Tell me about yourself and why you want to become a Health and Safety

Manager?
“I am a dedicated, organized, and passionate person who takes my work very
seriously. As a Health and Safety Manager you must be determined,
knowledgeable and resolute in everything you do, and those are just some of
the qualities I possess that I am proud of. The role of a Health and Safety
Manager requires specific skills and qualities which I certainly feel I have in
abundance. These are, being relied upon to create and instill a culture of ‘safety
must always come first’ within an organization; excellent communication skills,
especially when dealing with people who perhaps might be skeptical about
safety; and finally, an understanding that you are running a business. On that
basis, safety must run in parallel with your strategic aims and objectives. If you
hire me as your Health and Safety Manager, I will work with you to ensure
everything you and your employees do is compliant, and the risk is minimized to
an acceptable level.”
As a safety manager, how did you get workers and staff to adapt to new safety
policies?
“I performed audits frequently and monitored all workers in the office. I
identified issues that violated the policy as needed and mitigated the risk of an
accident until all workers were on board with the changes.”
Q: What credentials do you possess that qualify you for a position as a safety
manager?
“I have a bachelor’s degree in safety management and industrial hygiene with
10 years of experience as a safety manager. I’m also a certified safety
professional and industrial hygienist.”
Q: What steps would you take to correct safety deficiencies discovered during a
workplace safety audit?
A: “Working closely with other employees, I identified deficiencies and created
a plan to correct them immediately. First, I showed the workers why the issues
were hazardous. Then, I explained steps that we could follow to prevent
accidents and keep the workplace safe.”
Q: As a safety manager, how would you handle noncompliant workers?
“At my last job, I implemented a demerit system for the workers. If they were
noncompliant with safety policies, the workers received a demerit for each
violation. After five demerits, the workers were placed on suspension. If they
continued to violate the safety policies, the workers were terminated.”
Q: As a safety manager, what safety protocol would you recommend for high-
voltage environments?
A:“The greatest risk in a high-voltage work environment is an arc flash. I would
recommend personal protection gear for all workers according to where they
work in the environment. I would also enforce electrical maintenance policies
that prevent the events.”
Q:This question targets a candidate's ability to teach new concepts to a group.
Safety managers should have strong public speaking skills that enable them to
engage an audience and get their point across clearly and succinctly. Safety
managers need to be able to decide the most effective way of communicating
safety information to their team within a short time frame. When candidates
discuss their process for preparing a training, interviewers can learn about their
presentation, research and organization skills.
"The first step to successful safety training is making sure that everyone has
access to the information and can attend. Before planning the workshop, I
would look at my colleagues's schedules or send out a survey to identify a time
when most people are available. I would research the safety topic and prepare
an outline of the information so attendees could follow along and any absent
employees could review the notes afterward. During my presentations, I use
call-and-response questions to check for understanding and plan for group work
to put the safety concept into practice."
What steps would you take when investigating an on-site accident?
Reveals the candidate's approach to evaluating safety.
Has there been an occasion where you developed a new health policy? How did
you implement it?
Look for candidates who demonstrate creative thinking, as well as knowledge of
current health trends.
How would you handle a negative reaction from a management team member
when attempting to implement a new health and safety regulation?
Demonstrates interpersonal skills and the ability to negotiate with upper
management.