While you might be nervous about an upcoming job interview, remember that you are interviewing the shop just as much as the shop is interviewing you. PTEN recently hosted a panel discussion about how young and new technicians can succeed on the job and the panelists listed a variety of questions that they should be asking in a job interview to make sure the shop is a good fit. The panelists included Bogi Lateiner of Girl Gang Garage, Jay Goninen of WrenchWay, Mike Pressendo of the TechForce Foundation, and Anthony Williams of the Carquest Technical Institute.
Questions to ask the shop
1. What training program do you have in place?
Not all shops are set up for training new people, the panelists said. Make sure the shop has a formal training program and puts a strong focus on training its people.
2. What does a career path look like at this shop?
"One thing that I tell a lot of shops, or advise a lot of shops in terms of communication with a technician, is painting a vision for that, especially that young technician that has aspirations past where they're at to make sure they know that, 'Hey, maybe the shop looks this way today, but that's not the plan down the road. We're going to have additional positions,'” Goninen said.
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3. What does the future hold for the shop?
With the evolution of the automotive industry in general, there are bound to be some different opportunities coming down the road, but if there is a current plan to make some changes to the shop, its important those are communicated during an interview, Goninen noted.
4. Can I take a tour of the shop and speak to some current technicians?
Some shops (including Lateiner’s) offer a half-day working interview, so the shop owners can see how the tech performs, but it also gives the tech a chance to see if the shop is the right fit for them.
“It gives me a chance to see, 'Are you just gong to stand there and hold the toolbox down or are you really curious and eager?' The right tech or the right apprentice tech is going to be in there looking at what's going on and asking questions,” Lateiner said.
5. Will I be on a flat rate right away?
The panelists agreed putting a brand new technician on a flat rate right away is not the best. Flat rate is a system where techs get paid for the job but not for how long it take them to do it. For example, if a brake job pays two hours, but the tech does the job in an hour and a half, they just made an extra half hour.
Lateiner said putting young techs on this system right out the gate is setting them up to fail and encouraging them to cut corners.
“It's going to take away from your ability to learn," Lateiner said. "I don't want you rushing right now. If it takes you four hours to do a break job, I don't care because I want you to do it right, and I want you to get really comfortable with it. If they want to put you on flat rate right away, run away!”
Don't give up
The panelists urged listeners to not give up if you find yourself at a shop that’s just not the right fit. There are many different shops out there, and each experience is different, so just keep looking around until you find the right spot for you.
“I met a woman who had a terrible experience with a particular shop, and she was ready to throw in the towel completely on her whole career path because she was having a bad experience with bad management…But then she went to another shop under the same maser brand, and it totally restored her faith in her career,” said Pressendo. “She’s totally passionate and engaged so don’t be afraid to move. There could be a great place for you just across the street.”
This panel was a part of the PTEN and Motor Age Best Young Tech Award program. This article is the second in a series from the discussion. Check out the first article here.
