How to Run a Fair Chance Interview
Structured questions that tell you whether someone can do the job — and how to handle the record conversation without guesswork.
Start with the work, not the record
Open with the same skills questions you would ask anyone: what equipment they have run, what shifts they have worked, how they handle a mistake on the line. You learn more in five minutes of job talk than in twenty minutes of history.
Ask about the record once, plainly
After a conditional offer, ask what happened, when, and what has changed since. You are listening for accountability and time elapsed, not a performance. One clear conversation beats a background report with no context.
Ask about supervision as a scheduling question
Check-in days, curfew hours, travel limits, and testing appointments are logistics. Treat them like any other availability constraint and build the schedule around them before day one instead of discovering them in week three.