Southern Company Hiring Process & Pre-Employment Tests Explained (2026)

Southern Company's hiring process has several stages: an online application, a recruiter review, pre-employment testing for many positions, one or more interviews, and a conditional offer followed by a background check. Southern Company and its subsidiaries, including Georgia Power, recruit for plant operators, electricians, meter techs, mechanics, machinists, and more, and all of their jobs are posted on southerncompany.jobs.

Online Application: Create a profile on southerncompany.jobs and apply for the positions you want. Applicants who aren't selected to interview are notified by email, and all later communications about your application also come by email.

Recruiter Review: A recruiter reviews applicant information and, for positions that require a test, selects candidates to test. Testing is by invitation only, and some positions require you to pass a test to be considered for an interview.

Pre-Employment Test: Selected candidates receive a test invitation by email, register electronically using the instructions in the email, and attend a test session. Practice test information is included in the invitation, and you can retrieve your results afterward through Southern Company's Employment Test Results line (1-800-457-2981). Which test you take depends on the role. Southern Company uses EEI test batteries such as CAST, POSS and MASS, and TECH, as well as company-specific tests such as the SKAT Electrical, SKAT Meter, GPO3, and EATOKS tests, each covered in detail below. Southern Company's tests have been validated and shown to be job-related, fair, and objective.

Test Results and Retakes: The pool of test-qualified candidates is reviewed by a recruiter and/or hiring manager, who select candidates to advance. If you aren't selected, your qualified results stay valid until the position requirements or the test change. If you didn't qualify, you can retake a test only by applying to a position that requires it and being invited by email, and retest policies vary by test, with a minimum number of days from your last attempt.

Interview: Highly successful candidates are invited to interview, and panel style interviews are most commonly used. Southern Company makes no job offers without a formal interview, and it never interviews over an instant messaging platform. More on what to expect in that interview, including the video conference format and Southern Company's rule on AI tools, further down this page.

Conditional Offer and Background Check: The successful candidate receives a conditional job offer and goes through an extensive background check before a formal offer is extended. Georgia Power's postings also require a drug screen before employment, and for craft positions such as Apprentice Electrician and Apprentice Meter Tech, you must pass the Post Offer Employment Test (POET), which has you demonstrate certain physical tasks.

Beware of hiring scams: Southern Company and its subsidiaries never ask for a financial commitment from a candidate, and they never ask for personal identifiable, financial, or banking information as part of the application process.

Southern Company uses pre-employment tests on certain jobs to identify and assess the abilities and skills a position requires, and which test you take depends on the role you're applying for.

• Repair Shop and Substation Apprentice Electrician roles and Apprentice Rotating Equipment Repairman roles at Georgia Power require the SKAT Electrical test, together with the Construction and Skilled Trades (CAST) test.
• Apprentice Meter Tech roles require the SKAT Meter test (AM SKAT), together with CAST.
• General Plant Operator roles require the GPO3 test.
• Apprentice Electrician positions at Georgia Power's power generation plants require the EATOKS, together with the POSS and MASS tests.

Each job posting lists the specific test or tests required for that role, so you'll know what to prepare for before you apply. Below, we break down each of the four tests and how to prepare for it. If you don't qualify on a test, you can retake it only by applying to a position that requires it and being invited by email, and retest policies vary by test.

The SKAT Electrical test is required for Repair Shop and Substation Apprentice Electrician roles and Apprentice Rotating Equipment Repairman roles at Georgia Power, together with the CAST test.

It's administered in one sitting covering four sections: Electrical Knowledge, Hand Tools and Power Tools, Rule Reading, and Tools and Precision Measurement. It's multiple choice, takes approximately 2 hours, and permits calculators, with a formula sheet provided.

What makes the SKAT demanding is the range: electrical theory, tool identification, and measurement reading all come in one sitting, and Southern Company publishes neither a passing score nor the number of questions.

Prepare for the SKAT Electrician Test with our full PrepPack, which has 12 practice tests with 358 questions covering all 4 sections.

The SKAT Meter test, called the AM SKAT in Georgia Power's postings, is required for Apprentice Meter Tech roles, together with the CAST test.

It's administered in one sitting covering three sections: Electrical Knowledge (including metering formulas and concepts), Hand Tools and Power Tools, and Rule Reading. It's multiple choice, takes approximately 2 hours, and permits calculators, with a formula sheet provided.

What sets this test apart is the metering block inside Electrical Knowledge: power in AC circuits (true, apparent, and reactive power) and power factor, on top of basic electrical theory, wiring and one-line diagrams, and troubleshooting. Southern Company doesn't publish a passing score or the number of questions.

Practice for the SKAT Meterman Test with our PrepPack, which has 11 practice tests with 183 questions and 1 study guide on electrical concepts, tools, and measurement reading.

The GPO test is required for General Plant Operator roles at Georgia Power, and the GPO study guide also covers Southern Power's Operations Technician positions. Postings name the GPO3 test, and older postings call it GPO 2.0.

It covers electrical, operations, and mechanical knowledge across about two dozen competencies, from electrical theory and print reading to boilers, turbines, and lockout/tag-out. It's multiple choice, takes approximately 8 hours with breaks, and provides a calculator and a list of formulas.

The challenge is the length and range: about 8 hours across electrical, operations, and mechanical topics, with no published passing score or number of questions.

Practice for the GPO test with our PrepPack, which has 25 practice tests and 5 study guides on electrical theory, mechanical aptitude, and hand tools.

The EATOKS (Electrician Apprentice Test of Knowledge and Skills) is required for Apprentice Electrician positions at Georgia Power's power generation plants, together with the POSS and MASS tests. Repair Shop and Substation apprentices take the CAST and SKAT Electrical tests instead.

Southern Company doesn't publish an EATOKS study guide, so the test's topics, length, and passing score aren't public.

Because candidates for these roles take three tests, plan your preparation for all of them. You can practice for the other two with our POSS and MASS preparation.

Practice for the EATOKS with our PrepPack, which has 8 practice tests with 137 questions on electrical concepts, tools identification and usage, and measurement reading, plus 1 study guide.

Southern Company is one of the largest energy companies in the US. Incorporated in 1945 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, it is a holding company that employs approximately 28,600 people and serves about 9 million electric and natural gas customers. Its electric operating companies, Alabama Power, Georgia Power, and Mississippi Power, serve most of Alabama and Georgia and southeastern Mississippi, Southern Company Gas distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, and subsidiaries such as Southern Power, Southern Nuclear, and PowerSecure cover wholesale generation, nuclear operations, and distributed energy.

Southern Company and its subsidiaries hire across power plants, metering, substations, line work, and the electrical and mechanical trades, from union-covered craft roles to professional positions.

Pay: compensation varies by role, location, and union classification. Many Georgia Power craft and plant roles are covered by collective bargaining agreements, including IBEW Local 84 for the apprentice electrician, meter, and rotating equipment trades, and the postings for these trades state the starting pay. As examples, an Apprentice Meter Tech position currently starts at $7,120 per month ($41.07 an hour), a Repair Shop Apprentice Electrician position at $6,218 per month ($35.87 an hour), and a General Plant Operator position at Plant McDonough at $8,654 per month.

Benefits: Southern Company's benefits summary lists medical and dental coverage with preventive care paid at 100%, a pension plan, a 401(k) to which the company contributes 5.1% when you contribute 6%, company-paid life insurance, paid vacation and up to 12 paid holidays, and tuition reimbursement of up to $5,250 per year. For employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement, some benefits may differ.

For many of these positions, getting to an interview means passing one or more pre-employment tests first, so the preparation is worth taking seriously, which is exactly what the rest of this page will help you do.