Adapted from a real OPS Staffing article originally posted by Mitchell Riley (Sep 2026).
The interview that fills a restoration seat is not Why did you choose that degree? It is whether the person can walk a live loss, defend a scope, and tell you how they treated the homeowner and the adjuster. Ask questions that force a file story. Academic-background prompts do not.
Six questions are enough if each one names the work: loss type, first 48 hours, software, a miss they owned, conflict on a job, and why this shop. You are hiring for mitigation, reconstruction, estimating, or sales — not a generic office role.
OPS Staffing already screens this way before you see a shortlist. If you want that search run, start at restoration recruiters. The companion checklist is what to look for when hiring for a restoration company.
| Ask this | A good answer names | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Walk me through the last water, fire, mold, or storm job you owned. | Loss type, your seat, sequence, who you updated | A generic we mitigated speech with no file |
| What went sideways in the first 48 hours, and what did you do? | Who they called, what they protected, what they documented | They blame the homeowner, the adjuster, or the last shop |
| Which scoping or job software did you live in last year? | Xactimate or your stack, and a habit (dry logs, photos, change orders) | I can learn any system with no recent tool |
| Tell me about a scope or dry-out you got wrong. | The miss, the fix, what they changed next time | I do not make mistakes, or a story that never lands on them |
| Describe a conflict with a crew, trade, or adjuster. How did it end? | The issue, the conversation, the job result | They hid it, or they won by going around the PM |
| Why this shop, and what on-call or travel will you actually do? | They know your loss mix and will say yes or no to the calendar | I just need a job, or they dodge nights and storms |
Where do you see yourself in five years and Why that degree waste the first ten minutes. They do not predict whether someone can run reconstruction or talk to an angry homeowner at 9 p.m. Use them only after the file questions if you still need a culture read.
Skills-and-academic-background is the wrong opener for an estimator or mitigation lead who already has IICRC and jobs. Ask for the credential and the last time they used it. Then sit them in front of a redacted file if the seat is estimating or PM.
Two conversations and a same-week decision beat a four-round panel. These candidates are on jobs. If you stall, you lose them — that is the whole point of losing a top candidate.
OPS Staffing’s process is built so you see a shortlist with a reason each name made it, then you run these questions. 60-120 day replacement guarantee. Details on how a search runs.
Keep the live-loss and honesty questions. Add book-of-work and rejection questions from how to hire a great sales professional.
Ask them to map a rebuild they have run to an insurance file. If they cannot talk carriers, contents, or homeowners who did not choose the project, they are a different hire.
Send the role or call (888) 482-6019.
Updated September 2026 by the OPS Staffing recruiting team. Employee-owned. Based in Pasadena, TX. Placing restoration and construction talent nationwide since December 2015.