35 Questions to Ask a Farmworker in an Interview (With Answers)
A farmworker is someone who works on a farm and does a variety of jobs. Since there are many different types of farming and agriculture, knowing how to talk about your specific farming experience during an interview could help you get the job you want. Think about what questions the interviewer might ask so you can be ready with answers and look professional and sure of yourself. This article looks at 35 interview questions for farmworkers, and five of them have sample answers.
General questions for a farm worker
Here are 10 common interview questions that might be asked of a farmworker:
- Why should someone hire you?
- What do you already know about farming?
- How did you hear about this job opening?
- What makes you want to work on our farm?
- What are your short-term work goals?
- What are some of the best and worst things about you?
- Do you like animals?
- What do you already know about our farm?
- What are your long-term goals for your job?
- Do you have questions for us?
Questions about work and history from the past
Here are 10 questions to ask a farmworker about his or her past and experiences:
- What jobs did you do on a farm when you were younger?
- What inspired you to become a farmer?
- Do you know how to care for animals already?
- What do you do with the tools you know how to use for farming?
- Do you like working on big farms or small ones?
- What is the hardest thing about working on a farm, in your opinion?
- What crops have you grown in the past?
- How do you like to keep bugs and weeds away?
- Have you ever tried something different on a farm?
- How many acres were the farms you’ve worked on in the past?
In-depth questions for a farm worker
Here are 10 detailed questions you can ask a farmworker during an interview:
- Do you think of farming as a job or as a way of life?
- Do you think it’s important that farming is good for the environment?
- What do you think is the best thing about working on a farm?
- What would you say about the ideal farm worker?
- What’s one of the biggest ways farming has changed since you started working there?
- How have you gotten to know people in your neighborhood through farming?
- How long do you think a farm worker usually works?
- Do you want to make all of your money from farming, or do you want to do other work as well?
- What do you think has been the most important new idea in agriculture in the last five years?
- Which tools do you think are the most important for a farm?
- 5 interview questions about farmworkers, with examples of how to answer them
Here are five questions that might be asked of a farmworker at an interview, along with some sample answers to help you come up with your own:
1.You want to work on a farm, but why?
This is a question that an interviewer might ask to find out how passionate and interested a candidate is about the job and the field. Since farmworkers often work long hours and have hard jobs, it can help if applicants are interested in the industry. To answer this question, you can talk about what you like about working on a farm and a career goal that has to do with farming.
Example: “I’ve always wanted to be a farmer, ever since I can remember. I grew up on a farm and have always loved taking care of animals and working outside. I want to learn more about farming from other farmers so that I can one day start my own farm.”
2. What kind of farming have you done in the past?
With this question, an interviewer can find out about a candidate’s farming experience by asking what skills and techniques they know. Since there are many kinds of farming, showing off the areas where you have experience can help employers see how you could be useful on their farm. You can answer this question by naming a few farming methods or types that you have used in the past.
Example: “Most of my farming experience came from working on my family’s farm, but I also spent a summer working at a local dairy farm. Even though I’ve never worked on a commercial farm, I know what tools they use and how they plant crops on a large scale.”
3.Do you use any pesticides that are better for the environment than others?
This is a question an interviewer might ask to find out how much a candidate knows about the technical side of farming. As more farms switch from traditional farming methods to ones that are better for the environment, knowing about new methods can make you a more attractive candidate. Talk about one or two things you know that can be used instead of pesticides to answer this question.
Example: “I know how to keep pests away by putting up natural barriers and bringing in animals that eat pests. I also worked on a farm that used “partner planting” to keep similar plants close to each other so they could protect each other from pests.”
4. How well do you work when you’re in a hurry?
With this question, an interviewer can find out how well a candidate can handle stressful situations. This is especially important for people who work on farms because they often have to deal with things they didn’t plan for, like crops not growing or animals getting sick. Talk about how well you can work under pressure in your answer, and if you have an example, give it.
Example: “I’ve always been good at working under pressure and figuring out how to deal with problems at work. The chicken coop on the farm where my family lives was broken by a storm last year, so all of our chickens were free to roam the yard. I took the initiative to get each chicken and bring it back to the safe, locked coop without making the other animals more excited.”
5.What do you think you’ll do every day on the farm?
This is a question the interviewer can ask to find out if the person applying for the job knows what it might entail. Farmworkers usually have a lot to do every day, so it can be helpful for employers to know that their new hires are ready for the job. Make a list of some of the jobs a farmworker can do to answer this question.
Example: “I expect to spend most of my time taking care of the crops, since this farm is for business. Most of the time, this means checking crops for pests, making sure irrigation systems work, and harvesting crops when it’s time to do so.”
