Well first scrap the six months of experience requirement that’s not anywhere NEAR enough experience to be an instructor. I would ask them what grade they climb and make them prove it. Now I know a bunch of people here will bitch and say what grade you climb is irrelevant but that’s not true. What grade you climb is often fairly proportional to your experience level. If you have been climbing sport for a long time you probably climb at least 5.11. Likewise if you only climb 5.10a sport you probably don’t have much experience sport climbing. Not to mention if they are teaching a class on lead climbing and they can barely get up the wall that will severely undermine their knowledge and experience from the view point of the customers.

Personally if I managed the gym would not hire anyone with less than three years climbing experience and I would require they are very well versed in leading and a damn good belayer and I would want to see them lead a hard line and watch them catch some big falls to see how they react.

However a lot of it will come down to what type of audience you tailor to. If I hire a guide or instructor for anything I would expect and require they are much more experienced then I am.

Well first scrap the six months of experience requirement that’s not anywhere NEAR enough experience to be an instructor. I would ask them what grade they climb and make them prove it. Now I know a bunch of people here will bitch and say what grade you climb is irrelevant but that’s not true. What grade you climb is often fairly proportional to your experience level. If you have been climbing sport for a long time you probably climb at least 5.11. Likewise if you only climb 5.10a sport you probably don’t have much experience sport climbing. Not to mention if they are teaching a class on lead climbing and they can barely get up the wall that will severely undermine their knowledge and experience from the view point of the customers.

Personally if I managed the gym would not hire anyone with less than three years climbing experience and I would require they are very well versed in leading and a damn good belayer and I would want to see them lead a hard line and watch them catch some big falls to see how they react.

However a lot of it will come down to what type of audience you tailor to. If I hire a guide or instructor for anything I would expect and require they are much more experienced then I am.

Well first off I am guessing you have never worked or managed a gym in the eastern United States. Our gym is in Ohio and true experienced climbers are few and far between. And being that we are a college gym when we do hire a experienced climber we typically can only hang on to them for a few years before they graduate.
I am not hiring them to instruct from the start, until they build more experience they will only be belaying, monitoring the patrons, and taking care of some basic office duties. So to its a joke for me to be searching for a 5.12 climber and have him "prove" to me is climbing skill. I am looking for new employees that are going to be safe and show great potential. I dont care if they are currently struggling up 5.8 climbs, if they are taking the time to learn new things and excited about it I would rather have them working than a 5.14 climber thats a dick. We had a ton of applications and I did narrow them down to the individuals I knew were serious about climbing. At this point the main thing im trying to get from the interviews is out of these people who are the safest and who is going to maintain their interest to learn new things in climbing and potentially start instructing and setting routes in the future.

My resume:
- Am pretty
- Teach good
- Know about climbing shoes and shorts/pants...the TWO most commonly asked questions in the sport of rockclimbing
- Did I mention that I am pretty?

Sounds good! You're hired.

Hi,

I do not agreed with you. Any way, your points of view make me thinking about some thing for my project.

Pls try to keep posting. Tks and best regards

Hi,

Good ideal, pls try to keep posting. I like this topic very much and I will digged this one. Tks again.

Well first scrap the six months of experience requirement that’s not anywhere NEAR enough experience to be an instructor.

I would ask them what grade they climb and make them prove it. Now I know a bunch of people here will bitch and say what grade you climb is irrelevant but that’s not true. What grade you climb is often fairly proportional to your experience level. If you have been climbing sport for a long time you probably climb at least 5.11. Likewise if you only climb 5.10a sport you probably don’t have much experience sport climbing. Not to mention if they are teaching a class on lead climbing and they can barely get up the wall that will severely undermine their knowledge and experience from the view point of the customers.

Personally if I managed the gym would not hire anyone with less than three years climbing experience and I would require they are very well versed in leading and a damn good belayer

and I would want to see them
lead a hard line and watch them catch some big falls to see how they react.

However a lot of it will come down to what type of audience you tailor to. If I hire a guide or instructor for anything I would expect and require they are much more experienced then I am.

interview question:

http://www.rockclimbing.com/...=gym%20fart;#2319877

So your saying there is not a single gym staff member in the USA who:

1. Has been climbing for at least three years.
2. Is comfortable leading at their absolute limit and taking a fall anytime it’s safe.
3. Knows how to provide static, running, and dynamic belays and has caught at least 250 lead falls.
4. Has caught at least one 30 footer.

Well what I wouldn't do is give them some kind of climbing safety test instead of an interview as some people have suggested. Will they even know that you are acting like a n00b? They might assume you have some kind of retarded system (it is a college gym...) and be too afraid of questioning the boss to correct you. That would be stupid.

Here's an interesting take on it:

http://www.zdnet.com/...s-ask-revealed/14118

Just be careful about questions that are considered illegal during the search process....this one comes close:
“How do you feel about those jokers at Congress?”

And, since asking religion is considered verboten, best not to discuss sport teams.

Hi everyone, I manage a climbing gym for a university and I will be needing to hire a few new people. Most of the applicants are in the same boat with 6-12 months of climbing experience. We will train them on the specifics they need to know when they are hired so thats not a big deal however being that they are all close in experience I want to interview them and not give generic questions. I am open to any interview question ideas you guys feel would be important and would set the people that will be hard workers and most importantly use safe habits. Our gym has a 60 foot wall with 4 top ropes, 3 leading lines, and a overhung bouldering area. These new hires will be responsible for belaying, teaching clinics as they gain experience, route setting, and safety inspections. Appreciate any help.

Jim

Perhaps some things in the CWA may be usefull to you.

http://www.mlte.org/content.php?nID=82

I have a technique teaching check list of sorts that i use for individual climbers to track their progress and cover many things climbing related. If you like i can PM you it just as an example. Something of the likes would be usefull to the new staff so that they develop their teaching methods a little faster.

The UK also has some ''official'' varients of the above, however making your own better suites the individual gym more.


Btw, one question to ask is ''what would you do if a child/adult was unable to climb the easiest wall''.

Perhaps more important: "What would you do if a person is too terrified to come down?"