Decide what the new tech will run before you write the ad. An installer who has only set changeouts may need help before taking no-cool calls alone. The HVAC hiring guide covers the rest of the plan.
HVAC job description and interview questions
Start with the HVAC technician job description template to set the pay, service area and on-call terms. Pair it with the interview questions for your follow-ups and the EPA 608 check.
What to ask HVAC applicants, and what you check
You set the HVAC questions with your HireBus team during setup, and Iris asks them in each interview:
- EPA 608. Ask which Section 608 certification type they hold. You check the card against the work you'll assign. EPA explains the certification types and supervised-apprentice exemption.
- Service, install or maintenance. Ask which work they've done most and what help they needed.
- The diagnostic question. “Walk me through your last no-cool call.” Use the answer to plan your technical follow-up.
- Pay, van and on-call. Say whether pay is hourly or flat-rate, whether the van goes home with them, and how often they're on call.
- Start date. Ask when they can start and how much notice they owe their current shop.
HVAC roles to hire for
- Service technician. Runs diagnostic calls alone, holds the 608 certification for the work and explains the repair to the homeowner.
- Installer. Changeouts and new systems. Brazing, ductwork, and whether they've run a two-person install on their own.
- Maintenance technician. Tune-ups and memberships, with a clean handoff to service when something is wrong.
- Lead / crew lead. Has trained helpers and owns the callbacks.
- CSR / dispatcher. Phone manner during the Iris interview, software they've run, how they handle a July no-cool queue. See the HVAC dispatcher job description.
- Comfort advisor. Has sold in-home before and is comfortable with commission.
Questions HVAC owners ask
Can Iris verify an EPA 608 card?
No. Iris asks which certification type the applicant holds and who issued it. You check the card yourself before an offer.
Does she interview installers differently from service techs?
Yes, when you set them up as separate roles. Give installers questions about changeouts and brazing, and give service techs questions about diagnostics.
Can we hire ahead of summer?
Yes. Count back from the date you need a tech on the truck, and leave time for interviews and training. An active bench keeps Iris interviewing new applicants and uses ad budget and scored-candidate credits. See always-on hiring.
Founder & CEO of HireBus. Brandon took over his father's window cleaning business in 2012 and grew it past seventy employees in six seasons. He founded HireBus in Denver in 2021 with Rick Breden, PhD, an industrial and organizational psychologist. Read our story.
