20 Maintenance Electrician Interview Questions & Answers

Hiring the right electrician starts with asking the right questions. The questions you ask determine how well you can assess each candidate based on your business needs and the specific requirements of the role.

But knowing what to ask isn’t always easy, especially if you're a business owner with no background in hiring or HR.

To make the process easier, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of electrician interview questions that cover key areas, including:

• Behavioral and situational responses

• Technical skills and trade knowledge

• Familiarity with tools and technology

• Safety practices and compliance

• Payroll and compensation expectations

We’ll also walk you through how to prepare for the interview—whether you're an employer hiring or an electrician interviewing for the job. Plus, we’ll show how ServiceTitan supports electricians in delivering high-quality work every day.

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Maintenance Electrician Job Description

Maintenance electricians install, maintain, repair, and service existing electrical systems in homes, commercial buildings, and industrial plants. The job requires a thorough understanding of the National Electrical Code, as well as strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.

Maintenance electricians can repair normal wear on an electrical system, replace a damaged or defective mechanical part, or perform routine maintenance for better performance. They work on circuit breakers, read schematics, and even fix electrical components in HVAC systems.

Maintenance Electrician Interview Questions: General

• Why do you want to work as a maintenance electrician?

• Why did you apply for a position at our company?

• Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

• Why are you pursuing a new job?

• Can you send me a list of references?

General maintenance technician interview questions allow employers to evaluate common skills needed for any job or position, and allow job seekers to elaborate on their work experience, training, and other applicable skills or certifications.

It's also the perfect time to assess an applicant's attitude or personality to determine whether they're a good fit for your business. The maintenance electrician will be the face of your company in the field, so make sure to ask strategic questions and ensure the candidate meshes with your vision and company culture.

1. Why do you want to work as a maintenance electrician?

Why you should ask this question: This question helps you understand the candidate’s motivation and long-term interest in the electrical trade. You're looking for signs that they’re not just in it for a paycheck, but that they have a genuine passion for the work, and ideally, a desire to grow in the industry.

What to look for in the reply: A good candidate will give a reply that strikes the balance between personal and professional. In other words, they will successfully share what sparked their interest in the trade and how that motivation evolved into a structured career path. They might touch on early, hands-on experiences, formal training, and current goals.

Pro tip: Check to see if the candidate maintains eye contact, listens attentively, offers a firm handshake, and displays confident body language. These soft skills provide a glimpse of their communication skills, as well as how they’ll engage with customers.

2. Why did you apply for a position at our company?

Why you should ask this question: This allows maintenance technician candidates to showcase their knowledge of your company and its key values. Consider it a good sign if the candidate comes prepared, as it shows genuine interest in the position.

You can also follow up with questions inquiring:

• How they heard about your company

• What they like about your business 

• Their schedule expectations and availability for weekend and night shifts

What to look for in the reply: The best candidate will provide a well-informed answer that shows they understand the type of work your company does, the responsibilities of the role, and your core values.

3. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Why you should ask this question: This question provides insights about the applicant’s long-term career goals. Whenever you hire a new tech, you’re making a significant business investment, so you want to ensure the candidate feels committed to your business and their career plan.

What to look for in the reply: The ideal answer will show that the candidate is committed to building a long-term career in the electrical trade. If the candidate sees the role as just a temporary job or stepping stone to another field, it’s a strong sign they may not be the right fit.

4. Why are you pursuing a new job?

Why you should ask this question: In a way, this allows you to ask about previous employment without directly asking, “Why did you leave your previous job?” Do they harbor negative feelings about their current or previous employer? Did the candidate get fired?

What to look for in the reply: Pay close attention to how the candidate explains why they were let go from a previous job. Are they taking responsibility for their actions, or are they quick to blame others? Their response can reveal a lot about their attitude. If they badmouth their former employer or constantly point fingers, it may mean they like to deflect responsibility rather than learn from mistakes.

5. Can you send me a list of references?

Why you should ask this question: Ask them to explain their relationship to the reference, how long they’ve known each reference, and to provide contact information. You can assess the candidate’s written communication skills, as well as the ability to follow directions, by asking them to send you a list of references.

What to look for in the reply: You can gauge their interest in the position by how quickly they submit their references.

Maintenance Electrician Interview Questions: Behavioral/Situational

• Can you give an example of a time when you turned an unhappy customer into a satisfied customer? 

• How would you handle resolving an argument with a coworker?

• How do you prevent mistakes on the job?

Asking behavioral interview questions helps you discover the attitudes of your applicants and gain insights into how they approach problems, resolve conflicts, and interact with others. Interviewers need to evaluate the candidate’s ability to troubleshoot electrical repairs, follow safety precautions, overcome disagreements with coworkers, and put customers at ease.

6. Can you give an example of a time when you turned an unhappy customer into a satisfied customer?

Why you should ask this question: Electricians who practice excellent customer service and support play a critical role in generating customer satisfaction, and ultimately five-star reviews. Satisfied clients turn into repeat business, often via follow-up calls or direct referrals. Electricians who listen to customers, show empathy, clearly explain the job, and educate them on all available solutions provide better customer service.

The ideal response would display a willingness to listen to the customer and an ability to explain the maintenance process clearly.

What to look for in the reply: The best candidate will reply with emotional intelligence, professionalism, and strong communication skills. They’ll show that they can stay calm under pressure, listen to the customer’s concerns, and resolve the issue through clear explanation and transparency rather than defensiveness. More specifically, look for examples where the candidate took ownership of the situation, maintained a positive attitude, and ultimately turned the experience into earning the customer’s appreciation or even a positive review afterward.

7. How would you handle resolving an argument with a coworker?

Why you should ask this question: Maintenance electricians don’t just need to solve complex electrical problems; they need to possess solid conflict-resolution skills, too. You need your field techs, dispatch, and management team to work together in harmony to achieve business success. Petty arguments or employees who seek out conflict with others can negatively impact your company culture and make it even harder to hire new electricians down the road.

What to look for in the reply: The ideal answer will prove that the candidate has the ability to de-escalate situations and own up when they are in the wrong. 

8. How do you prevent mistakes on the job?

Why you should ask this question: Working around electricity is dangerous—and even deadly—so safety is paramount. Ask about the candidate's reasoning and thought process to detect mistakes, and how they avoid them on the job site. This question reveals if they have a strong accountability process and how thoroughly they complete their work (mistake-free).

What to look for in the reply: They will explain the exact process they use to avoid mistakes. This could be by double-checking their work, using a checklist, and following building codes to the letter.

Maintenance Electrician Interview Questions: Technical Skills

• What are the top three issues you typically see when inspecting/repairing a circuit breaker?

• What was your most challenging project, and what did you learn from it?

• Do you have any experience troubleshooting a PLC (programmable logic controller)?

Asking technical questions confirms the candidate truly possesses the necessary skills to work as a maintenance electrician. Questions about types of electrical wiring, fixtures, and switches, as well as working on complex electrical systems, help to uncover technical abilities. Maintenance electricians who service residential, commercial, and industrial customers need to know how to take the right precautions to ensure safety and efficiency.

9. What are the top three issues you typically see when inspecting/repairing a circuit breaker?

Why you should ask this question: Maintenance electricians often make routine service calls and frequently need to inspect, troubleshoot, and repair circuit breakers.

What to look for in the reply: While this question may appear relatively basic, the candidate’s responses will provide a clear picture of the depth of their knowledge and experience (or lack of) in servicing circuit breakers.

10. What was your most challenging project, and what did you learn from it?

Why you should ask this question: This question elicits insight into a candidate's knowledge, strengths, and desire to grow, as well as their ability to articulate the problem and solution.

What to look for in the reply: A good candidate will show problem-solving skills, accountability, and a growth mindset. They should describe a genuinely challenging project, explain how they handled it, and highlight what they learned from the experience.

11. Do you have any experience troubleshooting a programmable logic controller (PLC)?

Why you should ask this question: PLCs translate user commands for electronically controlled machines. An electrician must know their way around them, since they are a key element of today’s electrical systems, especially in commercial and industrial settings.

What to look for in the reply: If they have sufficient experience of PLC control systems, they should know why they fail. Their answer should include reasons like module failure, loss of power, moisture, overheating, and bad network connections.

Maintenance Electrician Interview Questions: Technology and Tools

• Are you familiar with job costing software?

• What is your experience with using mobile technology on the job?

• How does electrician software provide a better client experience?

Ask technology-based questions to see how much the interviewee knows about industry trends and the role played by customer relationship management (CRM) software, such as ServiceTitan Electrical Contractor Software, in automating processes, enhancing the customer experience, and growing average ticket size. The real-time project data and enhanced communication between office and field that this type of software provides ensure projects wrap up on time and on budget. 

12. Are you familiar with job costing software?

Why you should ask this question: Having experience with job costing software is vital, since they’ll need it to close sales in the field. 

What to look for in the reply: Ideally, the candidate should answer yes. However, if they’re not familiar with the software, that shouldn’t automatically disqualify them, as long as they’re willing to learn and demonstrate strength in other key areas. Be prepared to offer training if they’re a strong fit overall.

13. What is your experience with using mobile technology on the job?

Why you should ask this question: Maintenance electricians deliver estimates, communicate with your office team, and collect payments from their mobile devices. This question helps you understand a candidate’s previous experience, as well as their level of comfort using technology on the job. It’s also a good indicator of the amount of training the candidate requires.

What to look for in the reply: Considering the proliferation of mobile devices, the ideal response should be yes. However, if they say no, you can still hire them, so long as you’re willing to use the onboarding period to teach them to use the tool.

14. How does electrician software provide a better client experience?

Why you should ask this question: This will help you gauge their openness to using technology. Considering the direction in which the electrical industry is heading, they should be able to clearly articulate the benefits of using the software.

What to look for in the reply: If the applicant has experience using customer experience software, they should be able to articulate how it enhances coordination and communication between the maintenance tech and the customer. Electrician software allows managers to coordinate with technicians and communicate progress to customers in real time.

Maintenance Electrician Interview Questions: Safety & Compliance

• What safety violations do you see most often, and how would you prevent them?

• List some key electrical safety hazards and how you handle them.

• Describe a specific electrical job where you sacrificed safety for speed.

There’s no shortage of safety hazards in electrical projects. From exposed wiring and live circuits to working at heights or in confined spaces, electricians face serious risks on the job every day. That’s why it’s critical to assess how well a candidate understands and follows safety protocols.

Here are some questions you can ask:

15. What safety violations do you see most often, and how would you prevent them?

Why you should ask this question: This will test their knowledge of recent electrical codes and whether they consistently follow them.

What to look for in the reply: Their answer should explain the top safety violations and give a detailed explanation of how they prevent them. Preferably, you should ask for real-life experience to ensure that what they’re saying aligns with how they act on the job.

16. List some key electrical safety hazards and how you handle them.

Why you should ask this question: The first step to maintaining safety is being aware of the various safety hazards on an electrical job site. So, this question is meant to test their knowledge of such hazards and their preventive measures.

What to look for in the reply: The ideal candidate will not only list hazards but also explain the preventive measures they put in place to avoid workplace injuries.

17. Describe a specific electrical job where you sacrificed safety for speed.

Why you should ask this question: This is a trick question, meant to test how highly they prioritize safety procedures.

What to look for in the reply: A strong candidate will tell you they’ve never sacrificed safety for speed. Anyone who admits otherwise is signaling that they view safety procedures as optional rather than mandatory—and that’s not someone you want on your team.

Maintenance Electrician Interview Questions: Payroll

While some maintenance electrician applicants may feel uncomfortable talking about salary details, it’s important to discuss your compensation package, available benefits and perks, as well as performance-based bonuses. As a business owner or hiring manager, you need to be prepared to pay competitive salaries and offer exciting benefits to attract top talent and reduce costly turnover rates, especially in a field with a finite number of potential applicants.

Does your company offer performance pay or hourly rates? Maintenance electrician candidates need to understand how your commission and bonus structure works. If you expect electricians to sell more services on the jobsite, be sure to make that clear.

Some simple payroll questions include:

• What are your wage expectations?

• Have you ever worked for a company that uses performance-based pay?

• What are your expectations for bonuses or sales performance incentive funds (SPIFs)?

In a highly competitive job market, it's important to ask the right questions to identify the best candidates. The ideal maintenance electrician will stick around and grow as you scale your electrical business.

18. What are your wage expectations?

Why you should ask this question: This one is meant to ensure alignment between the candidate’s compensation expectations and your budget before moving further in the hiring process. 

What to look for in the reply: A good candidate will give a realistic range that reflects local market rates as well as their experience and the scope of work.

19. Have you ever worked for a company that uses performance-based pay?

Why you should ask this question: To learn how they respond to performance-linked compensation models.

What to look for in the reply: Candidates who express openness to such models and an understanding of how performance incentives can reward productivity and quality.

20. What are your expectations for bonuses or sales performance incentive funds (SPIFs)?

Why you should ask this question: To understand what motivates the candidate beyond base pay and whether their expectations align with your company’s bonus or SPIF structure.

What to look for in the reply: Strong candidates will show enthusiasm for earning bonuses tied to clear, achievable performance metrics. Look for candidates who value both consistent pay and performance-driven rewards, rather than viewing bonuses as guaranteed income.

What Should You Do Before the Maintenance Electrician Interview?

Preparation before interviews—whether you're the interviewer or the interviewee—is essential.

As an interviewee, preparation helps you answer questions confidently and clearly, anticipate common questions, avoid being caught off guard, and ask meaningful questions of your own.

As an interviewer, preparation ensures you're asking relevant, consistent questions that fairly evaluate each candidate. It also helps you recognize red flags and top talents.

Here’s how to prepare for interviews:

For interviewers: Before holding a maintenance electrician interview, prepare structured interview questions and determine the scale you’ll use to evaluate responses. You can then have a mock interview with a member of your staff (if there’s time).

Once that’s done, review all submitted applications, shortlist candidates, and send out interview invites.

For interviewees: Before each interview, take time to thoroughly research the company and the specific role. Then, prepare answers to common interview questions and create a list of thoughtful questions to ask the interviewer. This shows genuine interest and helps you determine if the company is the right fit for you.

What to Do After the Maintenance Electrician Interview?

What should you do next after the interviews?

For interviewers: Go through the interview notes to create a shortlist of top candidates. 

Once you have a shortlist of the top performers, conduct background and reference checks. Then present your offer of employment to successful candidates and rejection to unsuccessful applicants.

For interviewees: Send a thank-you email to the interviewers, so they keep you in mind. Pay attention to your emails, so you can promptly provide references or documents when requested. As you await a response, apply to other roles to avoid being left without a job at the end of the day.

How Long Should the Maintenance Electrician Interview Last?

In general, interviews typically last between 15 and 30 minutes. However, for specialized positions or senior-level roles—such as supervisors or managers—the interview may take longer due to the need for more in-depth discussion. 

Additionally, if you choose to include practical assessments to thoroughly evaluate a candidate's skills, be prepared to allocate extra time accordingly.

How ServiceTitan Empowers Maintenance Electricians

Due to the high level of competition for skilled maintenance electricians, you need to offer something beyond the standard perks like commissions, benefits, or higher pay to stand out.

One often-overlooked advantage you can provide is equipping them with the right tools and technology to help them do their job faster, more efficiently, and with greater confidence. 

This improves productivity but also shows that you value their time and expertise.

One powerful way to empower your maintenance electricians is by using ServiceTitan—a tool designed to streamline and automate nearly every part of their workflow. 

With ServiceTitan, your team can spend less time on admin tasks and more time doing what they do best. Key features include:

• Smart scheduling and dispatching

• Competitive estimates

• Quick and easy mobile payments

• Integrated payrolls and timesheets

• Performance reporting

Here’s a more detailed explanation of how ServiceTitan helps your employees in the field and the office:

Smart scheduling and dispatching

Manual scheduling (via spreadsheets, whiteboards, or phone calls) is time-consuming. Dispatchers have to switch between multiple screens just to confirm the location of electricians, the jobs assigned to them, and when tasks are completed.

ServiceTitan prevents this struggle by providing dispatchers with a single drag-and-drop interface they can use to:

• View all assigned, unassigned, and open jobs. This visibility helps them know at a glance the progress of each job.

• Assign jobs to technicians for immediate completion or schedule them weeks—or even months—in advance. They can also include notes to notify technicians of special requests.

• Reschedule jobs in the event of unexpected circumstances and communicate the change to the client, without leaving the interface.

• Track scheduled job appointments, confirmed ones, and non-job events.

For even greater efficiency, dispatchers can use Auto Mode or Assist Mode in ServiceTitan, which are powered by Titan Intelligence—ServiceTitan’s machine learning algorithm:

• Auto Mode uses machine learning and your predefined rules to automatically assign the best available technician based on factors like experience, past performance on similar jobs, and proximity to the job site.

• Assist Mode does the same analysis but instead suggests the optimal technician, allowing the dispatcher to review and confirm the assignment.

These modes help streamline scheduling, reduce decision fatigue, and ensure the right electrician is sent to the right job—fast.

Competitive estimates

ServiceTitan allows your employees to create accurate estimates from the field, without any assistance from the back office or calling to confirm prices. This is possible because the estimate builder connects with PriceBook Pro, which is integrated with top supplier catalogues.

Whenever a technician needs to create an estimate—whether for an upsell or after a maintenance visit—they can do it quickly and professionally using their tablet. Here’s how the process works:

• Select Materials: Choose all the necessary tools, fittings, and equipment for the job.

• Confirm Pricing: Verify up-to-date prices directly from supplier catalogs to ensure the quote is accurate.

• Build Tiered Estimates: Use product images and descriptions from the catalogs to create visually appealing, tiered options (Good-Better-Best) that suit different budgets.

• Present to the Customer: Switch to presentation mode, allowing the customer to browse and select a pricing tier—just like shopping in a modern e-commerce app.

This helps electricians sell jobs in the field, with accurate prices that protect your profit margins.

Quick and easy mobile payments

Today’s customers do almost everything on their mobile devices—ordering groceries, paying for services, and finding electricians.

With that in mind, we built the Field Mobile App to make payments just as simple for your team. Electricians can collect payments—whether by check, credit card, or cash—directly from their mobile device, right there in the field. This ensures fast, secure, and hassle-free transactions for both technicians and customers.

Once a payment is collected, the customer’s record is instantly updated in your back-office accounting system. Then, within 24 hours, ServiceTitan automatically deposits all check and credit card payments into your bank account.

This ensures that when electricians collect payments in the field, every transaction is automatically synced with your accounting system. So, you get accurate, real-time financial records without extra work.

Integrated payrolls and timesheets

With ServiceTitan, you get complete transparency into your team’s productivity, tracking job and non-job events to the second, so nothing slips through the cracks. Electricians can clock in and out, review their hours, and approve timesheets in seconds.

Custom pay structures make it easy to reward performance with overtime, bonuses, and commissions. On payday, ServiceTitan does the math for you—automatically calculating accurate payouts so you can pay faster, fairer, and without errors.

Performance reporting

Monitoring the performance of each electrician helps you maintain optimal productivity levels and identify areas for improvement. However, that’s hard and almost impossible to do with spreadsheets.

ServiceTitan gives you clear, detailed insights into each electrician’s performance. The technician scorecard provides data across metrics such as revenue, completed jobs, hours worked, and average customer satisfaction.

This way, you can spot top performers, identify coaching opportunities, and motivate your team to do better.

Learn How ServiceTitan Helps You Hire the Best Electricians

Hiring the right technicians is critical. But keeping them is just as important. To retain top talent, you need a workplace where employees aren’t drained by repetitive, manual tasks.

ServiceTitan automates everyday operations like scheduling, creating estimates, sending invoices, managing inventory, and running marketing campaigns. This saves your team hours of busywork, improves efficiency, and lets you focus on growing your business.

Ready to see how it works? Book a call to discover how ServiceTitan can help you grow your business and attract (and keep) the best maintenance electricians.

ServiceTitan is a comprehensive electrical business software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and achieve growth. Our award-winning, cloud-based platform is trusted by more than 100,000+ contractors across the country.