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Interview Questions?

ICE said:
I had an assistant office manager come to the contract city that I was assigned to while I was on vacation. She cleared it off my desk. There was fancy organizers. I had to call her at least a half dozen times to find out what she did with stuff. On the bright side, I found some things that I had given up on.
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Heh, heh ...

When I was in the Army, for a time before I deployed to Vietnam I was assigned as a company clerk in a unit in the U.S. (Company clerk = Radar O'Reilly.) I had no training as a clerk, but I managed to mostly keep up with everything -- except filing. My "To Be Filed" box kept growing deeper and deeper. One day the First Sergeant looked over at me and said he needed a document about [___] from [___] date. Then he looked at my To Be Filed box, shook his head, and said, "I need it soonest. See what you can do."

I looked at the pile, picked off about the top half, flipped maybe two or three more sheets, and asked Top, "Is this the one you need?"

He just looked at me. "How the hell did you do that?"
 
steveray said:
Didn't see a great place to put this but...Have any you like? I'll start.

The amount of building officials doing this for a decade or more that totally blow this question blows my mind:

What are the typical triggers or requirements for means of egress illumination to have emergency power (and generally exit signage)?

I've gotten "public buildings" "places of assembly" and a whole host of other things really missing the most basic concept...
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Any space that requires 2 or more means of egress requires emergency power for egress lighting
 
Mr. Inspector said:
i would like to know what section says that.
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It depends on what code version you are using. In the 2015 IBC It's in Section 1008 Means of Egress Illumination:

1008.3.1 General. In the event of power supply failure in rooms and spaces that require two or more means of egress, an emergency electrical system shall automatically illuminate all of the following areas
 
steveray said:
And then I killed it....

Try again. Because I love the electrons.....What is the difference between 250.66 and 250.122 of the NEC?
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Sizing the GEC and EGC.

If you don't know the difference, then you have no business inspecting electrical.
 
Forum interview questions?

Have you ever been a staff member on a building code forum before? What was that like?
Do you like movies about gladiator?
What color is Custer's white horse?
If you could be a superhero, who would you be?
How would you sell hot chocolate in Florida?
How do you feel about ROMEX? Tell the truth!
 
Twice a year I was forced to be on a three man panel that interviewed special inspectors. The purpose was to decide if they can work within LA County jurisdiction. I was provided with a list of technical questions. I had the answers but sometimes I didn't understand the question. The only criteria we were supposed to base the vote on was how fast the applicant could find the answers in the pile of books they brought to the interview.

I would change it up and ask my own questions. Nontechnical questions like this:
"You are hired to inspect epoxy anchors for a SFD. The reason for the anchors is because the contractor missed a dozen or more. You notice that there are several that are not placed correctly. For example, they are 18" from the ends of the plates. Do you alert the customer? And the second part of the question is: Do you form an opinion of the County inspector that missed the anchor bolts during the footing inspection?"
 
Do you alert the customer? Yes...I work for the customer IBC 1704.2....And the second part of the question is: Do you form an opinion of the County inspector that missed the anchor bolts during the footing inspection?" Of course...What I do with that opinion is up to me...
 
steveray said:
Do you form an opinion of the County inspector that missed the anchor bolts during the footing inspection?"
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The common practice is to remove the anchors and HDs ... Place concrete ... wet set all of the anchors and HDs. How often does the AHJ inspector verify every anchor bolt and HD? On a SFD it is not out of the question to verify it all. Now how about the 43rd house of a tract and they asked for six houses for that inspection? I tell them that I can find the missing and wrong anchors and HDs at the framing inspection. By the 43rd lot they know a lot.

So do I form an opinion of the other AHJ inspector... well ya, and long before this happened.
 
Interview panel questioning me (for a job I didn't really want):
Q: If you were a tool, what kind of tool would you be?

A: Oh, I'd definitely be a hammer.

Q: Why is that?

A: Because y'all are starting to look like nails to me.

When asked later why I tanked that interview I answered, "They called me a tool."
 
Joe.B said:
"They called me a tool."
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That might be a compliment. Tools have great value, they help people get the job done. But there are two types of people who use tools - those who value their tools and take care of them and those who do not, no one wants to work for the latter.
 
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Joe.B said:
Interview panel questioning me (for a job I didn't really want):
Q: If you were a tool, what kind of tool would you be?

A: Oh, I'd definitely be a hammer.

Q: Why is that?

A: Because y'all are starting to look like nails to me.

When asked later why I tanked that interview I answered, "They called me a tool."
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The interview panel of four at the City Of Yorba Linda asked me if I had any questions or comments. I told them that as they interviewed me, I interviewed them and unfortunately they didn’t make the cut. Surprised they were. Two of them were not my kind of people and one was a turd.
 
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