It's in the bag, man!

The biggest problem that I have experienced in hiring a quality maintenance person is that those tasked with the job, are clueless. They have not done the maintenance job, they cannot do the maintenance job, and if interviewed by a competent supervisor would not be hired for the maintenance job. Craziness if you ask me, but, perhaps there is a work around for these maintenance-challenged supervisors.

Ask the interview-ee to bring in the bag of tools that they normally carry to a work order.
This isn't a fool proof method but the bag should contain….

A battery powered VSR drill with a #2 screwdriver bit.
A 4 in-hand screwdriver.
A basin wrench.
A Multi-meter (any kind is good enough)
2 adjustable Crescent type wrenches (large and small)
A utility knife
A flashlight
a combination square
Maybe a set of channel-locks….

If these tools are in his bag the interview-ee probably knows what he/she is doing.

My main bag (the one that I carry around all day) weighs about thirty five pounds and has all sorts of junk in it but these are the tools I seem to need most. Please feel free to expand upon or detract from the list. It should be noted that I have two other bags, one for electrical and one for plumbing, then there are the drywall tools that don’t even have a bag…. And all the wood working stuff… and….

I think that's an interesting idea, at least as a partial screen.

I really like this idea with two minor changes... If I was interviewing in this method, I'd ask the experienced candidate a specific service request (replace a three way switch, or drop a garbage disposal for example). This way if the technician is as organized as Perry infers he is and has a bag for each trade (electrical, plumbing etc...) the candidate has the opportunity to place their best impression.

In addition to making the request specific, I would be looking for the candidate to show some sense of safety awareness. For instance: bringing a Lock out Tag out device for the electrical problem, or eye protection and exam gloves for the plumbing issue. Even though many communities provide PPE, and in some cases OSHA requires them too, I would like a candidate to show initiative in protecting both themselves and my residents from harm.

Good ideas! In the case of the safety glasses. They might not be present in the bag because he/she is already wearing them. High impact lenses come in prescription.

As for the service questions, I would suggest that the interviewer pick the question very carefully, something he/she has done personally. There are a lot of right ways to patch drywall for example. In the case of a three way switch, "The same way the old one was hooked up." I would find an acceptable answer. Maintenance people are usually restricted to like-in-kind replacements of residential electrical equipment. I would like to know the candidate has sense enough to note the way the wires are hooked up.