How to hire drywall and ceiling tile installers

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways.
• Cut fixture or border tiles to size, using keyhole saws, and insert them into surrounding frameworks.
• Cut metal or wood framing and trim to size, using cutting tools.
• Fit and fasten wallboard or drywall into position on wood or metal frameworks, using glue, nails, or screws.
• Hang drywall panels on metal frameworks of walls and ceilings in offices, schools, or other large buildings, using lifts or hoists to adjust panel heights, when necessary.
• Measure and cut openings in panels or tiles for electrical outlets, windows, vents, plumbing, or other fixtures, using keyhole saws or other cutting tools.
• Measure and mark surfaces to lay out work, according to blueprints or drawings, using tape measures, straightedges or squares, and marking devices.
• Read blueprints or other specifications to determine methods of installation, work procedures, or material or tool requirements.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: No formal educational credential]
• Strong critical thinking skills
• Working knowledge of building and construction and mathematics
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $28.33 an hour ($58,930 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for drywall and ceiling tile installers

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to cut fixture or border tiles to size, using keyhole saws, and insert them into surrounding frameworks. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to cut metal or wood framing and trim to size, using cutting tools. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to fit and fasten wallboard or drywall into position on wood or metal frameworks, using glue, nails, or screws. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
6. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What drywall and ceiling tile installers do

• Cut and screw together metal channels to make floor or ceiling frames, according to plans for the location of rooms or hallways.
• Cut fixture or border tiles to size, using keyhole saws, and insert them into surrounding frameworks.
• Cut metal or wood framing and trim to size, using cutting tools.
• Fit and fasten wallboard or drywall into position on wood or metal frameworks, using glue, nails, or screws.
• Hang drywall panels on metal frameworks of walls and ceilings in offices, schools, or other large buildings, using lifts or hoists to adjust panel heights, when necessary.
• Measure and cut openings in panels or tiles for electrical outlets, windows, vents, plumbing, or other fixtures, using keyhole saws or other cutting tools.
• Measure and mark surfaces to lay out work, according to blueprints or drawings, using tape measures, straightedges or squares, and marking devices.
• Read blueprints or other specifications to determine methods of installation, work procedures, or material or tool requirements.

Skills that matter most

Critical ThinkingBuilding and ConstructionMathematics

Education, experience and outlook for drywall and ceiling tile installers

• Typical education to start: No formal educational credential (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: +2.5% over ten years, about as fast as average · about 6,600 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay drywall and ceiling tile installers

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See drywall and ceiling tile installers pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall
• Tapers
• Sheet Metal Workers
• Carpenters
• Plasterers and Stucco Masons
• Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
• Roofers
• Insulation Workers, Mechanical
• Tile and Stone Setters
• Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.