What Should I Ask an HVAC Tech in an Interview?
Short answer: Ask questions that make a tech prove what he says. Ask what calls he runs on his own, how he'd diagnose a real problem, how he'd explain a repair to a homeowner, why he's thinking about leaving his current shop, and who the best techs he's worked with are. Then check his answers on a paid ride-along and with peer references, because the interview only tells you what a tech says he can do.
Most bad hires don't come from bad questions. They come from taking a tech's word for it. One owner told us about the first recruiter he ever used: "They were supposed to vet them, and I found out after the first day that this guy knew nothing." That's the hire this post helps you avoid.
What should you decide before the interview starts?
Know exactly which seat you're filling. A service tech, an install tech, a lead tech and a selling tech are different hires that need different questions. Write down the must-haves, the call types, the on-call rotation and what you're offering. If you can't describe the seat in 30 seconds, you'll end up hiring whoever sounds best. Our guide to hiring HVAC techs walks through it step by step.
What questions show whether a tech can run calls on his own?
You want a truck-ready tech, someone who can run calls solo in your market from day one. These questions get past the résumé:
- "Walk me through the last three calls you ran by yourself. What was wrong, and what did you do?"
- "What kinds of calls do you still hand off or call someone about?"
- "What's your callback rate, and how do you know?" (If he doesn't know, that tells you something.)
- "What do you do when you show up and the problem isn't what dispatch said?"
Listen for specifics. A strong tech remembers the model, the reading and the fix. A weak one talks about being "a hard worker."
The callback question matters more than it looks. A tech who takes shortcuts doesn't just cost you a second trip. As one owner put it: "I'm losing trust in my customers, because I'm spending a lot of money on callbacks. They go and they do the quickest thing."
How do you check technical skill in an interview?
Give him a real scenario and let him talk it through: a no-cool call on a hot afternoon, a furnace that short-cycles, high static pressure. Ask how he checks superheat and subcool and what he looks at electrically, in what order. You're listening for a process.
Ask to see his EPA 608 card, and check your state's licensing rules. The EPA requires nearly all HVAC techs to be certified to handle refrigerants (EPA Section 608). Industry certifications like NATE are a plus, but they don't replace seeing him work.
How do you find out if he can talk to homeowners?
Ask him to explain a repair to you as if you were the homeowner. Then push back a little: "That sounds expensive. Can I just wait?" Watch whether he explains things in plain words or buries you in jargon.
Tim's rule for anyone who'll be in front of customers is simple:
"If you can't role play it with me, then you can't do it at the house."
— Tim Oyler, on a call with an HVAC owner
He doesn't have to be a closer to pass. But if he can't explain a problem clearly in an interview, he won't do better in someone's kitchen. Hiring for a seat that sells? Use the objection role plays on our selling techs page.
Why is he thinking about leaving his current job?
This may be the most important question you ask, because the techs worth hiring usually already have jobs. As Tim put it on a call with an owner, the goal is to find "those senior techs that like are at a company that aren't 100% happy that are willing to have a conversation."
So ask:
- "What would have to change at your shop for you to stay?"
- "What do you like about where you are now?"
- "Walk me through why you left each of your last two jobs."
Good reasons sound like real problems: no path to lead tech, too much on-call, old trucks, no training. A string of short stays with a different excuse each time is a flag. So is a tech who spends the interview trashing his boss. Owners who hired unhappy techs from other shops told us some of them "brought that same attitude over to us," and it turned into "a nightmare situation." His answers also tell you how to sell your shop to him.
Why should you ask every candidate for peer references?
Good techs know other good techs. So don't just ask for references. Ask for peer references: other techs at or above his skill level who'll vouch for him. This is the exact question our recruiters ask before they set up an interview:
"Do you have three different friends that you would know that are at your level or higher that we could use as a peer reference before we give you this interview?"
— Tim Oyler, on a call with a home service owner
That one question does two jobs. Other good techs won't vouch for a hack, so it checks him. And it hands you more qualified techs to call, because, as Tim says, "all good techs know good techs."
When you call those references, don't settle for "he's great." Tim's tip: ask, "What's the worst thing about this guy?" References always start out positive. That question gets you an honest answer.
What should you tell him about the job?
Be upfront about how your shop works, including the parts some techs won't like. Experienced techs bring experienced habits. Owners tell us it all the time: "They don't do things the way we do... they don't want to change their ways." Find out now whether he'll follow your process. Tim's advice to owners is to lay out the expectations in the interview: the process you follow, the numbers you track, and whether you record or ride along on calls. Then say it plainly: if that's not for you, this job isn't for you.
That screens out the wrong people early, and the right people respect it. Expect him to interview you, too. Tim says a good tech will ask "what's their close rate, what's our process, who owns a company, what's their growth plan?" Have real answers ready. Then sell the job: the truck, the schedule, the training and what his next two years could look like. A tech who already has a job needs a real reason to move.
Why do you have to move fast?
Because the good ones have options. A tech worth hiring is getting calls from other shops while you think it over. Tim tells every owner the same thing: "You got to move fast because these guys are getting pulled around by other people." Block time for interviews before you start recruiting, and decide within days, not weeks.
What should happen after the interview?
Check what he told you:
- Run a paid ride-along. Put him on real calls with your best lead tech. Score his diagnostics, how he talks to homeowners and his work habits.
- Call the peer references. Ask what he's like on a hard call and whether they'd work with him again.
- Make the call fast, then set a 90-day scorecard for week one, day 30 and day 60.
It's worth the time. As Tim told one owner: "Bad hires, there's a management tax with that. So, like, 10 hours of recruiting can save thousands of hours of management."
How Thirty Madison Ventures helps
Thirty Madison Ventures recruits truck-ready HVAC, plumbing and electrical service techs and selling techs for home service owners. Here's how we fill your interview calendar with techs worth meeting:
- We profile the seat first. On a recruiting prep call we map out the exact tech you want, "down to the boots," as Tim puts it, before any outreach starts.
- We go after techs who already have jobs. We map the licensed techs in your market and reach them directly by phone and text instead of waiting on job boards.
- Our recruiters are sales pros. They sell good techs on taking the interview, so the people who show up are interested in your shop.
- We check peer references before you meet anyone. The same peer-reference questions in this post are part of our screen, and each strong tech points us to more.
- We help you close. In Tim's words: "We sell him to take the interview, then you kind of sell him to join your company." We help you get ready for that conversation.
You get first candidates within 14 days of our kickoff call, and every placement comes with a 60-day replacement guarantee. Have questions first? Read our FAQ.