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Switchboard operator interview questions

The questions a switchboard operator is likely to be asked, and what a good answer shows. For the candidate getting ready, and for the employer doing the asking: both sides of the same table.

About the job itself

  1. Why do you want to work as a switchboard operator?
    What drew you to this work, what you already know about it, and something from your past that shows you will be good at it.
  2. What pay are you looking for?
    A figure you can justify. Adverts for this job usually pay £24,800 to £26,000 a year, so check the advert, know your number and give it calmly.

Questions for office & admin

  1. Which software do you use daily?
    Specific programs and your level in each.
  2. Tell me about improving a process in the office.
    What was slow, what you changed, and the time saved.
  3. How do you handle confidential information?
    Need to know, locked away, and careful with email.
  4. How do you deal with a caller who is angry?
    Calm, listen, help or pass on, and follow up.
  5. How do you make sure your work is accurate?
    Checking before sending, and a system for details.

The questions every interviewer asks

  1. Why are you leaving your current job, or why did you leave the last one?
    A reason that looks forward (more hours, a shorter journey, a step up), never a complaint about the old boss.
  2. Tell me about a time something went wrong at work and what you did.
    A real example: what happened, what you did yourself, how it ended, and what you do differently now.
  3. What would your last manager say about you?
    Something they would actually say, with proof: "reliable, I covered the late shift for six months".
  4. Where do you see yourself in a couple of years?
    Ambition that fits the job: getting better at it, a ticket or qualification, perhaps leading a team.
  5. Do you have any questions for us?
    Always have two ready. See the list further down this page.

Questions to ask them

At the end you will be asked whether you have any questions. Have two ready:

  • What does a normal day or shift look like?
  • What would good work look like after the first three months?
  • Who would I work with, and who would I report to?
  • What training will I get at the start?
  • When can I expect to hear back, and what is the next step?

For the employer: what you must not ask

The same questions work from your side of the table. These do not, because UK law forbids them or makes them a risk:

  • Age, date of birth or when somebody left school. Age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Ask whether they meet any legal minimum age, nothing more.
  • Marriage, children, pregnancy or plans for a family. Protected characteristics. Ask everybody the same question about whether they can work the hours.
  • Health or sickness absence before a job offer. Section 60 of the Equality Act 2010 bans it, except to make adjustments for the interview, to check they can do a task that is intrinsic to the job, or for monitoring.
  • Religion, nationality or where somebody is "really" from. Protected characteristics. Check the right to work for every candidate in the same way, after the interview, not by guessing from a name or an accent.
  • Spent convictions. Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 a spent conviction need not be disclosed, except for roles exempt from the Act, where a standard or enhanced DBS check applies.
  • Trade union membership. Refusing work because somebody is or is not in a union is unlawful (Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, section 137).

Ask every candidate for the same job the same core questions, and write the answers down. It is fairer, and it is your best evidence if a decision is ever challenged.

Read more. For candidates: common interview questions, the STAR method, questions to ask at the end. For employers: how to interview candidates and interview adjustments for disabled and neurodivergent candidates.