5 Beneficial Cleaning Interview Questions to Ask Potential Hires

Planning on hiring? Make sure these commercial cleaning interview questions are on your list.

Hiring can be stressful. It’s hard to know exactly what you’re getting into. As nice as it would be to take everyone at their word, people can inflate their skills and experience. Some people may honestly believe they know more than they really do, while, unfortunately, some job candidates will tell you whatever they think you want to hear so you’ll hire them. That’s where a handful of insightful commercial cleaning interview questions come in. 

More than that, though, you also want to hire someone who you can train or who will take direction. You want someone who will get along with the rest of your team and will give your customers a good impression of your business. While there are never guarantees in hiring, you do have tools at your disposal to help you hire the right person. 

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What NOT to ask in an interview

Before we get into the cleaning interview questions, it’s important to point out that there are topics and questions you need to avoid. One of your first steps is to consult your state labor laws, as they can vary from state to state. In Massachusetts, for example, employers are prohibited from asking job candidates about their previous salary. 

At the federal level, there are topic areas to avoid, as well. The EEOC lists several, including questions about pregnancy, religious affiliation, or if the candidate has filed any worker’s compensation claims. Whether intentional or not, these questions can lead to claims of hiring discrimination. 

In fact, to help prevent discrimination, the EEOC suggests asking all your job candidates the same questions so that you can compare their skills and experiences equitably. 

5 Cleaning interview questions that belong on your list

You know what not to ask. Now let’s take a look at the cleaning interview questions that you should ask. 

1. Tell me about something you learned recently. The answer to this statement isn’t the most important piece of information you’ll get. What you can learn, hopefully, is that this job candidate is open to new experiences and learning new things. You want somebody who is confident but also willing to take instruction from you and your team leaders. Therefore, someone who is an active learner is ideal. Of course, there’s always a chance that they will tell you they haven’t learned anything, but that also tells you something about the candidate.

2. Why are you the best candidate for this job? Again, you’re looking beyond the answer here. They may, in fact, be the most experienced or hold the most cleaning certifications. But are they mentioning those accomplishments in a way that indicates they love to learn and grow? Or does it sound more like bragging? Someone with a superiority complex probably won’t be a team player. 

3. What do you find most irritating at work? Again, it’s not what they say here; it’s how they answer the question. We all have things that get on our nerves at work. However, some people can work themselves into a minor rage by talking about something that irritates them. Is that the person you want on your team? 

4. Why are you leaving your current job? As you can probably guess by now, this cleaning interview question is designed to gain insight into the person’s attitude more than the actual reason they left their last job. Good answers might be that they weren’t happy with the lower-quality work or ignoring safety protocols. 

5. What’s most important to you in your next job? This question will give you insight into how well this person will fit into your organization. Bear in mind, there’s nothing wrong with someone wanting to show up and do their job. But if someone is looking for a salaried regional manager position and your company is brand new and only has a dozen local accounts, this might not be the right fit. 

Asking good questions as part of your commercial cleaning interview process can give you a lot of insight into what a job candidate will be like to work with. So when you hire, think about the company culture you want and how people will work together. Consider your customers and how this person will present your company to them. Most of all, hire someone you believe will do good work and that you and your team will appreciate.