Notes from WAO 2010 session on Hiring Operators
Thursday, April 15, 2010 16:30-17:30 (Mike Stanek – session chair)
What are we looking for in an Operator candidate?
Curiosity. Initiative. Ability to think and act Independently (especially if working alone), but also works
well on a team (especially if working on a crew with other operators). Responsible. A good balance ofcreativity and discipline. Demonstrates leadership (especially if you’re looking for future crew chiefs).
Goes beyond the minimum. Someone who raises the average in your group. Look for complementarypieces – not everyone with the same background and skills.
How do we find them?
Many labs find that recent college graduates with physics or engineering degrees have the rightcombination of problem solving and the ability to tolerate shift work. Former Navy nuclear reactor
operators have been successful at several accelerators. So have technicians hired from within the lab thatare familiar with operations, and have demonstrated the above characteristics.
Advertisements at colleges and universities can bring good candidates. Also, use personal connections atuniversities, (eg. Professors who have worked at accelerators may be able to steer a good candidate yourway). Recently hired operators may have connections to their university as well. Use local newspaper
advertisements and job fairs. Technical journal advertisements can bring some good candidates, but may
bring researchers who are trying to ‘get a foot in the door’ and won’t stay around long.
Screening tips
Send an email to each potential candidate describing the Operator job in detail, including the unpleasantparts. Many applicants have no idea what they are applying for, and this gives them an idea. It also gives
you something to talk about if you proceed to a phone or in-person interview. Some will remove
themselves from consideration just based on the email.
Phone interviews can save a lot of time and expense of bringing some to the lab. Arrange a time for theinterview, and be willing to spend 30 minutes – 1 hour asking detailed questions about projects orprevious work experience. Ask questions about the email that you sent, to see if they bothered to read it.
Interviews
Most labs conduct either a group interview or have the candidate interview with multiple key people.
Many groups have the candidate sit in the control room and talk to the operators, then later get input fromthose operators (beware - there may be a legal requirement that you warn the candidate that thisseemingly informal conversation is considered part of the interview). Some groups give the candidate
test questions (eg. How would you remove this radioactive part from that tunnel enclosure with minimum
exposure and without spreading contamination?). Some put the candidate in stressful ‘role-playing’situations to see how they would react (eg.angry user demanding beam). Many groups use a tour of theaccelerator as a good opportunity to see if the candidate can take in a brief description and ask goodquestions. ISIS in the UK has used psychometric testing to assess the candidate. Those tests involvedputting the candidate in a general group problem-solving situation and observing the interaction. Thiswas conducted by an outside company.
The interviewer should avoid talking too much. Ask questions and let the candidate do the talking.
Questions to ask:
Note: Some labs must have any ‘open questions’ approved by Human Resources, and those questions
must be asked of all candidates. If a candidate brings up a subject, or if the question relates to specificresume items, then there is more latitude.
“Give me an example of a difficult problem you solved without much guidance in one of your previouspositions.” Then keep probing in more depth to assess their approach. Ask detailed questions about aproject they worked on – looking for weak points and probing further to see if they can think underpressure.
“What do you know about my accelerator?” (to see if they bothered to do any research before theinterview).
“What useful criticism have you received?”
Have some odd or interesting ‘conversation pieces’ on hand, and see how curious the candidate is, and ifthey ask questions.
“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”“If I call your references, what’s the worst thing they are going to say about you?”
Rating systems
JLAB uses a rating system filled out by each of the interviewers. It can be useful in forcing you toprioritize skills and qualities. But beware that you may have to re-assess and adjust if your ‘gut-feeling’
doesn’t agree with the numbers.
Reference Checks
Reference checks are a must. But be aware that references may have their own motives that may not bein the best interest of the candidate (eg. Professor thinks that candidate should have completed PhD
program).
Red Flags – Warning Signs
Big time gaps on resume (per Bob Mao, he may have been in jail for punching supervisor). If resume
shows they were part of a big collaboration, make sure they really contributed to the project, andunderstand the big picture, not just their little piece.
Probation - After the hire, use probation period to seriously assess the new operator. Start corrective
actions and documentation of problems early if any signs that the hire was a mistake.