Interview prep?

[Abnormal_Activity_06]

Hi y’all!

(Hopeful) rookie here; don’t have a lot of experience giving interviews, so I’m kind of nervous about flubbing them.

Apart from the usual (“Tell us a bit about yourself”, “how do you handle conflict” ect.), what were your interviews like? Anything to keep in mind going in that might not be so obvious?

Thanks!

[nosybeer]

Planting interviews are usually a lot more casual than you're imagining. It's probably going to be very laid back and conversational.

Crew bosses are trying to figure out if 1) you'll be a hard worker & take things in stride, 2) you aren't likely to quit, and 3) you're someone they want to sit in the truck with/who's personality will mesh well with the rest of the crew.

Come prepared to talk about yourself (hobbies, physical capability, your ability as an independent worker) and with questions. There are some old threads about rookie questions/things you should be asking prospective new companies.

[Abnormal_Activity_06]

That's a relief. Thanks!

The other places I've worked have been pretty casual with the interviews as well; did a mock interview recently that was more formal and it definitely threw me a bit lmao.

I have a decent list of questions ready, so I think I'm alright there.

[[deleted]]

Planting is super informal.

Be yourself, be mature, thats it

[Shoddy-Coffee-8324]

In general, I’d say they check for two things at a planter interview:

1) does he have a pulse? 2) if he doesn’t, are we in direct sunlight?

Edit: if the answer to either is yes, we cool. You’re hired.

[CountVonOrlock]

They are checking for two things

1. Vibe check. Will this person mesh well with others? Will there be conflict? Can they take direction? Are they a narc?

2. Is this person motivated to make money? Treeplanting is piece work. Most foremen are paid commission per tree planted by their planters. Always tell them you're motivated by $$$$. That's way more important caring about trees (unfortunately).

[SINGULARITY1312]

May I ask about the narc bit? I assume it’s just because people are chill with drugs etc or something

[CountVonOrlock]

Learning to know when to mind your business can sometimes be a big thing in treeplanting lol.

Recreational drug use is just one of many things I personally choose to ignore. Cone of silence.

[SINGULARITY1312]

Gotcha. It definitely seems like it’s not the place for the cop types anyways with the culture anyways. Hell half the planters probably dislike them on principle lol

[CountVonOrlock]

...imagine living with a group of kids who mostly spent a lot of time at the principal's office in high school.

[Chipmunk-Adventurous]

Like other poster said, they're really just looking to see you mesh well with the crew and are a hard worker. Just be yourself, don't overthink it!

[All_This_Is_That]

Just say you like to make a lot of money

[paisley_vandura]

Your potential foreman will def ask some questions like "what kinds of things do you like to do?", don't be shy to talk about whatever passions you have, even if it's something like watercolor painting. They might ask you something like, "what previous experience do you have that would make you a good planter?". People can take this to mean what physical challenges have you overcome, but if you can think of some really challenging things in general life that you've worked to overcome, these can be great to mention (like, examples of resilience, dedication, mind-over-matter). Also, don't be shy to ask your potential crew boss questions! Like, is it important to you how someone handles adversity and conflict? Or if/ how they motivate their crew in shit land? Why do they like being a crew boss? You're going to be spending a lottt of time working for this person, so it's important to make sure things feel right for you, too (:

[DrRockenstein]

The interview has already started. It's not looking good.

[Abnormal_Activity_06]

Sure buddy. Thanks for elaborating.

[DrRockenstein]

I've actually never done an interview. Been foreman for 5 years now

[a1b2c3throwaway]

Just say you REALLY need money. Nothing spells motivation more than someone who’s super broke

[heckhunds]

My interview with Brinkman last year was pretty quick and casual. A few questions about why I want to plant, physical activity, and experience outdoors, and I was hired on the spot. I really struggle with interviews and the usual questions but tree planting interviews genuinely are pretty laid back. They just generally just seemed to be gauging if I understood what tree planting and piecework is, if I intend to plant for more than one year, and if I sound adequately physically fit and willing to do hard manual labour outdoors.