How to hire electrical power-line installers and repairers

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
• Adhere to safety practices and procedures, such as checking equipment regularly and erecting barriers around work areas.
• Climb poles or use truck-mounted buckets to access equipment.
• Coordinate work assignment preparation and completion with other workers.
• Drive vehicles equipped with tools and materials to job sites.
• Inspect and test power lines and auxiliary equipment to locate and identify problems, using reading and testing instruments.
• Install, maintain, and repair electrical distribution and transmission systems, including conduits, cables, wires, and related equipment, such as transformers, circuit breakers, and switches.
• Open switches or attach grounding devices to remove electrical hazards from disturbed or fallen lines or to facilitate repairs.
• Replace or straighten damaged poles.

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: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong active listening, monitoring, critical thinking, active learning and reading comprehension skills
• Working knowledge of building and construction
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $45.83 an hour ($95,320 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 electrical power-line installers and repairers

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 adhere to safety practices and procedures, such as checking equipment regularly and erecting barriers around work areas. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to climb poles or use truck-mounted buckets to access equipment. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to coordinate work assignment preparation and completion with other workers. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to drive vehicles equipped with tools and materials to job sites. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
6. How do you keep track of your own work quality during a busy shift or week? Give an example of catching a problem early.
7. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
8. 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 electrical power-line installers and repairers do

• Adhere to safety practices and procedures, such as checking equipment regularly and erecting barriers around work areas.
• Climb poles or use truck-mounted buckets to access equipment.
• Coordinate work assignment preparation and completion with other workers.
• Drive vehicles equipped with tools and materials to job sites.
• Inspect and test power lines and auxiliary equipment to locate and identify problems, using reading and testing instruments.
• Install, maintain, and repair electrical distribution and transmission systems, including conduits, cables, wires, and related equipment, such as transformers, circuit breakers, and switches.
• Open switches or attach grounding devices to remove electrical hazards from disturbed or fallen lines or to facilitate repairs.
• Replace or straighten damaged poles.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningMonitoringCritical ThinkingActive LearningReading ComprehensionBuilding and Construction

Education, experience and outlook for electrical power-line installers and repairers

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 6 months to 1 year (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Long-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: +10.3% over ten years, much faster than average · about 10,900 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay electrical power-line installers and repairers

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

See electrical power-line installers and repairers pay in every state

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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.