IRA. I try not to rely too heavily on the company benefits anyway.

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"... might be worth making a lower salary offer to secure the position."

If the company is looking for cheap then that's a good approach. I'd imagine any worthwhile company would know what they were willing to pay. You don't tell them how little you'd be willing to start for, you ask them what the job is worth. The amount they state should just about tell you everything you need to know.

The questions you seem to be thinking about shouldn't need to be asked. The company should give you that type of information as part of the interview. If that isn't normal then "over there" is very different to "over here".

Flash728 said:

As for 401k, I don't really care for them because I keep my own Roth IRA.

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This is WAY off topic, and not what you asked about, but you may want to rethink that decision. There are a lot of tax benefits to a 401k.

It's easy to think that they are a wash, or that a Roth is better (because the gains don't get taxed), and if the tax rate was a flat percentage, that would be true. However, the tax rate isn't flat, and you have a standard deduction to figure as well.

As such, a 401k, with it's tax deferred status means that whatever amount you contribute this year comes off your income this year (taking away dollars from your HIGHEST tax rate).

In retirement, go to spend them, and they start filling in at your LOWEST tax rate. Standard deduction means the first $6-12k is not even taxed at all. Once you fill in the lower brackets, then start pulling from your Roth.

Saving taxes on my highest rate now, to have to pay them at the lowest later? No brainer.

Is a Roth or a 401 better? I'll take a mix of BOTH.

Tony's response made me think of a friend of my that got relocated due to his wife's job.

He was interviewing for a Civil Engineering job for the local county. The interviewer asked a bunch of specific questions about material properties and concrete compositions to which my friend didn't know the answers for. He admitted to the interviewer that he didn't know the answers but when he got home after the interview he looked up the answers and emailed them to the guy that interviewed him.

He ended up getting the job over more qualified candidates because as the interviewer told him "I can sell "I don't know let me look it up." but I can't do anything with a off the cuff guess."

Gordon B. Clarke said:

"... might be worth making a lower salary offer to secure the position."

If the company is looking for cheap then that's a good approach. I'd imagine any worthwhile company would know what they were willing to pay. You don't tell them how little you'd be willing to start for, you ask them what the job is worth. The amount they state should just about tell you everything you need to know.

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Sadly not every employer posts their salary range on the job posting, or just put that it depends on experience (DOE) as the one I'm interviewing for today says.

In comparison to most of you I'm considered entry level. In fact my interview today is for a position that requires a minimum of 2 years of experience. So while I'm currently thinking of asking for $19.50/hr if they have some really good benefits I might ask for $18/hr. Just as an example