Litabi
The next step is here. You’ve combed through your favorite talent acquisition software, and you have a pool of candidates to bring in an interview.
They’ve scheduled their interviews, and now what? There are a million questions you can ask a candidate when you meet for the first time but what will give you the best idea of who they are as a person and an employee?
If you aren’t sure but still need to make that big hiring decision, here are some examples of what to ask in hopes of finding that next employee who will make your organization the best it can be.
1. Would You Tell Me About Yourself?
A scary question to be on the other end of, but an important answer to hear. Whatever their answer is will give an exciting insight as to who they are and how they seem themselves. It’s possible they talk about their background, what city they are from, or even their professional goals.
Regardless of how they choose to answer, it’ll be sure to provide great insight as to what other questions you might want to ask throughout the interview. Also, this might give some early indication as to whether they’ll be a great fit for your team or not.
2. What Will You Miss About Your Old Job?
People leave jobs for a myriad of reasons. Asking this question is a roundabout way to see what happened at a candidate’s last job and why they might start to look elsewhere one day in the future.
If they speak fondly of their coworkers and bosses but had to leave for reasons such as development, that’s something to keep in mind as they grow with your company.
It would help if you got a clear answer to this question from the candidate. It is one of the best interview questions that you should not miss asking so that you can select or reject them.
3. If Money Wasn’t An Option, What Would You Do?
Dipping a little bit into the philosophical side here, this question will show where potential employees’ passions are. Analyzing their answer after the interview will allow you to see what kind of person they might be.
If they answer that they’d do everything to help others with their newfound free time, that might be a great team player to add to your team. If they say they’d retire and never leave the beach, it might be fair to be concerned about how much they’ll be there for other employees when behind on projects.
4. How Have You Improved In Your Career?
When you ask what you have done for your career, it’ll be an opportunity to see how this candidate learns and what ways might be best for their onboarding.
Also, this will be something to note given there comes a time in that employee’s tenure where they are now the senior team member showing the new employees the ropes.
Seeing how someone learns is a great way to see how they might teach someone else. When you note that, it’s a great way to see what that employee can do for your business in the long term.
5. What’s A Challenge You’ve Had With A Colleague?
Another tricky question to be asked, but the correct answer can make the difference between 2 potential hires. Conflict is an unfortunate part of life, both personally and professionally. Hopefully not often, but issues will present themselves. Learning about how someone has overcome a problem like this in part will let you know what they’ll be like on your team.
Hear an answer that sounds like the other person in the story was in the right? That could be a red flag for that candidate, and it might be better to go with someone else.
