On this page: Key takeaways · What is a job knowledge question? · Which interview questions should you ask warehouse workers, and what are good answers? · Why does a knowledge question tell you more than years on a CV? · What are the common mistakes, and how do you fix them? · How do you keep ratings consistent across recruiters? · Illustrative example: the scanner count mismatch · What should you do before your next interview day? · How Radius helps · FAQ
Key takeaways
- Ask one scenario question per requirement that matters on day one. Train the rest after hire.
- Safety and hygiene answers were checked against Dutch rules and official guidance on 21 October 2026. Your site's instructions come first.
- A good answer shows knowledge, not skill. Verify certificates separately.
What is a job knowledge question?
A job knowledge question asks what the candidate would do in a real situation. The recruiter compares the answer with a model answer written in advance, so one short question shows whether someone knows what to do.
Which interview questions should you ask warehouse workers, and what are good answers?
Use these six, one per critical requirement, with anchors written first. The last two apply the method to production and kitchen roles. Rate each answer:
- Strong: names the "must include" point unprompted, plus a "strong answer adds" point.
- Acceptable: names the must include point, perhaps after the neutral follow up "Anything else?".
- Weak: misses it, guesses, or describes an unsafe shortcut.
| Role and requirement | Question | Must include | Strong answer adds | Weak answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order picker: accurate picking | "The scanner says 12 items, but the location holds 10. What do you do?" | Stops and reports the difference through the site's procedure. Does not guess. | Recounts and checks the location label. Records the short pick so stock can be corrected. | Picks 10 and confirms 12. |
| Warehouse worker: manual handling | "A carton is much heavier than you expected and has to go onto a low pallet. What do you do?" | Uses a lifting aid if there is one, or asks a colleague, instead of forcing it. | Load close to the body, two hands, feet firm, no twisting. Reports loads that are too heavy. | "I just lift it. I am strong." |
| Warehouse worker: reaching high locations | "You need a box from a shelf you cannot reach. What do you check before you use a ladder?" | Ladder undamaged, on a firm and stable base, cannot slip. Keeps a safe hold while climbing. | Uses the site's steps, never the shelving. Reports a damaged ladder. | Climbs the shelving, or checks nothing. |
| Reach truck driver: safe operation | "It is the start of your shift on a reach truck. What do you do before you drive?" | Does the check before use from the site's checklist and the truck's manual. Never drives a faulty truck; reports it. | Names checks such as brakes, steering, horn, lights, forks, mast, chains and leaks. Lets nobody ride along except in a safe place built for it. | "I get on and drive. Maintenance does the checks." |
| Production operator: follows work instructions | "A machine stops with an error code you don't know. What do you do?" | Leaves it stopped, follows the work instruction or calls the line leader. Does not reach in or bypass a guard. | Warns colleagues. Leaves repairs to trained people, with the machine switched off and isolated. | Resets it repeatedly, or opens a guard while it runs. |
| Kitchen assistant: food hygiene | "How do you store raw chicken and a salad in the same fridge?" | Raw chicken sealed or covered, on a shelf below the salad and other ready to eat food, kept apart. | Fridge at 7 °C or lower. Separate or cleaned boards and knives. Washes hands after raw meat. | "Wherever there is space", or uncovered chicken above the salad. |
Checked against (21 October 2026): lifting, the Arboportaal lifting tips; ladders, Arbobesluit articles 7.23 and 7.23a; reach truck, Arbobesluit articles 7.11a and 7.17c and Arboportaal on work equipment; machine stoppage, Arbobesluit articles 7.5 and 7.6 and Arboportaal on guards; food storage, the NVWA and the Voedingscentrum. Count differences, the ladder damage check and the list of truck checks rest on common practice and the truck's manual, not on an official rule.
The questions are illustrative; the anchors are interview criteria, not safety instructions. Where your work instructions, risk assessment (RI&E) or approved hygiene code are more specific, they become the model answer.
Hiring pickers and reach truck drivers? See how Radius works for warehouse hiring.
Why does a knowledge question tell you more than years on a CV?
On average, job specific evidence predicts performance better than years of experience. In revised estimates, job knowledge tests averaged 0.40 for predicting job performance, on a scale from 0 (no link) to 1 (a perfect link), against 0.07 for years of experience (Sackett et al., 2023, Table 1, restating their 2022 estimates). See the structured interview research and why years on reach trucks tell you little.
Three limits apply. The figure comes from complete job knowledge tests, not one interview question. It is an average that varies between settings; the lower end of the authors' 80% credibility interval is 0.23. And the authors write that such tests generally do not suit entry level hiring where skills are learned after hire: your rule for when not to ask.
What are the common mistakes, and how do you fix them?
Most mistakes come from testing the wrong knowledge or rating without criteria.
- Testing what you will train anyway. Fix: ask only about day one knowledge; ask new starters about general safe behaviour.
- Leading questions, such as "You would check the ladder first, right?". Fix: describe the situation and ask "What do you do?".
- Testing language instead of the job. Fix: short, everyday words. A correct answer in simple words is correct.
- Writing criteria afterwards, so the first answer you liked becomes the standard. Fix: set anchors before the first interview.
How do you keep ratings consistent across recruiters?
Give everyone the same anchors, rate alone first, then compare.
- Rate each answer against its anchors, and write one line on why.
- For the first ten candidates, let two people rate the same answers separately, then sharpen anchors where they disagree.
- Change a question only for everyone, from a set date.
- Decide in advance what a weak answer on a safety point means for the next step.
Illustrative example: the scanner count mismatch
Illustrative example, not a real candidate:
- "I'd pick the ten and confirm. The system sorts it out." Weak: confirms a count they know is wrong.
- "I'd stop and tell my team leader." Acceptable: names the must include point.
- "I'd count again and check the location. If it's still ten, I'd register a short pick and tell my team leader, so the stock gets corrected." Strong: must include point plus two strong points.
What should you do before your next interview day?
Pick your busiest role and write two or three questions for the requirements where a wrong move on day one causes injury, damage or waste. Staffing agencies can agree them with the client at intake and send each candidate's answers rather than the word "experienced". Keep verifying certificates before the offer, because knowing is not the same as being qualified.
How Radius helps
Radius Hire is the AI hiring platform for frontline roles in the Netherlands. Its AI Interviewer asks every applicant the same questions, built on your role and in the language set for the role. Candidates are told at the start that the interviewer is automated. In Match, each requirement shows whether it is backed by a document or a check, rests only on what the candidate said, or is still missing, with the moment in the interview that answered it. A recruiter judges each knowledge answer against your model answer. Radius never rejects a candidate on its own: a recruiter reviews the evidence, can overrule anything Radius presents and makes every hiring decision. Where the employer uses Radius Passport, certificates are recorded with their expiry dates.