One of the most revealing interview questions has nothing to do with NEC code, conduit fill, or pulling wire. It's about you: how you see your own performance and what you do when you spot a gap.
No journeyman or foreman is finished developing. The NEC updates on a three-year cycle, controls platforms evolve, energy codes tighten, and GCs raise expectations. Contractors need people who treat improvement as a permanent part of the trade, not something that ends when you pass your journeyman exam.
When a candidate can't name a single thing to improve, that reads as a self-awareness red flag, one of the most expensive traits to hire wrong. These are the people who resist new processes, push back on safety updates, and create friction on jobs where coordination between trades is already tight.
A journeyman might describe noticing their as-built markups were inconsistent on larger jobs, with notes missing or unclear by handoff. They adjusted to update markups in real time instead of at the end of the day, which cut questions from the PM and produced cleaner closeout packages. That single answer shows technical context, self-awareness, and follow-through.
For a foreman or superintendent, the improvement might be communication: being too quick to solve problems unilaterally instead of pulling the crew in, or not pushing back clearly enough during pre-construction coordination. The specifics matter less than the pattern. You noticed something, you addressed it, you can explain the result.
The further along you are, the harder this gets. A second-year apprentice is used to being evaluated and corrected. A journeyman with fifteen years in, or a foreman who has run large jobs, often hasn't been formally asked to reflect on their own development in years. That hesitation becomes its own signal.
Senior roles demand ongoing adaptation: new project management platforms, updated safety programs, changes in how GCs run jobs, and the growing integration of BAS and low-voltage into traditional electrical scope. If you can't articulate how you personally evolve, it raises real questions about how you'll lead a crew through change.
This isn't about crafting a clever answer. It's honest reflection before the interview. Look at your current role and pick one area where you're actively improving: documentation discipline, communication with other trades, planning and layout on a new job, comfort with controls and low-voltage, or how you handle feedback. What matters is that it's genuine and you can walk through what you're doing about it. If you're still in progress, that's fine. Employers don't expect you to have solved it. They expect you to own it.
What is the best way to answer "what would you improve about your working style?"
Name a specific, genuine gap in your work performance, explain what you did about it, and show what improved as a result. That structure demonstrates self-awareness and follow-through in one response.
Why do electrical contractors ask this question?
It's a risk check. Contractors use it to identify candidates who are self-aware, coachable, and able to grow inside an operation where mistakes affect safety, schedule, and job cost. License status and years in the field can't answer it for you.
Is it bad to say nothing comes to mind?
Yes. It's the weakest possible answer. It signals you don't recognize gaps in your performance, which creates doubt about how you'll respond when a foreman corrects your work or a project manager asks you to change your approach mid-job.
Why do experienced electricians struggle with this more than apprentices?
Apprentices are used to being evaluated and corrected. A seasoned journeyman or foreman often hasn't been formally asked to reflect on their own development in years, and that hesitation becomes its own signal to the interviewer.
Written by Matthew Sorensen, skilled trades recruiting executive and founder of CommercialElectricianJobs.com. 15+ years placing commercial electricians, author of four books on hiring, host of the top-ranked Hired podcast.