Why are you the best Power Plant Operator for us?

"I believe that I am the best Power Plant Operator for you because I have taken the Plant Operator and Power Plant Maintenance exams. I passed both with flying colors and have proven reading comprehension, mechanical assembly, mathematics and mechanical skills. I also have a top-notch ability to interpret tables and graphs."

Tell the hiring manager what makes you stand out from the crowd. It can be difficult to talk highly of yourself, but this is definitely the time to do it. Talk about any special accolades, education or skills that set you apart from other candidates.

After we make electricity, why do we increase the voltage before sending it to the grid?

"After we make electricity, we increase the voltage before sending it to the grid in order to ensure that we do not lose power in the transmission lines."

Display to the hiring manager that you are able to explain basic concepts in a simple to understand manner. Your answer should be concise but accurate.

Why does steam have to be heated to the temperature it is, before entering a turbine?

"Steam has to be heated before entering a turbine in order to avoid excess moisture in the steam at the end of expansion and to protect the turbine."

Display to the hiring manager that you are able to explain basic concepts in a simple to understand manner. Your answer should be concise but accurate.

Where do you think one third of the electricity we generate at this power plant, goes?

"When the electricity that we generate leaves our power plant, the electricity flows to large transmission lines held up by huge towers. The transmission lines carry large amounts of electricity to substations in cities and towns. Distribution lines carry small amounts of electricity from the substations to houses and businesses."

Display to the hiring manager that you are able to explain basic concepts in a simple to understand manner. Your answer should be concise but accurate.

How can you tell the difference between induced draft and forced draft?

"Yes, I can tell the difference between Induced Draft and Forced Draft. Induced Draft (ID) is when a fan is used to extract the air from a boiler post combustion via Electrostatic Precipitator to exhaust through the chimney. Forced draft (FD) is when a fan is used to force air into the boiler to provide more air for combustion."

Display to the hiring manager that you are able to explain basic concepts in a simple to understand manner. Your answer should be concise but accurate.

Explain to me why some cooling towers are 300 feet tall, and others look like a 30 by 30 foot cubicle on top of a building?

"The size of the cooling tower will depend greatly on the type of application the cooling tower is meant for. Facilities such as power plants, steel processing plants, petroleum refineries, or petrochemical plants usually install field erected type cooling towers due to their greater capacity for heat rejection. Field erected towers are usually much larger in size compared to the package type cooling towers."

Display to the hiring manager that you are able to explain basic concepts in a simple to understand manner. Your answer should be concise but accurate.

Why is coal crushed to a powder before being fed into a boiler?

"I believe that coal is crushed to a powder before being fed into a boiler so it can burn faster. and hotter."

Display to the hiring manager that you are able to explain basic concepts in a simple to understand manner. Your answer should be concise but accurate.

What are the primary differences from a natural gas power plant to a coal power plant?

"The primary difference between natural gas and a coal power plant is that coal is relatively less costly and natural gas is environmentally cleaner. Coal fired plants are being shut down at quite a quick pace and natural gas seems to be the new way for power generation."

Display to the hiring manager that you are able to explain basic concepts in a simple to understand manner. Your answer should be concise but accurate.

Do you enjoy working with your hands?

"I really do enjoy working with my hands, and this is the primary reason that I chose a career in the trades initially. I receive a great deal of satisfaction from being physically active on the job."

Being a Power Plant Operator can be a physically demanding job at times. Talk to the hiring manager about your feelings on working with your hands/being physical on the job.

What is 'lockout- tagout'; or 'lock and tag'?

" Lockout-tagout is a safety procedure use in industrial settings to ensure that dangerous machines are properly shut off and not able to be started up again prior to the completion of maintenance or servicing work. It requires that hazardous energy sources be "

Display to the hiring manager that you are able to understand, and easily explain, this safety procedure. Keep your answer simple.

How important is safety to you?

"I am very serious about safety in my plant and always ensure that all staff members are up to date on their safety training. We do drills as well and ensure that the lockout-tagout procedure is always followed accurately. Safety in the workplace is my top priority. In the last 10 years at my current plant, we have had just 2 accidents, which is very low for our industry."

To most employers, safety is the #1 concern. Assure the hiring manager that you feel the same way when it comes to your power plant, it's staff, and the implemented procedures.

"I thrive on ensuring I came with 10 fingers and go back home with 10 fingers. Safety should always have a top priority in a workplace. Hence, need to ensure fire drills, safety meetings, reporting incidents and near misses are done timely as per procedures. I was a safety champion and made sure near misses and incidents reported were investigated and recommendations shared to avoid reoccurrences."

Do you remember your steam tables?

"Yes, I do recall my steam tables, both industrial and scientific formulation as well as my gas tables. I also double check my calculations quite often using an online steam table calculator."

Show the hiring manager that you are able to recall your steam tables.

What is the temperature steam turns into dry steam?

"Steam turns into dry steam at approximately 472 degrees Fahrenheit."

Display to the hiring manager that you are able to explain basic concepts in a simple to understand manner. Your answer should be concise but accurate.

What is your greatest strength and how do you feel it will help you in this role?

"I feel that my greatest strength is in my team building skills. I have a strong ability to create a healthy environment of teamwork in my plant. This skill will be especially helpful when coming on as a new plant operator."

What is your greatest strength as a Power Plant Operator, and how does it help you to be successful in your position? Discuss with the hiring manager what you think your best skills are for this role.

"Having worked in different positions has given me the wide-ranging skillset and preparation I need to thrive as a plant operator. From my background, I have gained valuable experience in the different technical fields because I am a fast learner. This has enabled me to adjust to new situations and become skillful at handling a variety of work environments."

What excites you the most about a career as a Power Plant Operator?

"I understand that there are always difficult days and there are great days. What keeps me so excited about my career path is that it feels like a very important career choice. People rely on their electric power, and to have the knowledge to be able to control the systems that generate and distribute electric power, is really rewarding."

What part of being a Power Plant Operator makes you excited to come to work every day? Talk to the hiring manager about what drives you to love your career.

What is your philosophy towards work?

"My philosophy, when it comes to work, is to do my best every single day. Never procrastinate and always approach a challenge with an open mind. This mentality has certainly helped me work my way through many challenges in the workplace."

Having a positive philosophy when it comes to work is incredibly important. Talk to the hiring manager about your approach in the workplace.

What do you feel is an acceptable work attendance record?

"I feel that the only acceptable thing to do is to show up to work when you are expected. My previous supervisor really appreciated this about me and he will comment highly on my level of reliability when you contact him for a reference."

Assure the hiring manager that you take attendance very seriously. It is one thing to tell the interviewer that you are reliable but it is even better if you can support your statement with feedback from a previous manager or supervisor.

What do you do when your time schedule or project plan is upset by unforeseen circumstances?

"When my day unravels a bit due to unforeseen circumstances, I will take a minute to reassess my priorities. Asking for assistance where needed is also important, at times, to ensure that I am not taken off schedule too much. All in all, I handle unforeseen project and schedule changes quite well. It's always 'one step at a time'."

Assure the hiring manager that you are able to manage schedule changes and other unforeseen circumstances. How do you react and what do you do to make up for these changes in your plans?

What is your long-term career goal?

"My long term career goal is to manage a larger plant and be responsible for a larger crew. In my current position, I manage a team of 15. One of the reasons why I am so interested in working for your company is because it would allow me to grown in my career and achieve those long term goals."

Share with the hiring manager about your long term career goals. Be sure to tie your long term goals in with what the potential hiring company is offering.

What is your secret to a successful career as a Power Plant Operator?

"I feel that my secret to success is my positive attitude. I tackle every issue with an open mind and am very transparent with my team on the issues we face in our plant. I also feel that my success comes from the extensive training that I have received."

How do you define success as a Power Plant Operator? Talk to the hiring manager about what you feel has brought you success in your career so far.

What made you choose a career as a Power Plant Operator?

"I chose a career as a Power Plant Operator because I decided to follow into my father's footsteps. He took so much pride in his work and I grew up admiring that. It was a simple choice for me, and I have never looked back!"

Have you always wanted to be a Power Plant Operator? How did you hear about this career path, and what sparked the initial interest? Talk to the hiring manager about how you landed into this career path.

"I love technical jobs and I have always worked in a plant organization setup, this is a good opportunity for me to join your team. I noted your company serves more than 2 million customers and has been providing services for more than a century. This is very inspiring and gives me a desire to work for such an organization."

Why do you want to leave your current employer?

"I have been with my current employer for 6 years and have felt very little growth over the past year. I am ready for a new challenge and look forward to strengthening my career in a larger operation such as yours."

Give the hiring manager your reason for leaving your current position. Be sure to avoid speaking poorly about your current employer. Be honest, but positive.

What has been your greatest accomplishment as a Power Plant Operator?

"As a Power Plant Operator, I feel that my greatest accomplishment was completing vocational school while working full time. It was a very loaded schedule for me but feel that it gave me the best hands on experience for learning how to focus and handle a large workload."

Talk to the hiring manger about your greatest accomplishment in your career. Don't be afraid to brag about yourself a little bit! It's definitely a good thing to show that you take pride in your work.

Describe a difficult project and how you overcame the challenges.

"I have overcome many difficult challenges in the workplace and often have challenging projects on the go. The most recent project that I can recall working on was my participation in a plant-wide audit. The challenges faced included co-operation from all staff, accuracy of data and the analysis of our findings. I took the project on as a learning opportunity and kept an open mind. This allowed me to successfully complete the project without becoming overwhelmed."

When was the last time that you had a very difficult project to complete? Talk to the hiring manager about your ability to successfully handle these types of situations.

How do you handle stress and pressure?

"I am very accustomed to working in high pressure situations. I was the only Power Plant Operator in my previous position and also managed a staff of 25. When things would come to a boiling point, in terms of stress, I would sit back, assess the situation and figure out where I could delegate certain tasks. Prioritizing and being an open communicator have greatly helped me to handle pressure in this career."

Are you the type to stay calm under pressure? How do you ensure that you handle stress in a professional manner? Talk to the hiring manager about your ability to handle stress and pressure.

"I best deal with stress by prioritizing my responsibilities. As I know things could easily get out of hand if I don't have a clear plan of action. Knowing what is most important and then working from there helps me take one step at a time and stay calm even if the situation is challenging."

What is your greatest weakness and what steps are you taking to improve?

"I feel that my greatest weakness is in my advanced skills within Excel. I have attended an Excel for beginners course and have registered for the Intermediate Skills level course which begins this May."

Discuss with the hiring manager where you feel you could improve and what you are currently doing, or plan to do, in order to gain these skills. When you talk about your 'greatest weakness' do be sure to discuss skills that are not a complete deal breaker for gaining the position.

"I've been told by coworkers that I can sometimes be too blunt with my feedback. This doesn't come from a place of malice, but, I've always been extremely straightforward, and I have realized that not everyone knows this. I decided to take a communication skills course and learned how to pay attention to my paralanguage or paralinguistic. Words can mean different things to different people, and it depends on the tone of voice you speak in."

Power Plant Operator Interview Questions

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1. Why are you the best Power Plant Operator for us?
2. After we make electricity, why do we increase the voltage before sending it to the grid?
3. Why does steam have to be heated to the temperature it is, before entering a turbine?
4. Where do you think one third of the electricity we generate at this power plant, goes?
5. How can you tell the difference between induced draft and forced draft?
6. Explain to me why some cooling towers are 300 feet tall, and others look like a 30 by 30 foot cubicle on top of a building?
7. Why is coal crushed to a powder before being fed into a boiler?
8. What are the primary differences from a natural gas power plant to a coal power plant?
9. Do you enjoy working with your hands?
10. What is 'lockout- tagout'; or 'lock and tag'?
11. How important is safety to you?
12. Do you remember your steam tables?
13. What is the temperature steam turns into dry steam?
14. What is your greatest strength and how do you feel it will help you in this role?
15. What excites you the most about a career as a Power Plant Operator?
16. What is your philosophy towards work?
17. What do you feel is an acceptable work attendance record?
18. What do you do when your time schedule or project plan is upset by unforeseen circumstances?
19. What is your long-term career goal?
20. What is your secret to a successful career as a Power Plant Operator?
21. What made you choose a career as a Power Plant Operator?
22. Why do you want to leave your current employer?
23. What has been your greatest accomplishment as a Power Plant Operator?
24. Describe a difficult project and how you overcame the challenges.
25. How do you handle stress and pressure?
26. What is your greatest weakness and what steps are you taking to improve?

Power Plant Operator Interview Questions

1. Why are you the best Power Plant Operator for us?

2. After we make electricity, why do we increase the voltage before sending it to the grid?

3. Why does steam have to be heated to the temperature it is, before entering a turbine?

4. Where do you think one third of the electricity we generate at this power plant, goes?

5. How can you tell the difference between induced draft and forced draft?

6. Explain to me why some cooling towers are 300 feet tall, and others look like a 30 by 30 foot cubicle on top of a building?

7. Why is coal crushed to a powder before being fed into a boiler?

8. What are the primary differences from a natural gas power plant to a coal power plant?

9. Do you enjoy working with your hands?

10. What is 'lockout- tagout'; or 'lock and tag'?

11. How important is safety to you?

12. Do you remember your steam tables?

13. What is the temperature steam turns into dry steam?

14. What is your greatest strength and how do you feel it will help you in this role?

15. What excites you the most about a career as a Power Plant Operator?

16. What is your philosophy towards work?

17. What do you feel is an acceptable work attendance record?

18. What do you do when your time schedule or project plan is upset by unforeseen circumstances?

19. What is your long-term career goal?

20. What is your secret to a successful career as a Power Plant Operator?

21. What made you choose a career as a Power Plant Operator?

22. Why do you want to leave your current employer?

23. What has been your greatest accomplishment as a Power Plant Operator?

24. Describe a difficult project and how you overcame the challenges.

25. How do you handle stress and pressure?

26. What is your greatest weakness and what steps are you taking to improve?