Duke Energy's loop varies a lot by job family but the common thread is a heavily structured behavioural interview using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result), with a strong safety emphasis and almost no line-of-work technical grilling for craft/apprentice roles. Skilled-craft candidates (lineworkers, substation techs, meter readers, plant operators, CSRs) are first funneled through named EEI pre-employment test batteries (CAST for line/substation, POSS/MASS for plant operations, TECH, SO/PD, plus a role-specific Virtual Assessment for Lineworkers, MRAB for meter readers, CSR test for call centre), all with an official practice-test portal, before anyone talks to them. Once past testing, apprentice/craft interviews are ~6-7 STAR questions on safety, teamwork, working with diverse people, planning, and how they handled unsafe situations, often with the STAR question set emailed to the candidate as a PDF in advance. Salaried engineering hires get a phone/video screen followed by a half-day on-site panel at the Charlotte HQ (all expenses paid); nuclear-plant technician roles interview over Microsoft Teams with the same STAR-first behavioural format.
These 4 writeups cover skilled trades, electrical engineering, power systems and other roles, US Southeast + Midwest (NC/SC/FL/IN). All of them were posted under a pseudonym (Reddit, GeeksforGeeks or forum handles), so we could not verify the authors’ identities.
Typical rounds
1.31-2 range
Most common round
Behavioral
Sources span
2023 - 2026
Most frequently reported · Behavioral(3), Past projects(2), Safety procedures(2), STAR stories(2), Aptitude(1)
Duke Energy’s official process
Duke Energy's official Employment Tests page names its pre-hire assessments explicitly. Candidates invited to test may see the CAST, POSS, MASS, TECH or SO/PD EEI test batteries (each with a practice test and answers, accessed through an EEI portal using login 'Reno' / password 'Tahoe'), the Customer Service Representative (CSR) test, or the Meter Reader Aptitude Battery (MRAB), each described in a downloadable brochure. Entry-level lineworker candidates take the Virtual Assessment for Lineworkers (VAL), a 65-minute test that measures attributes for the role and has no practice test available. Recruiters and hiring managers review only candidates who pass the assessment; those who fail can retest every 90 days when they re-apply to a role that requires testing, and ADA testing accommodations are offered on request.
Associate Geographic Information Systems Or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Technologist1
Top locations
Charlotte21
Huntersville6
Raleigh6
Cincinnati4
Seneca4
Commonly tested topics
STAR stories·Behavioral·Safety procedures·Aptitude·Past projects·Domain knowledge·Conflict handling·Resume deep-dive
Interview experiences at Duke Energy
Outcome
Seniority
Lineman Apprentice
New grad
Outcome not shared1 round
1
STAR behavioural interviewBehavioral
The candidate was emailed a PDF describing Duke's STAR method ahead of the interview, and reports that about 90% of the questions actually asked came straight out of that document. The only question that was not in the PDF was about working with a diverse group of people, which they were asked to answer using a specific example.
Covered · STAR stories, Behavioral, Safety procedures, Conflict handling
Candidate reports being asked roughly six or seven purely behavioural questions and zero line-work technical questions. Named questions included: a time they witnessed something unsafe at work and what they did; how they experienced diversity at a workplace and what they learned; a time they were tasked with formulating a plan and how it played out; and teamwork-focused questions. All answers were expected in STAR form.
Covered · STAR stories, Safety procedures, Behavioral, Past projects
An initial remote video interview screens the candidate before they are invited to a longer on-site loop.
Covered · Resume deep-dive, Past projects
2
Four-hour in-person panel at Charlotte HQPanel
Candidate is flown in on an all-expenses-paid basis to Duke Energy's headquarters for a four-hour on-site interview loop for a Senior Engineer role. The candidate had more than a decade of relevant experience and had never encountered a loop this long for that level. Salary was not raised by Duke at any point during the process; the offer/comp discussion is expected to come from HR after the loop.
Covered · Resume deep-dive, Domain knowledge, Behavioral, Past projects
Candidate for a substation-learner role in Charlotte, NC applied and completed and passed the EEI CAST-R (Construction and Skilled Trades - Revised) test battery. At the time of writing they had not yet been contacted for the interview stage and were asking others how long the wait typically is between passing the test and getting an interview + hiring decision.
What is the interview process like at Duke Energy?
Duke Energy's loop varies a lot by job family but the common thread is a heavily structured behavioural interview using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result), with a strong safety emphasis and almost no line-of-work technical grilling for craft/apprentice roles. Skilled-craft candidates (lineworkers, substation techs, meter readers, plant operators, CSRs) are first funneled through named EEI pre-employment test batteries (CAST for line/substation, POSS/MASS for plant operations, TECH, SO/PD, plus a role-specific Virtual Assessment for Lineworkers, MRAB for meter readers, CSR test for call centre), all with an official practice-test portal, before anyone talks to them. Once past testing, apprentice/craft interviews are ~6-7 STAR questions on safety, teamwork, working with diverse people, planning, and how they handled unsafe situations, often with the STAR question set emailed to the candidate as a PDF in advance. Salaried engineering hires get a phone/video screen followed by a half-day on-site panel at the Charlotte HQ (all expenses paid); nuclear-plant technician roles interview over Microsoft Teams with the same STAR-first behavioural format.
What topics does Duke Energy test in interviews?
Commonly reported topics include STAR stories, Behavioral, Safety procedures, Aptitude, Past projects, Domain knowledge.
These guides summarize public, first-hand interview experiences shared by candidates. They describe the shape of each loop and the topics that came up, not a leaked question bank, and every experience links back to its original source. Processes change often; treat this as directional prep, not a script.