Fork Lift Driver Interview Questions & Answers

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Candidates could list anything from airport cargo transportation to long distance truck driving as beneficial experience.

Discuss your method of assigning responsibility to the best candidates. How you communicate with employees to make them understand what is expected of them and how you make sure that the employees have the resources needed to carry out specific tasks. You should also chip in your follow-up procedures.

This is just like the “what is your greatest strength.” question and should be treated similarly. You should pick accomplishments that show that you have the qualities the company is looking for and this adds value to you as a candidate for the position you are interviewing for. You may have achieved a lot over the years but for the sake of the interview, pick only the relevant ones

It’s pretty much a workhouse environment, or warehouse I should say. There’s a few forklifts running around and usually a lot of ambient noise. You are required to wear a high visibility jacket, which they’ll give to you.

Here, they just want to know how motivated you are about the position or if you are just there for the pay. They want to ascertain that you would form an important part of the company. You have to show them that you are willing to be part of the company and would do all you can to ensure you and the company grows together.

Candidates should go beyond describing the primary function of an RF scanner to explaining the importance of having good inventory management.

Note that whenever you are going for an interview, this question may be asked. Before going, try to find out what the average salary for someone holding that position in that industry is paid. This would help prepare you for what is in front of you.

Do not forget that this is only an interview and you haven’t been offered the job, so do not go on negotiating. Just state something within the range you have researched and move on. Whatever you do, do not sell yourself short.

As much as you want to sell your self in a good light, do not make the mistake of exaggerating your current position. Add some of your routine tasks to make it realistic and don’t neglect tings like paperwork. Try to be in the interviewers shoes as you answer this question. A job you have been doing for years should be part of you already and as such; you must know all the tasks you undertake. Try to show them that you plan well before you begin work and after you attain your goals, you review the process to see how you could be more efficient.

Questions such as this one are asked with the aim of getting you to discuss some of your qualities, perhaps hidden that you wouldn’t have mentioned if you weren’t asked.

“Well, my colleagues will tell you they can count on me. They will tell you that I am a team player and someone they enjoy working with.”

No matter what you say, do not mention negative things about your employer, neither should you mention anything about more money being the reason. The reason is simple; if you are leaving a company because of money to come to theirs, you will definitely leave them to move on to another if it promises a better paycheck. Your best bet is to ay it on responsibility and challenge and how your previous position want challenging you enough. Indicate that you yearn for more responsibility and how what you have to offer outweighs the responsibility and challenge posed by your former position.

For instance: I would like to be the best in my department or I’d love to be the person my colleagues can rely on. I also feel I would be skilled and experienced enough to handle whatever responsibilities might come my way.

I would talk a little bit more about the schedule. Usually on Sundays it’s during the day but during your weekdays, Monday through Friday, it’s overnight. Usually when I would work there during the week, if I wanted to work extra days, I would usually work from midnight to five in the morning.

The reason why you are asked this question is to hear what you consider difficult and how you approached the situation. Select a difficult work situation, which wasn’t caused by you and can be explained in a few sentences. You can then show yourself in a positive light by explaining how you handled the situation.

Pretty much all of your standard paperwork, of course. I guess something else maybe a little more unique for this is that they also require that you be able to life a 50 pound box. Other than that, there’s not really much else.

☛ Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
☛ What is your experience in warehouse work and as a FLT driver?
☛ When did you past your FLT test?
☛ What is a pre-check on the FLT for?
☛ How do you know how much weight you can carry on the FLT?
☛ How do you let other workers know you are approaching them in the warehouse?
☛ What do you need to check for when unloading a truck using a FLT?
☛ How do you ensure you know where all the goods are in the warehouse?
☛ What would you do if you had a spillage?
☛ Why are delivery notes so important?
☛ How would you handle an angry delivery driver who was trying to rush you?
☛ Do you have any questions for me?

Your answers should focus on how well you can review relevant facts, consider various options and select the most appropriate option. Discuss how you factor in variables such as constraints and resources.

This could be a very simple question if you are prepared for it. You just have to talk about the strengths that you know would be of value to the company.

DO:
☛ Make the most of this question. This question gives you the control to guide the interview to where you want it so take advantage.
☛ Emphasize the strengths you have that are crucial to the position
☛ Find out from the job description and from company research, the kind of strengths the company invests in.

DON’T:
☛ Do not be too modest or claim to be what you are not
☛ Do not try to mention things you cannot illustrate with a brief example
☛ Do not mention the strengths that aren’t relevant to the job at hand

☛ Tell me about yourself
☛ Why do you want to work here? What are you expecting from this job? What do you know about this organization?
☛ Tell me about your current job. Why do you want to leave your current job?
☛ How do you deal with stress?
☛ Why should we hire you rather than other applicants? What makes you stand out?
☛ What do you offer?
☛ What are your weaknesses? What area should you work on to become more effective?
☛ Identify a mistake you made and how you dealt with it. What have you learned from your mistakes?
☛ What are your strengths? What is the greatest asset you will bring to this job?
☛ What achievements are you most proud of? What was the most difficult, toughest academic or work project you completed?
☛ Tell me about an obstacle you recently conquered?
☛ When have you taken the initiative and gone the extra mile? Describe a professional situation that required you to use initiative or creative thinking to solve theproblem.
☛ Tell me how you improved your employer’s operations?
☛ In the future, we are going to be doing a lot of X. Would you be comfortable with that? (Hint: Reading your target organization’s strategic plan might help you identify new approaches that your target organization will be emphasizing.)
☛ Are you good at multi-tasking? Give an example. What would you do if you were working to meet a tight deadline and a manager instructed you to quickly complete another project?
☛ What makes a good boss and a bad boss? What did you like least about your past job or bosses? What management style do you work best under?
☛ How do you deal with difficult people? What would you do if someone on your team wasn’t pulling their weight? How do you deal with conflict? Describe a conflict that you recently resolved.
☛ When have you effectively convinced a manager to adopt a different approach?
☛ How do you respond to criticism?
☛ Do you work well in teams? How would you build a team? Do you work better in teams or independently?
☛ How do you describe yourself? Use [anywhere from one-to-five] words to describe yourself.
☛ Is this job glamorous enough for you?
☛ What would your boss and your colleagues say about you?
☛ What is the last book you read?
☛ What skills would you use here from your previous job?
☛ Are you tough enough to [pick one of these: supervise others, say “no” to clients when necessary, negotiate contracts]?

☛ How much experience do you have operating a forklift? What types of forklifts are you certified to operate?
☛ In what types of industrial environments have you operated a forklift?
☛ What shifts have you worked? Can you work second or third shift?
☛ Why did you leave your last job/why do you want to leave your current job?
☛ What do you like and dislike about being a forklift operator?
☛ What, in your opinion, are the most important qualities in a forklift operator?
☛ What will you do if we hire you for this position?
☛ What motivates you to do a good job?
☛ Do you prefer to work in a small, medium or large warehouse/distribution center environment? Why?
☛ What do you see as your best characteristics? Your worst?
☛ How would your current or last supervisor answer the above question?
☛ How will your best characteristic help you perform in this position?
☛ Where do you see yourself in your career/job in one year? In three years? Ten years?
☛ How many accidents have you been in while operating a forklift in the past year?
☛ Of those, how many can you honestly say were your fault? What could you have done differently to avoid the accident?
☛ Did the accident result in any lost productivity or revenue for your employer (that you know of)?
☛ What are the good characteristics of a leader?
☛ Does a good leader need power or authority?
☛ When have you placed yourself in a leadership position (even if you didn’t get the “title”)? Why did you do so/feel you had to?
☛ What makes a job move from OK/good to great?
☛ What kind of work situations make you feel stressed?
☛ How do you handle this stress on the job?
☛ No one likes everyone. What kind of co-workers do you find yourself having trouble with?
☛ Even though you may not like a co-worker, you still need to work with him/her. How do you handle working with someone whom you don’t like/grates on you?
☛ Have you found any ways to make the job of forklift operator easier or more productive?

☛ What is your management style? What is your training/mentoring style?
☛ Are you a big-picture manager or a micro-manager? Do you have trouble delegating authority?
☛ What methods do you use to communicate to your staffers?
☛ Have you led projects, task forces, committees, or a change management program?
☛ Have you been involved in a high-stakes conflict?
☛ What would you do your first week or month on the job?
☛ What qualities are responsible for your success?
☛ Some of your colleagues also applied for this supervisory job and might resent you if we select you to supervise them. How would you deal with that? Or the staff might resent an outsider brought in to supervise them. How would you deal with
☛ that?
☛ How do you reward good performers and deal with poor performers or problem performers?
☛ How would you deal with an employee who wasn’t measuring up? You would have to make some tough calls here in the future on disciplinary problems.
☛ Are you up to the task?
☛ What would you do if one of your employees wasn’t measuring up? We are going to have to make some tough calls here in the future on disciplinary problems. Are you up to the task?
☛ How have you helped your organization implement the President’s Management Agenda? Which metrics have you helped your organization improve and how?
☛ Have you, for example, helped your organization improve its ratings on the Office of Management and Budget’s Program Rating Tool (PART), or improved your agency’s internal controls, information security, or financial reporting?
☛ What have you done to improve efficiency within your organization? Have you, for example, automated processes or moved any responsibilities to a shared service provider?
☛ Describe your experience responding to reviews from the Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, the Office of Management and Budget, watchdog groups, or the media?

☛ What was your major and why? Which classes did you like or dislike the most?
☛ How did you like your college?
☛ How has your education prepared you for this job?
☛ What have you accomplished that shows your initiative and willingness to work?
☛ How did your summer jobs and internships influence your career choices?
☛ Tell me about any independent research projects you have done.
☛ What is your 5-year plan? Do you want to get another degree? How long do you
☛ think you would stay on this job?
☛ Why do you want to work in government rather than another sector?

Candidates should list attention to detail and good hand-eye coordination as essential qualities in a Forklift Operator.

This question is one of the most frequently asked questions. Where do you start. What do they really want to know. Are you to begin from elementary school or college. You have to be very careful on how you answer this question because your answer here sets the tone for the rest of the interview. This question is mostly asked as an icebreaker but if you did not prepare for it, it becomes a real problem.

This is a very common question that is asked in almost every interview. I love this question because it gives you the opportunity to sell yourself. Discuss what makes you standout from the crowd and show them how you can help advance their company. Remember to be specific. This is where all the company research you have done comes into play. You should have an idea as to why the company is hiring or looking to hire someone for that position. What problem do they have that they are looking for people to help them solve. And once you can establish this, you are to show them how you can solve this problem for them.

Turn this question into a strength question in disguise. For instance, say something like “I do not like not being challenged at work” or you could mention a weakness that has nothing to do with the job and that you can overcome with training. This way, you end up turning this potentially tricky question into a positive.

Sometimes, you may be asked about certain challenges you faced in your previous position. If you are asked this question, lean towards the problem that happened early in your carrier and that you were able to solve. Do not try to blame others, just identify the problem and the role you played in solving it.