Hi everyone! happy new year!
I will soon have an interview for a food safety technologist positon and l was wondering if you could help and share with me typical questions l could be asked?(specific to food safety management).
In other words and for more experienced members, what would you ask someone you are interviewing for being the responsible for maintaining the food safety program?
thank you!
Euge
Honestly, as the person who does these interviews, I'm partly interested in your experience, but more interested in how curious you are, how bright you seem, and how quickly I think you'll pick new things up. IMO the best people for quality/technical roles need to be capable of learning new things, as the industry changes, companies change, standards evolves, science and understanding progresses etc.
I'd therefore ask you about your previous experience, what you did, how you worked (with a team / individually), how you take ownership of projects and issues, what you enjoyed, what you found frustrating (N.B. "nothing" is an answer that would make me suspicious - we're all human and I very much doubt any of us enjoy 100% of our roles ), what you learned, how you like to learn (practical, theoretical study etc), where your strengths and weaknesses are - the latter is not a problem if presented in the right way, as it shows that you have a degree of self-awareness and that's a useful attribute when you're trying to manage people...
I'd want to see some familiarity with HACCP, BRC (or something similar), food hygiene regulations, quality systems, what type of analytical methods and equipment you're familiar with (if that's at all relevant to the nature of your role) - the depth if knowledge I'd expect in a candidate will of course depend on the seniority of the role for which you're applying. If it's a relatively junior position then honestly I'd be happy with a general awareness, provided it's coupled with obvious and genuine curiosity to learn more.
It's also likely that you might be asked about how you handle challenging/stressful situations, as the reality of working in this type of role is that you'll potentially have to make decisions or give advice that won't make you popular ("we need to throw it away rather than sell it" is something anyone in this area will come across, but obviously has a cost and that makes it unwelcome amongst our commercial colleagues).
Is it an office-based or factory-based role you're going for, or a bit of both?
If they don't give you a tour of the factory facility, then by all means ask for one as it shows interest. They may decline - I'd not normally bother with it until 2nd stage interviews, but it won't hurt to look curious.
Read the companies website. I don't expect people to have memorised every fact on there, but a general awareness of the product types, customer types, nature of the business etc looks good and will potentially allow you to tailor some of your answers, and to ask intelligent and relevant questions.
Ask lots of questions. Is the job spec that the recruiter has given you really comprehensive, or just a brief overview? Ask for more detail about how you'll work, who you'll be working with, what the reporting structure is, what your responsibilities will be, how the company approaches training and development etc.
Personally I'd also ask how long key technical staff have been there (but do it tactfully) - it's a genuine question about how established the team is vs. how much is still new and in need of being written/defined, but also gives you an idea about whether there is a high or low staff turnover in the department. If they are all new and the staff seem to last only a few months, then it's a sign that the working environment might not be great, and should thus lead you to ask yourself whether you want to work there.
A million years ago my father told me to always remember that when you go to an interview, you are interviewing the employer as much as they are interviewing you, and that was fantastic advice that I'd recommend for anyone interviewing for any role - remember that they need to convince you that you want to work there, as much as you need to convince them to employ you. Be confident but not arrogant about it!