Common electrician interview questions
For qualified electricians, improvers and apprentices in domestic, commercial and industrial work. The questions you are likely to get, and how to answer them.
- 12 common questions
- What they want to hear
- What to avoid
What an electrician interview is like
Electrician interviews are usually practical and to the point. Expect questions about your qualifications and ECS card, the kind of work you have done, how you work safely and how you test and certify. Some contractors add a trade test or practical assessment, such as wiring a circuit, finding a fault or talking through safe isolation, and many ask you to bring your cards and certificates.
Have your qualifications ready to show, and be able to talk through jobs you have done from start to finish. For domestic work, expect questions about customers and tidiness as well as technical ones. For site work, safety and working alongside other trades matter.
The answers below are structures with made-up detail, to show the shape of a good answer. Use your own real examples and your own words.
Electrician interview questions and answers
Questions marked STAR want a real example: the situation, your task, the action you took and the result. For the others, follow the steps. Keep each answer to about two minutes.
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Opening
Talk me through your experience and the type of work you do.
What they want to hear
A clear picture of your qualifications, your ECS card and the range of your work: domestic, commercial or industrial, installation, testing or maintenance.
Avoid
Overstating your card or qualifications. They will check them.
How to answer
- Start with
- Your qualifications and card, for example your Level 3, AM2, 18th Edition and your ECS card grade.
- Then
- The work you do most, with an example of a recent job.
- Finish with
- Why this contractor or this kind of work appeals to you.
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Safety
Talk me through how you carry out safe isolation.
What they want to hear
That you follow a safe isolation procedure every time, step by step, with no shortcuts. This question is very common, and a vague answer is a warning sign.
Avoid
Skipping the step of proving your tester before and after, or suggesting you sometimes work live to save time.
How to answer
- First
- Identify the circuit, get permission where needed and isolate it.
- Then
- Lock off and label it, keep the key on you, and prove your approved voltage indicator on a known live source or a proving unit.
- Finish with
- Test that the circuit is dead, then prove your voltage indicator again before you start work.
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Regulations
How do you keep up to date with the wiring regulations?
What they want to hear
That you know the current edition of BS 7671 and keep up with amendments, through courses, IET guidance, your employer or your scheme.
Avoid
Getting details wrong to sound confident. If you aren’t sure of a regulation, say how you would check it.
How to answer
- Start with
- When you took your 18th Edition qualification, and any update training since.
- Then
- How you keep up: the On-Site Guide, IET guidance, toolbox talks or your competent person scheme.
- Give an example
- A recent change that affects how you work, such as the requirements for RCD or surge protection.
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Fault findingSTAR
Tell me about a fault that took some finding.
What they want to hear
A logical, safe approach to fault finding, and that you test and certify the work after the fix.
Avoid
A story where you replaced parts until the problem went away.
An example answer, with STAR
- Situation
- A kitchen circuit in a customer’s home kept tripping, and another firm had already replaced the RCD.
- Task
- You needed to find the real cause.
- Action
- You isolated the circuit, tested each section and appliance in turn and found a damaged cable behind a fitted unit.
- Result
- You repaired it, retested and certified the work, and the customer has since called you back for other jobs.
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Testing
Talk me through your approach to inspection and testing.
What they want to hear
For roles that include testing: that you know the order of tests, record results properly and can code observations correctly on an EICR.
Avoid
Rushing the visual inspection, or anything that suggests copying readings from an old certificate.
How to answer
- Start with
- Your testing qualification, such as C&G 2391, and the test equipment you use.
- Then
- The order: a thorough visual inspection first, then dead tests such as continuity and insulation resistance, then live tests such as earth fault loop impedance and RCD tests.
- Finish with
- How you record results, decide on observation codes and explain them to the client.
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Scenario
What would you do if a customer asked for work that wouldn’t meet the regulations?
What they want to hear
That you put safety and compliance first, and explain it politely so you keep the customer’s trust.
Avoid
Agreeing to cut corners to keep the customer happy, or lecturing them.
How to answer
- First
- Explain calmly, in plain language, why it isn’t safe or compliant.
- Then
- Offer a compliant option and what it would mean for time and cost.
- Finish with
- If they still want the unsafe version, decline that part of the work and make a note of it.
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CustomerSTAR
Tell me about a time you dealt with an unhappy customer.
What they want to hear
For domestic work especially: clear communication, respect for people’s homes and honesty when things go wrong.
Avoid
Blaming the customer or the supplier, or saying complaints are the office’s job.
An example answer, with STAR
- Situation
- A customer was upset that a rewire was running a day late because a delivery hadn’t arrived.
- Task
- You needed to calm things down and keep the job on track.
- Action
- You explained the delay honestly, rearranged the work so the kitchen could be used that evening and updated them each morning.
- Result
- The job finished a day late, but the customer was happy and recommended you to a neighbour.
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Site safety
How do you keep yourself and others safe on site?
What they want to hear
That you follow the RAMS, wear the right PPE, use access equipment properly and look out for other trades.
Avoid
Treating safety as paperwork, or saying you have never seen anything unsafe on a site.
How to answer
- Start with
- Reading and signing the RAMS, and the site induction.
- Then
- Your tickets, such as IPAF or PASMA, and how you use ladders, towers and other access equipment safely.
- Finish with
- An example of stopping work or reporting something unsafe.
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ExperienceSTAR
Tell me about a job you planned and ran yourself.
What they want to hear
For experienced electricians: that you can plan, order materials, work to drawings and coordinate with other trades.
Avoid
Leaving out the problems. Interviewers want to hear how you handled the parts that didn’t go to plan.
An example answer, with STAR
- Situation
- A small office fit-out with new lighting, power and data points.
- Task
- You were given the job to run, with one apprentice.
- Action
- You checked the drawings, ordered materials, agreed the order of work with the joiners and kept the apprentice on first fix while you set out the boards.
- Result
- It was finished and certified on time, and the contractor gave you the next fit-out.
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Teamwork
How do you support an apprentice or improver?
What they want to hear
That you supervise safely, explain the why as well as the how, and give apprentices real work at the right level.
Avoid
Treating apprentices as labourers only.
How to answer
- Start with
- How you find out what they already know.
- Then
- How you give them tasks they can manage, supervise them and explain your reasons.
- Finish with
- How you check their work and help them prepare for assessments such as the AM2.
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Practical
Are you happy to travel, work away or do overtime?
What they want to hear
An honest, clear answer about the hours, travel and call-outs you can do. Contractors plan their jobs around it.
Avoid
Saying yes to everything and then turning work down later.
How to answer
- Say
- What you can do: how far you will travel, and whether you can work away, do weekends or cover call-outs.
- Then
- The practical details: your driving licence, and whether you have your own tools and van.
- Finish with
- Any limits, stated plainly.
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Motivation
Where do you want your career to go next?
What they want to hear
That you want to keep developing, for example in testing and inspection, EV chargers, solar PV or supervising, and that this role helps.
Avoid
Saying you plan to go self-employed as soon as you can, when you are applying for an employed role.
How to answer
- Start with
- The area you want to grow in.
- Then
- What you are already doing about it, such as a course you have booked.
- Finish with
- How this employer’s work fits.
Questions to ask them
At the end you will usually be asked if you have any questions. Two or three thoughtful ones show you are serious about the job. Write them down and take them with you.
- What kind of jobs would I be working on in my first few months?
- Would I be working alone, with a mate or with an apprentice?
- Do you support further training, such as inspection and testing or EV charger courses?
- How do you arrange travel, tools and vans?
Practise out loud with mock interview questions
Answers sound different said out loud. With a free account, our interview prep tool gives you practice questions for an electrician job, from your CV or the job title alone, with a tip for each one. Each practice set uses one free use.
Electrician interviews: your questions
Will there be a practical test in an electrician interview?
Some contractors and agencies set a trade test or practical assessment, such as wiring a circuit, finding a fault or talking through safe isolation and testing. Ask when you are invited, and run through the procedures you use every day.
What should I bring to an electrician interview?
Your ECS card, your qualification certificates (such as your Level 3, AM2, 18th Edition and C&G 2391) and any safety tickets, plus a copy of your CV. If you work for yourself, bring details of your competent person scheme registration.
What should I wear to an electrician interview?
Clean, tidy clothes. For an office interview, smart casual is fine. If there is a practical test, ask whether to bring workwear, boots and your own tools.
How do I prepare as an apprentice or improver?
Know your college course and level, your AM2 plans and the work you have done under supervision. Expect basic questions on safe isolation and testing. The electrician CV template page shows how to set out your training.
Get the application ready
- Electrician CV templateThe best designs for an electrician CV, and what to put on it.
- Electrician cover letter exampleA full example letter for this job, with what to mention in yours.
- Electrician CV exampleA filled-in example CV to borrow structure and wording from.
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Ready for the interview?
Pick three or four of these questions, write a few notes for each, and say your answers out loud before the day.