Frequently asked questions during driver interviews. Instructions: how to fill out an interview sheet with a driver. What were your responsibilities at your previous job?

The job of a driver is a very responsible and serious position. The driver is responsible not only for his own life, but also for the life and safety of passengers, for the safety of the cargo being transported and for the condition of the company vehicle. It is for this reason that the requirements for personal drivers in good companies quite high. In order to get such a position, you should carefully prepare for the driver's interview with a potential boss.

The first thing to remember is that you are going to a business meeting, so there are some generally accepted rules to keep in mind.

1. Appearance must be neat. This does not mean that you need to wear a business suit to a driver interview, which you simply may not have in your wardrobe. However, you should wear clean and nice clothes to look presentable. European employers are especially attentive to this point.
2. You need to arrive for an interview with an employer on time and without delay, but if you still can’t come at the appointed time, then you need to warn about this in advance.
3. It is necessary to provide all documentation that would confirm driving rights, the presence of various categories, etc.
4. If there is such a possibility, then it is also advisable to provide recommendations from your previous place of work that would speak about your professionalism and responsibility.

Some nuances during a driver interview

During an interview, you should tell about yourself and answer everything honestly. questions asked. At the same time, it is worth paying attention to the fact that you do not have bad habits, in particular, mention that you do not drink alcohol. If you do have some habits (we are only talking about smoking), then you need to check with your employer about his attitude towards them. For example, if you are applying for the position of a personal driver, you should clarify where you will be allowed to smoke. After all, it is unlikely that you will be allowed to smoke inside the car. And some people cannot tolerate cigarette smoke due to allergies, so you can trigger an attack by smoking. It is for this reason that this point is very important.

In addition, the personal driver must undergo a medical examination. That's why important point will be how exactly and where you were examined, whether you underwent regularly scheduled examinations at your previous place of work, whether you wear glasses, whether there are any restrictions in this field of activity. This point is very important, because a lot depends on your health, in particular the safety and lives of the people you will transport.

Form of interview sheet with a candidate for the position of driver - sample

In connection with the new rules for hiring a driver (clause 11 of the Procedure approved by the Decree of the Ministry of Transport Russian Federation from March 11, 2016 N 59), employers must include the results of interviews with drivers on the interview sheets.

Below is an example of filling out the form of such a sheet, which you can read and download for free and without registration in docx (word) format.

Main questions

Once the employer knows everything they need about you, you should also ask some questions. Among the main points that you should clarify at the interview, it is worth highlighting the following.

1. Who is involved in car repairs: this is the responsibility of the driver or the car mechanic. If this is your responsibility, then it is worth finding out exactly when you will do it - after work, or before, or during. You should also ask how additional services will be paid for.
2. Is there a trial period? If there is such a period, then you should be given an answer about how it will be paid and in what volume.
3. Type of employment activity – rotational or permanent. It’s also worth asking what kind of schedule you will have, and whether the owner plans to change it in the future, whether there will be some kind of waybill, and much more.

When you are at an interview with an employer, you should remember that the position of a personal driver requires attentive, hardy, restrained individuals with a good reaction. Therefore, a candidate for the role of a driver should not express himself rudely or respond emotionally about anything. Naturally, most people hire responsible young people with experience and good recommendations. However, if you make a good impression at the interview, you may be hired without much work experience. It is worth remembering that during an interview you need to behave with restraint, but at the same time openly and honestly find out everything you need and tell about yourself.

Comments on the article:

Oksana

Those who think that being a personal driver is very easy are deeply mistaken. One of the hardest jobs. Of course, you don’t get so physically tired here, but no one discarded the moral side. You have to be constantly on alert, adapt to the person you are driving, fulfill his slightest whim, endure when he points out that you are driving incorrectly. And as you know, this is especially annoying for drivers. Always be ready. Drivers I know told me how they could be called at night because the owners couldn’t get there from the nightclub.

Maksim

A personal driver is a profession that requires a person not only to have excellent driving skills, but also to have special character traits, such as loyalty to his boss.

Paul

Not everyone is capable of working in such a profession. First of all, you must be a pro at driving. Secondly, you need to be able to work with a client and be competent in your responsibilities. It also doesn’t hurt to love what you do, because here you are dealing with people, and this is the psychology of communication.

Vitaly

Yes, the requirements for personal drivers are high, but the lives and health of clients depend on these people. Driving skills must be honed, and navigation in a road situation must be impeccable.

Max

It’s unlikely that he could work as a personal driver. For me, driving is more for the soul. While I’m driving, I’m resting. I have time to think everything through in my head and find a way out of a difficult situation. And at the same time I rest. But what kind of rest can we talk about if turning the steering wheel turns into work? For someone to comment on your driving style? I can't stand it.

Sergey Gasparov

Well, everyone’s character is different, but you can work, of course, depending on the salary. If the salary is large, then why not work as a personal driver, all this is better than working in a taxi and driving a bunch of different people every day, sometimes not adequate. A good friend of mine works as a personal driver for a young lady in St. Petersburg, takes children to school, picks them up from school, runs around on her errands, etc. The salary is around 100 thousand, and the work is not quite dusty, and he is satisfied.

Alyona

I work on a car every day from 9 to 18. The mileage is quite high. At first I like to drive, think, “live” on the road. But then my nerves give out. The work really requires constant tension.

Valery Gvarnem

Guys, this is a very good income. I work like this myself, but it’s difficult (the owner got caught like that), he calls even if you want to eat, he nudges you about every minor problem, sometimes it infuriates you and you want to leave, but when I get paid, the desire disappears. The salary starts from 50 thousand. So, if you have a lot of unnecessary nerves and no money, I recommend this job.

Eugene

I worked as a personal driver for several years, the salary was more than decent, but this is the only advantage I found. Well, first of all, what I didn’t like most was the irregular work schedule (they can pull you out of the house at any time, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s day or late at night). With such a schedule, you need at least a lot of endurance, and your nerves are stronger than steel. But again, this can be compensated for by good pay. Knowledge of the city should be more than high. Personally, I didn’t use navigators at all, because not every navigator will show you how best to avoid traffic jams, and where to turn to get there faster. Well, the very feeling that you work as a simple driver for some rich guy who doesn’t count his money is not very pleasant for me. Of course, there are also advantages, this is driving an expensive car (they personally provided it to me), good wages, and... for me, that’s all.

Sergey

I always dreamed of being a personal driver. And my dream came true. Now I have a lot of questions: who is responsible for the car, the owner or the driver?

Sergey,
responsibility must be clearly stated in the contract or job description personal driver.

Anatoly

It so happened in life that, according to my professional level, I was assigned a personal driver in many managerial positions. I selected some for work myself, but most of them, as they say, were inherited. They were all different, but I valued most of all those who sat confidently behind the steering wheel, and when driving long distances with them, I could easily take a nap without fear, compensating for the constant lack of sleep. I only parted with unnecessary and undisciplined drivers. With such drivers, you had to jump into the driver’s seat yourself, fly to a meeting with partners, and think about the course of the meeting and the arguments necessary for negotiations on the go. This is very dangerous, so such people should not be drivers.

What to say at an interview

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

When a candidate answers a question, pay attention to the following: - formally sets out biographical data or immediately lays out “trump cards”, emphasizing his desire and ability to take this position; - states only the main thing, that is, talks about his qualifications, experience, responsibility, interest, hard work and integrity, or cites irrelevant facts; - speaks briefly, accurately, clearly, or mumbles for a long time and expresses his thoughts poorly; - behaves or speaks calmly, confidently or unsure of himself.

2. How do you look at life: what difficulties do you see in it and how do you cope with them?

Some people express themselves in the sense that life is difficult, there are a lot of problems, most of which are insoluble, that people are angry and unkind, that there are few joys in life and everything is decided by fate, chance or other people, but not by himself. This means that this person is passive, unsure of himself, does not trust others, is pessimistic and unhappy (loser). Other people speak positively about life: there is no life without problems, difficulties are surmountable, a person’s fate and career are in his hands, people are friendly and ready to cooperate, a person is the architect of his own happiness. So says a person who is active life position oriented to success, ready to take responsibility, successfully interacts with people and knows how to enjoy life.

3. What attracts you to work with us in this position?

It’s bad if they answer with common phrases: “I am attracted by growth prospects, interesting work, reputable company...”. Must provide serious and specific arguments: the desire to apply your qualifications and experience where they can give the greatest return and will be appreciated, the attractiveness of working in a strong team of professionals.

4. Why do you consider yourself worthy to take this position? What are your advantages over other candidates?

This is the best question for a candidate to, without false modesty, name his main advantages over other applicants. At the same time, he must demonstrate his ability to persuade, emphasizing his advantages. It is bad if the candidate answers this question with weak arguments and cites his formal biographical characteristics.

5. What are your strengths?

The candidate must primarily emphasize the qualities required for this job and provide convincing evidence based on specific facts. But you can hear cliches repeated thousands of times: “I am sociable, neat, efficient,” etc. Ask him to clarify how his sociability, accuracy, diligence are manifested, what is his manner of listening to the client, what he has achieved thanks to his strong qualities.

6. What are your weaknesses?

From an intelligent candidate you are unlikely to hear repentance of sins and a long list of his shortcomings. He will try to twist the answer in such a way as to further increase his chances. For example, he will say: “Many people consider me a workaholic” or “I don’t know how to relax, I only feel good when I’m working” or “I’m too demanding of myself and others.” If the candidate boasts too much and you want to get him to openly admit his shortcomings, you can tell him this joke. In such a situation, the candidate characterizes himself: “Conscientious, hardworking, I don’t drink, I don’t smoke...” Then he is asked in surprise: “You don’t have a single shortcoming?” “There is one,” the candidate admits, “I like to lie.”

7. Why did you leave your previous job?

It’s bad if the reason for leaving was a conflict, if the candidate criticizes the existing order there and his former leader. Leaving work due to conflict is an escape from difficulties, an admission of one’s own defeat, which leaves an imprint on the individual’s self-esteem. A negative attitude towards people, the habit of conflicting with employees, and especially with management, is a stable personality characteristic and will certainly manifest itself in one form or another at a new job. A good candidate will emphasize the positive things that were in his previous work and relationships with people, and will name such worthy reasons as the desire for a more interesting (highly paid, providing opportunities for professional growth) work and the desire to fully realize his capabilities.

8. Why did you decide to change jobs?

This question is asked to someone who is working at the time of the interview. As with the answer to the previous question, a story about a conflict will not characterize the candidate well. While the desire for professional growth, expanding the scope of application of one’s knowledge and skills, and increasing salaries is respected and welcomed in all developed countries.

9. Have you received other job offers?

The candidate’s authority will increase if he talks about other job offers, but notes his particular interest in this one. It’s good if he expresses his desire to receive maximum satisfaction from his work. His mood not only affects his health and the moral climate in the team, but is also the most important a necessary condition high labor productivity, the most reliable guarantee against errors, negligence and defects, and ultimately the main guarantee of the company’s prosperity.

10. How successful have you been in interviews in other places?

It is important to find out why you failed an interview in some places and passed successfully in others. If he convinces you that your competitors are interested, then you try to keep him.

11. Will your personal life interfere with this job, which is associated with additional stress (irregular working hours, long or long-distance business trips, constant travel)?

This question is often asked to women. In some companies, trying to circumvent the law, they set strict conditions, such as not having children for a certain time, not issuing sick leave for child care, not taking leave without pay, etc.

12. How do you imagine your position in five (ten) years?

Many uninitiated people who do not plan their careers and lives answer that they cannot imagine such long-term prospects. And a person aimed at personal success will readily talk about his planned professional growth, and, possibly, personal goals. Max Eggert, in his book A Brilliant Career, talks about the importance of career planning. At one famous business school, on the first day of classes, students were asked who had written down the stages and goals of their personal career. Only 3% of them raised their hands. After 10 years, it was these 3% who achieved more financial success than everyone else combined.

13. What changes would you make in your new job?

It’s good if you show your initiative and familiarity with the situation of innovation and reorganization. However, this is only permissible with a thorough knowledge of the problems in the company. It’s bad if you don’t know the state of affairs very well, but strive to change everything in your own way.

14. Who can I contact for feedback on your work?

Must readily provide telephone numbers and addresses of former colleagues and managers. Concealing such information will immediately reveal the lack of positive recommendations or the inexperience of the applicant.

15. What salary do you expect?

A Russian proverb says: “He who doesn’t know his own price will always sell himself short.” A good specialist always knows his worth and expects a high salary. It is better for the candidate to overestimate the expected payment for his work than to underestimate it. If the proposed salary, do not forget to “enlarge the pie” and list the benefits available in the organization: bonuses, medical insurance, children’s preschool institutions, free travel and meals, free training and other manifestations of care for staff. [...] If the candidate is clearly bluffing, you can “knock him out of the role” and cool his ardor by sharply lowering the proposed salary and benefits. Remember this joke? An arrogant young artist, in a demanding tone, puts forward his conditions to the chief director of the theater when applying for a job: “Salary 500 dollars, main roles, 8 performances per month and the provision of a separate apartment.” To which the chief director calmly puts forward his own: “50 dollars, daily performances, extras and a dorm room.” - "Agree".

You can add 5 more questions to the main ones.

16. What can you tell us about your professional connections that you could use in your new job?

17. How do you improve your professional qualifications?

18. What do you like to do in your free time?

19. When could you start a new job?

20. What questions do you have?

V. Polyakov
excerpt from the book “Career Technology”

Many established principles of interviewing have lost their relevance. For example, it is now almost impossible to catch candidates off guard with unexpected questions. Sites like Glassdoor allow them to determine what questions employers are asking most often and what answers they expect. With this information, applicants systematically prepare for interviews, memorizing answers until they begin to make the right impression, sound sincere and authentic.

It's not just unexpected questions that are a thing of the past. Research at companies like Google shows that puzzle questions often lead to costly hiring mistakes, that the number of interviews does not improve the quality of hires, and that in some professional fields, applicants' educational background, grades, and test scores are inconsistent. allow you to accurately predict success.

Therefore, it is time to reconsider the process of selecting interview questions, focusing on those that relate to professional activity, but at the same time cause difficulties in preparation.

Avoid questions whose answers can be rehearsed

If you work for a large corporation, all your questions have long been published on Glassdoor (along with recommended answers), so you will have to start with a clean slate - at a minimum, get rid of the questions that are heard in every interview, provoke banal answers and have low predictive value , such as “Name your biggest weakness,” “Why should we hire you,” “Describe your dream job,” and “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Don't get carried away with behavioral issues

IN modern world The value of questions that force candidates to describe their past (also known as "behavioral questions" - for example, "Tell me about a time you once...") is questionable because the techniques used in the job become outdated very quickly. According to a study by professors Frank Schmidt and John Hunter, the predictive value of such questions is only 12% higher than that of a coin toss. Why? Because what allowed a candidate to succeed a few years ago may not be applicable where he plans to work today. In addition, good storytellers can make it seem like they solved the problem themselves, even though in reality they had little role to play.

Assess problem solving ability

If you were hiring a chef, you would probably ask him to cook something. If you want to identify the best candidates, talk to them about the specifics of the job and offer to perform specific tasks. Ask:

• Identify possible problem areas. You might say something like, “Tell me in detail about the actions you will take in your first few weeks on the job to gain a full understanding of the challenges and opportunities.”
• Solve an existing problem. The ability to solve problems largely determines professional success. Describe to the candidate a realistic problem they might face on their first day of work. Ask him to describe the actions he could take to solve the problem. Before the interview, create your own algorithm. Include such important points as collecting information, discussing the problem with colleagues or the customer, and defining criteria for success. Ensure that the candidate does not skip these steps.
• Identify weaknesses in the procedures used. Provide the candidate with a description of an existing imperfect procedure that is directly related to his job. Ask to analyze it and identify serious problems that such imperfections can lead to. Before your interview, be sure to create your own list.

Evaluate Foresight

Professionals working in dynamic industries must be able to predict the future. Examples of questions to find such people:

• Describe your work plan. Before you take on new job or a project, the best employees always make the difference. Ask to outline the key points of the plan for the first 3-6 months, including goals, aspirations to align with stakeholders, data analysis, communication with colleagues, criteria for measuring success, etc.
• Try to predict the dynamics of development of a position or industry as a whole. The ability to anticipate major changes is very important. Ask to describe at least five possible options development of the position over the next three years and the impact of these changes on the business as a whole. New employees also need to be prepared for changes in the industry itself. Ask them to name 3-5 big trends and describe the changes that need to be implemented to meet them.

Assess ability to learn, adapt and innovate

If the employee may need all of this, ask the following questions:

• Learning: “Describe how you gain new knowledge and maintain your professional level on an ongoing basis".
• Flexibility: “Describe how you adapt to significant but unexpected changes related to technology or customer expectations.”
• Innovation: “Describe the steps you would take to innovate to take advantage of new technologies and compete.”

Don't repeat yourself

When interviewing a candidate, do not ask about things that can be read on a resume (for example, where they studied or what duties they performed at their previous job).

Make time for sales

Of course, most of your interview effort should be focused on assessing the candidate, but don't forget that you also need to captivate them by selling the position and the company itself. Take the initiative and ask: “What criteria do you use to evaluate employer proposals?” After that, provide strong arguments for each point.

In some cases, interview results may not be easy to interpret. Some companies (for example, the Indian online store Flipkart) successfully hire candidates without interviews. However, research shows that the chances of success can be increased by carefully selecting questions and determining acceptable answers. One study also notes that people can make hiring decisions in as little as 15 seconds, so you should consciously avoid making any judgments in the first half of the interview.

hbr.org, translation: Olga Airapetova