How do you know when you hire a newbie that they will make a good locator?

**gypsygirl** · May 17th, 2008, 08:53 PM

I was travelling this past week and this question was posed... When you are interviewing for a new hire... is there ANY clue or question that you can ask or a personality trait that may indicate that someone would OR would NOT make a good locator?

I have my own theories... but thought I would pose this question to all of you. Remember there are exceptions to the rule... but surely there is a common denominator amongst us.

**Goldenboy** · May 17th, 2008, 09:44 PM

I think this is a question that will never be figured out. If anyone ever could find the answer to this they would be able to have one hell of a team.

In the area I work if you take 10 of the real tenured hard working employees and look at their previous work history it's funny. Everyone is totally different. Some had worked outdoors, some drivers, and some people that have never worked outside before this job.

I always thought if you hired hunters and outdoors people they'd do great but I've seen plenty of them come out of training talking about how they're always outside and then when they start walking for 10-12 hours a day they are tired and complaining. And then some of the trainees that have never worked outside seem to do well with all the walking,climbing, and everything else.

I guess my answer is there is no good answer. I've tried to figure out which trainees will make it each year and I never get it right so I quit trying.

**beyond help** · May 18th, 2008, 11:21 AM

It all depends on the persons willingness to work. No real way of knowing.

**TBONE** · May 18th, 2008, 11:58 AM

When I was a supervisor I looked for a few things that I had good luck with one was do they have a reason to work such as a family never had good luck with party animals two was did they have the drive to work or just wanted to ride all through the training did they ask the right questions or did they want to act like they knew it just to impress and blow through the training to get on their own.

**6way_DPS** · May 18th, 2008, 12:11 PM

This is a good one Gypsy,
I'm not sure that there is just one good answer and I am sure that there have been many bad theories and choices made by all of us. One technique I like to employ is to throw a wild card question into each interview. Something that has absolutely nothing to do with anything but will make the interviewee have to think on their feet. Examples: If I locked you in a room with an angey bear

...what book would you want?, Where would you hide and elephant?

What I'm looking for is someone who is mentally agile.

This isn't the deciding factor but is certainly concidered when I'm on the fence with a potential employee decision.

**RoadMap** · May 18th, 2008, 04:52 PM

You hire the people who have families. Of course you have to pay them more than they would get working for Burger King, but someone who has everything to lose. Also someone who has an ego the size of an elephant. You know the perfectionist. The one who thinks he is the best and wants to prove it everyday. We all get this way eventually anyway!

**yahoo** · May 18th, 2008, 10:39 PM

gypsy .........this is a good question...we have to be very careful in interviews b.c of descrepancies with the labor laws.....can i say never judge a book by its cover...........???????

**2RUDE** · May 19th, 2008, 12:39 AM

.

**underground quester** · May 20th, 2008, 09:59 PM

Gypsy:

Excellent question. One, from the looks of it, many of us have asked ourselves.

Have come up with some ideas. Each idea could be put into one, or several, behavioral descriptive interview questions. (ie: Tell me about a time when...
Given "X" situation how did you respond.
Then of course you must confirm answers given with former employers.

ie: John says he is a hard worker and gave _____ example. Can you expand on this...

No labour laws are broken or walked upon and it gets you closer to want you want in a locator.

Hiring anyone, including a locator is a bit like going to court to GET JUSTICE.
In all truth, we only go to court to have an opportunity at Justice AT BEST.

Is the individual:

Self Directed
Organized
Able to prioritize & Change priorities on the fly (this is crucial)
Inquisitive
Enjoy learning
Able to deal effectively with stress
Team oriented but can work on their own without supervision
Empathetic to Team Members needs
Able to consistently deal with difficult people
Have a sense of humor (Nothing wrong with being grumpy-but a steady diet of grumpy is PERHAPS an indication of potential issues)

Can they visualize/conceptulize? (visualize runs of utilities underground form
patterns in his "minds eye").
Detail oriented
Ability to work under pressure
Financial management skills
Tidy presentable individual - well groomed
Cares about personal safety & safety of team members
Good written/oral/drawing skills

These are a few of the ideas I have come up with in terms of traits a locator should have. Will every individual have every trait, NO, but the more they have the better.

So, what others did I miss?

South Kansas · May 21st, 2008, 01:21 AM

all you need is a sup that covers your ass on everything

**CableDawg** · June 3rd, 2008, 04:57 PM

Now I am 24 i've been doing this since I was 22. I enjoy getting drunk and laid as much as the next guy and i'm not married nor do I have kids. I don't feel i'm the worlds greatest locator but I do feel that I am an asset to my company, I might not be the best or fastest but I do take pride in my work. Maybe i'm an exception to the rule or maybe not. I don't think you can tell how someone is going to be untill they be that person. And your right, people with a wife and kids do have a lot more to lose, but thats it.... It doesn't mean they are going to work any harder than someone single, maybe that just means they are only worried about the pay check and not really focused on the job they hired on for?????? By the way there also might be a connection with SM&P with so many Military/Ex Military members... Food for thought.

**AULupstate** · June 3rd, 2008, 07:30 PM

There is no ONE answer when it come to hiring INDIVIDUALS. Everyone has there own set of positives and negatives. Married people do not always make the best candidates, you do not know what there home life is like, it may be riddled with problems. Single persons may also have problems in their personal lives. If you can find people that can seperate professional from personal easily then that is who I would be looking at as potential employees. As an employer you have a short amount of time to 'judge' the person sitting in front of you. Body language, ease of discussing topics about the job, knowledge of the job (details and procedure), forthrightness in talking about past employment good and bad. Combine those with good old fashion gut feeling and then formulate an answer as to yes or no to hire this person.

**underground quester** · June 4th, 2008, 02:04 AM

Originally Posted by AULupstate

There is no ONE answer when it come to hiring INDIVIDUALS. Everyone has there own set of positives and negatives. Married people do not always make the best candidates, you do not know what there home life is like, it may be riddled with problems. Single persons may also have problems in their personal lives. If you can find people that can seperate professional from personal easily then that is who I would be looking at as potential employees. As an employer you have a short amount of time to 'judge' the person sitting in front of you. Body language, ease of discussing topics about the job, knowledge of the job (details and procedure), forthrightness in talking about past employment good and bad. Combine those with good old fashion gut feeling and then formulate an answer as to yes or no to hire this person.

Your right!

Ask the right questions in an interview and you will get the answers you are looking for. I like your catch on forthrightness. Very important! I did not always worry too much about things that have gone wrong as long as I heard about what they did to ensure it didn't happen often. That shows they can reason things through, seek solutions to problems and know the difference between caring/not caring.

Gut feeling can also be called intuition. Some people are better at it than others. However, gut feeling is most often based in past experiences or a combination of events.

ThanX for your input!!

**Wingfoot** · June 15th, 2008, 05:11 AM

Get a 100 applicants and 85 can't pass a simple whiz quiz.

**Enjoythefall** · March 21st, 2011, 06:17 PM

Just in regards to the whiz quiz...

Can't judge a book by its cover and what-not. As far as hard drugs go, they've never helped anyone... but some things should just be left up to a man (or woman) to decide as his god given right.

I also don't think it's fair to say that married men will work harder, or that young single men will more likely be party animals.

The bottom line is that you have to stop thinking about the interview process like its something its not. You are there to get to know this person, and sometimes that'll require a little improv. All situations are different, and while there may be certain questions that give you useful information... if those questions don't come from you, then they can't possibly pertain to your exact situation.

Are you a good locator? What factors have influenced your success in the field?