How to Screen Welders: 8 Questions and What to Listen For Screening Interview Template

Which welding processes are you certified on (MIG/GMAW, TIG/GTAW, stick/SMAW, flux-core/FCAW), and do you hold any current AWS or other certifications? What positions are you certified in (flat, horizontal, vertical, overhead), and when were you last tested?

What this assesses: Verifies process and position qualifications before anything else, since a shop running overhead structural work cannot use a welder certified only flat and horizontal on MIG. Strong answers name the exact processes, the positions (1G through 6G or plate equivalents), any AWS D1.1 or similar cert with the issuing body, and roughly when they last passed a weld test; be cautious with a candidate who says 'I can weld anything' without naming a certification, is unsure whether their cert is still current, or conflates running a bead in a garage with holding a tested qualification, since all of these fall apart at the weld test.

What materials and thicknesses have you worked with most (carbon steel, stainless, aluminum), and what is the typical scope of the parts you weld? Walk me through a job you ran start to finish.

What this assesses: Establishes real scope, since aluminum TIG on thin sheet, stainless food-grade fabrication, and heavy structural carbon steel are very different skill sets and are not interchangeable. Strong answers name the materials, give a thickness range, and describe a concrete part or assembly with specifics (fit up and welded a 3/8 inch structural bracket, ran stainless tube for a food line, laid out a trailer frame); weak answers claim to weld all materials equally with no detail, or cannot describe a single job from fit-up to finished part, which usually means shallow hands-on time.

Can you read a blueprint and interpret weld symbols? Walk me through how you would set up a joint from a print, including fillet size, groove type, and where the weld goes.

What this assesses: Tests whether the candidate can work from a drawing without a lead welder standing over them, since a welder who cannot read a symbol will put the wrong weld in the wrong place and scrap the part. Strong answers describe reading the symbol correctly (which side the weld goes on, fillet leg size, groove or bevel called out, field-weld and all-around flags) and pulling dimensions off the print; be cautious with a candidate who has only worked from verbal direction or a tack-up someone else did, or who cannot explain a basic fillet-versus-groove symbol, which points to a narrower background than the title implies.

How do you know your weld is good before it goes to inspection? Tell me about a time a weld of yours failed inspection or a test, and what you did about it.

What this assesses: Quality awareness separates a welder who produces inspectable work from one who generates rework and rejected parts. Strong answers describe visual checks (profile, undercut, porosity, proper penetration and tie-in), controlling variables like amperage, travel speed, and preheat, and they own a past failure honestly with what they changed; be cautious with a candidate who claims they have never had a weld fail, blames the inspector or the material, or cannot describe what a good weld looks like versus a bad one, since real welders have all chased a failed bend test and learned from it.

Most shops hold welders to a production rate as well as a quality standard. How do you keep quality up when you are welding to a rate, and have you worked somewhere that tracked your output or reject rate?

What this assesses: Reveals whether the candidate can hold quality under production pressure, which is where a lot of shop-floor welders wash out. Strong answers reference working to a rate or takt time, describe how they avoid trading speed for defects, and treat a reject or first-pass-yield number as a normal part of the job; weak answers have only done one-off or hobby work with no rate, dismiss production metrics as unfair, or admit they cut corners when the line gets busy, which is a rework and scrap risk on a real floor.

Walk me through how you set up your machine and your safety before you strike an arc, and tell me about a time you handled hot work near flammables, in a confined space, or with heavy fumes.

What this assesses: Safety judgment around hot work, fumes, and confined spaces is non-negotiable, and welding fires and burns are expensive and avoidable. Strong answers describe dialing in the right settings and gas, wearing proper PPE (auto-darkening hood, jacket, gloves, respirator when needed), checking for combustibles and a fire watch on hot work, and confirming ventilation or a permit in a confined space; be cautious with a candidate who treats PPE as optional, cannot describe a hot-work permit or fire watch, or jokes about welding through the risk, since one careless setup starts a fire or drops someone in an oxygen-poor tank.

What other shop skills do you bring beyond welding: fit-up, blueprint layout, grinding and finishing, cutting (plasma, oxy-fuel, saw), fabrication? Do you own your own hood, gloves, and hand tools?

What this assesses: Confirms how productive the candidate is beyond laying a bead, since most shops want a welder who can also fit, tack, cut, and grind rather than wait on a fitter. Strong answers name the fabrication and cutting skills they actually use, describe fitting and tacking their own work, and confirm they own the standard personal gear; be cautious with a candidate who can only weld a joint someone else fit up, has no cutting or grinding experience, or owns no tools, which usually means a greener or more specialized background than a general shop needs.

What shifts can you work: days, nights, rotating, weekends? Are you open to overtime during a production push, can you pass a drug screen and background check if the site requires it, and do you have reliable transportation?

What this assesses: Determines scheduling and clearance fit, the most common reason a qualified welder falls through, since shops run multiple shifts, lean on overtime during a build, and many require clean screening before you touch the floor. Strong answers give specific availability, accept peak overtime with maybe one named constraint, answer the screening question directly, and confirm dependable transportation; be cautious with 'whatever you need' that collapses once a night shift or mandatory Saturdays land, hesitation on a routine drug screen, or no reliable ride to a shop that is rarely on a transit line, so surface these hard constraints now rather than after the offer.