How to prepare for a job interview at a brand dealer
Half an hour of preparation makes the difference. What a workshop manager really wants to hear, which questions to expect and what's better left unsaid.
A job interview at a brand dealer isn’t an exam. The workshop manager mainly wants to know whether you work neatly, whether you’re honest about what you don’t know and whether you fit the team. Even so, we regularly see good mechanics trip up on things that half an hour of preparation could have prevented. Here’s what we tell our candidates.
Know who you’re sitting down with
Take a quick look at the dealer’s website before you go. Which brands do they carry? How many locations? Is it a family business or part of a larger group? You don’t need to give a presentation about it, but if the workshop manager asks why you specifically want to work there, “you also do Cupra and I’d like to get stuck into that” is a better answer than “it’s close by”.
Get to know the workshop
Feel free to ask, when you get your invitation, how many mechanics work there and how the days are organised. It shows you’re thinking about how you’ll fit into the team. And it saves you surprises if it turns out there are late-night shopping evenings.
The questions that almost always come up
Every workshop manager has their own style, but these questions almost always come back:
- Why do you want to leave your current employer? Stay honest and stay polite. “I want to do more diagnostic work and I can’t do that there” works. Complaining about your old boss doesn’t.
- What are you good at and what aren’t you? Actually name something you’re less good at. Nobody believes a mechanic who says he’s good at everything.
- What do you do when you can’t find a fault? Here they want to hear that you consult others and don’t keep fumbling around at the customer’s expense.
- How do you deal with an angry customer? Even as a mechanic, this happens sometimes. Staying calm, listening and bringing in the service advisor is a solid answer.
Questions about salary
Wait with salary until the employer brings it up, or until the end of the conversation. If you apply through us, we’ve already agreed the range with the employer. That way you know beforehand what’s realistic and you don’t have to guess.
What you can ask yourself
A conversation goes both ways. Good questions to ask:
- What does an average day in the workshop look like?
- Which training courses are reimbursed?
- What’s the balance between maintenance and diagnostic work?
- What do you expect from me in the first three months?
What you’d better not do
Don’t be late, not even two minutes. Don’t show up in the work clothes from that morning. And don’t say you’re “just good at everything really”. Workshop managers have seen a hundred of those and see straight through it.
After the interview
Send a short message the same day to say thanks. If you apply through Uncapped, we call the employer the next day for feedback. That way you know where you stand within a few days, instead of waiting weeks for an email that never comes.
