4 Tile Setter Interview Questions and Answers

Updated on: August 14, 2021

The purpose of a tile setter interview is two-fold. The employer needs to figure out if you are the best applicant for the tile setter job and you need to find out if this job is a good enough opportunity for you.

From an employer’s point of view, an interview is designed to pacify the following:

1. Can you do the job?

• Is your background appropriate for this position?
• Do you have the required Tile Setter Skills?
• Do you have it in you to be able to learn and adapt?

2. Will you do the job?

• Do you really want to work for this company or is it a mere stepping stone for you?
• Do you know what your future goals are?
• Can you learn and adapt?

3. Will you fit in?

• Are you a people-oriented person?
• How do you respond to criticism?
• Do people like you?
• Can you lead a team?

A candidate – on the other hand – may be thinking along these lines when giving the interview:

• What exactly do I want my workday to be like?
• What are my career goals for the coming 5 years or so?
• What type of work schedule will suit me best?
• Is the work setting being offered what I really want?

Between these two, the interview process goes progresses. What happens during the process is questioning and answering based on the facts stated above. A little like this:

4 Common Tile Setter Interview Questions and Answers

1. Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you finished the job and looked back on it and realized that the finishing is not up to standard? What did you do about it?

In my early years as a tile setter, I did come across such a situation. I had finished installing tiles on a commercial building. Everything was going perfectly until the last bathroom that I had to do. I realized that I had made a mistake in the pattern. I apologized to the client and put in extra hours to rip the tiles up and place them properly.

2. What are some of the skills that one requires if one wants to work as a tile setter?

Determining what types of tiles are appropriate for which project is foremost. The knowledge to properly cut and shape tiles and install them accurately is as important. Additionally, a tile setter needs to be physically dexterous if he wants to be able to work properly, as there is a lot of hard labor involved in tile setting.

3. As a tile setter, what exactly is your work style?

I believe in working in a collaborative manner. Respecting my clients’ input is of great importance to me. I do not mind if a client tells me that something I have done is not aesthetically pleasing. My job is to make my client happy and I adapt my work style accordingly.

4. What type of tile setting tools are you comfortable working with?

Apart from the usual measuring tapes and chalks, I am proficient in the use of bubble levels, straightedges, trowels and tile scorers, and crimpers.

See also: Tile Setter Resume Sample