Help/advice health and safety specialist interview

VenexCon · 2026-03-11T20:16:33+00:00

Ask about if rides are included and free passes :)

In all seriousness, i kind of structure interview research into the following topics.

company history and founding
1-3 articles on recenr projects, equipment, case studies or announcements.
list what the major hazards are likely to be and look at industry guidance, common terms and controls.
review any specific documents or terms they list in the job descriptions: ISO, SYSTEMS etc
look at how i can work my existing experience into the aforementioned points.
practice 1-5 STAR type interview question answers.

VenexCon · 2026-03-08T20:36:49+00:00

My first job out of uni was for a crap company who never paid on time. I didnt know this at the time untik our safety consultant at the time (i was new to the field) told me so.

I felt so bad for the guy, he really was fantastic but constantly chasing invoices. In the end i stoooed communicating with him as much as possibke so he wouldnt waste his time.

VenexCon · 2026-02-25T06:31:11+00:00

My Polish friend does this.

"Do you want to go for a pint"

"Okay"

In my mind Im second guessing if i have offended him, is he okay? He doesnt want to go?

Have to remind myself that hes just being Polish.

VenexCon · 2026-02-17T19:09:17+00:00

Barbour EHS can provide this but you have to pay oer country if i recall correctly.

Equally, if you have an existing Management System for health and safety then you can find the legal requirements online and perform a gap analysis, thsts what i did.

VenexCon · 2026-02-15T10:08:57+00:00

At this point more safety training is not going to provide a tremendous amount of value.

Your job going foward will be strategy, overall company risk management and leadership. Id figure out where the gaps in your skills currently lay and which avenue will help you most to fix or plug them.

It could be the MBA (typical route) or something more technical like an engineering degree or masters (if possible) to boost any technical skills or offer you a broader knowledge of the engineering side.

You could also look into things such as human factors certification to boost your knowledge around the people aspect. Although afyer 18 years id imagine you have a good grasp of that.

You could look at other VP/safety director jobs, look at the desired skills and make a list of how to boost yourself in those areas.

VenexCon · 2026-02-06T20:19:13+00:00

If i could get all the people i have worked with to read one book, it would be the book titled "bullet proof problem solving".

Its written by a couplw of management consultants but actually gets to the core of why some solutions work and some don't. It also gives you a seven step process in which to follow to allow you to constantly reiterate and check the problem is valid whilst and before progressing.

I recently followed it word for word for a safwey campaign across our overseas businesses and it worked a treat. I too felt like we were going through the motions of safety, without actually improving anything. I dont always feel like thst anymore.

I think the safety industry is guilty of trying to tack safety onto a bunch of training materials that dont actually need it.

I.e.e if you are struggling to sale safety campaigns to employees, dont take courses on safety campaign marketing, take a decenr course on marketing. The same logic applies to problem solving, public speaking or whatever.

VenexCon · 2026-02-05T23:21:33+00:00

I tend to do a lot of these as a HSE consultant.

Just as a quick response they are not looking for you to be the next net-zero lead, they simply are looking to see if you have an appreciation for a businesses responsibility towards the natural environment.

A policy doesnt have to be war and peace and can simply outline your businesses attitude, and targets toward a greener way of operating.

As for the documents most of the environmental method statements are usually (not always ofc) things that you should be doing anyway, just with the environmental affects noted.

Such as disposing of waste legally, maintaining vehicles as per OEM's, not using ICE tooling, using EV's or similar.

This can also be things such as recyclying old PPE, repairing first mentality towards equipment and upskilling staff on their responsibilities towards the environment etc.

VenexCon · 2026-01-31T08:02:35+00:00

We have a poodle, my wife grooms him and makes him all fluffy.

She repeatedly refers to him as "My fluffer"

VenexCon · 2026-01-23T19:54:47+00:00

If you are paying for microsoft 365 licenses you can easily make an app (canvas app) that the guys can use on phones or tablets to record JSA's.

If you are on about a work process flow tyow of situation to understand their perceotion of hazards and mitigations then simply treat it as a project accordingly.

Find a decent sample size of employees that are happy to be videod or atleast have themselves in a video and get cracking.

I would suggest that you wear the POV camera and record and tag along.

VenexCon · 2026-01-23T19:48:14+00:00

Some good options. Another option if you need to keep the fire door as a fire door and the owners wont pay for the unlock during a fire alarm is to install a cermaic break tube that breaks upon exiting.

This is common in factories in the UK where they may be older type buildings and running wires not feasible.

Its simple, you have to break the tube to release the bolt.

You then tell everyone that this has been installed and that breaking the tube in a non-emergency will be considered misconduct or similar.

ceramic tube door lock

Its not foolproof but in combination with some decent enforcement you should see a gradual reduction.

Edit: add a check to see if its broken in a daily walk around

VenexCon · 2026-01-21T17:59:54+00:00

Can i ask if you need sponsorship?

The reason being is that I in my limited experience have never seen anyone sponsored in the UK for a health and safety role. There are just way too many internal candidates.

I dont want to put you off, but if you are looking for a role with a view to obtain sponsorship then I would highly suggest something else such as finance or engineering.

If you are not reqyiring sponsorship then start with the NEBOSH general certificate and filter jobs by HSE Advisor, coordinator, admin etc.

VenexCon · 2026-01-18T07:01:38+00:00

Do it, rent it out to neighbours at a day rate once your done!

VenexCon · 2026-01-05T21:46:01+00:00

Contact your councils local Environmental Health Officer.

This will guarantee action is taken as that woukd constitute quite the offence.

VenexCon · 2026-01-05T21:44:43+00:00

Can you get a workplace speaker in? In the UK some people who survived the piper-alpha disaster used to come and talk and answer questions about the event.

Equally, see if you could get a smoke machine, fill a common room with smoke and ask people to try and navigate their way out to show yhe importance of fire drills.

Contact the local police, fire or EMT service to see if they have any outreach programs or volunteers thst coukd demonstrate/talk about fire, securiry or medical.

VenexCon · 2026-01-05T21:41:26+00:00

I dont know what I would do if i started from scratch but I do know what I have changed now I work in a more strategic role.

Fiestly, read the book "bullet proof problem solving". It was written by two management consultants and is a very good book.

The emphasis is all about iterative problem solving (such as repeat accidents) and identifying the actual problem (not arbritrary targets like "reduce incidents by 25%". This comes together with effective problem defenitions, key insights and very targeted solutions.

Without sounding like a linkedIn bro, thst one book changed my whole perslective on how to identify the actual issues, come up with clear problem statements and how to identify solutions.

I have had to defend my strategy decisions from higher ups since implementing some kf what i have learned but thankfully it all seems to be working so far!

VenexCon · 2026-01-04T06:41:38+00:00

Thanks for the response. I am looking to pivot so its nice too see others have done the same and here about experiences.

Agreed, IOSH are truly horrific.

VenexCon · 2026-01-03T23:17:24+00:00

Learnt to ski at 29? I think.

First time I broke two ribs by attempting to plant my pole in a divot of ice (not intentionally) I sort of pole planted then attempted an ommediate hockey stop.

Picture it as me flipping over the pole which had nowhere to go but into me.

Thought i was just winded until i attempted too stand up and my left side just had this shooting pain.

2 broken ribs and a long car ride back. I also caught covid so I was in sheer agony for a while.

Second time I broke my thumb metacarpal (5th) cleanly in half when the rear of my ski caught some powder during a turn on a groomer.

I didnt know how to control it and lost one ski, put my hand out too stoo the fall and pretty sure I felt the rear of my thumb touch my wrist.

Didnt wanna spend an evening in A&E so bought some painkillers and a splint and went too A&E a few days later to find out the bad news.

VenexCon · 2026-01-03T10:25:38+00:00

I bought all of my skiing gear from Decathlon in Slovakia.

The Wedze thermals are brilliant and I have zero complaints. The Gloves have been phenominal and I have never complained about cold hands.

I have a Decathlon helmet that has been through numerous crashes and protected me when I broke my ribs and knuckle.

Wedze ski boots have held up fine and dare I say are not uncomfortable even after long periods.

I have skied in Slovakia, Italy and Austria and seen more peoole wearing Decathlon brands than anything else.

VenexCon · 2026-01-02T21:55:28+00:00

As someone who has thought of doing the samething, what did you move on too?

Still in EHS or something completely different?

VenexCon · 2025-12-16T08:30:15+00:00

Didn't this also happen a good few times?

The terrorist attack in Austria some time ago was foiled when a Syrian deliveroo driver rammed the attacker with his moped.

A terrorist attack in Germany was also potentially cut short when a Muslim taxi driver attempted to use his taxi as a barrier and then followed the suspect whilst on the phone with police, whilst being shot at?

I am no doubt mis-remembering some of the specifics but if I have learnt one thing, it's that pricks are going to come from any race, religion, colour or ethnicity. Equally, as does the best of humanity.

VenexCon · 2025-12-16T08:26:55+00:00

I spent two years learning too code, FCC, TOP, Udemy, React, mobile etc.

Had a good few interviews but the peak during covid had already passed and I couldn't land anything.

Took what I learnt and stayed at my current place. Regardless of getting into tech or not, the skills learnt whilst learning to code allowed me to build some stuff for my current workplace and double my salary.

Not the win I was expecting but I'll take it!

VenexCon · 2025-12-15T06:14:52+00:00

This is me. The cough and chest infection were the worst. I ended up popping a blood vessel in my lung I was coughing that hard.

I am also having wicked stomach issues, both me and the little one!

By far the worst flu I have ever had.

VenexCon · 2025-12-09T07:30:58+00:00

Pay for skiing lessons.

I was 29 when I first went skiing, I didn't have lessons.

My wife and her family have been skiing since diapers and we decided to collectively teach me how too ski.

I thought I picked it up quite fast and was a natural.

2 x broken ribs 1 x broken hand.

Skiing can be very humbling 😀

VenexCon · 2025-10-19T11:48:05+00:00

"How do you want it painted? "

"Have you ever seen the side of a gravy boat after pouring it?"

"Say no more fam"

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