Did you know that the average job interview lasts between 45 minutes to an hour?
Depending on the nature of the job, it should be enough time to assess a candidate well. However, it’s still not enough time to gauge a candidate fully. You can only be sure of them once they’re already working in your company.
It’s why you should make your questions count. Before hiring someone, ask them the following questions.
1. What Would You Do in a Difficult Work Situation?
It’s an example of behavioral interview questions allowing you to learn how a candidate deals with arising issues. Every job presents some challenges. They must know how to overcome unique challenges as they come.
With their answer, you can learn if they have the wisdom and skills to handle difficulties. It shows how they approach a problem and how they create a plan to overcome it.
Remember, you can always train people for the role. They can learn the skills necessary to handle their role’s specific challenges. They don’t need to give the perfect answer; you only have to confirm whether they have the right mindset.
2. Tell Me About a Time You Experienced Failure
Before asking, assume everyone experienced failure at some point. It’s better to focus on their answer instead of their failure. Their answer tells so much about their mentality toward failure. Some candidates like to cover up their weaknesses and make excuses.
If they have a victim mentality, they’ll likely say it wasn’t their fault. They’ll pin the blame on someone else or an event.
It’s an indicator of a problem with responsibility and accountability. After all, admitting your faults is the first step to later success.
The query also digs deep into their attitude. Did they keep trying after failing to reach a goal? Or did a single obstacle stop them forever?
3. What Type of Projects Do You Like Working On?
Want to find out what motivates a potential employee? Ask them what they enjoy working on.
Gauge what boosts their productivity and energy in a project. Do they like project-related challenges? Do they enjoy networking or working with their team?
From their response, you’ll discover the type of culture they respond well to. Some candidates will tell you these things outright. For others, you may have to read between the lines.
Use what you learned to evaluate whether they’re the right fit for the role. They will likely excel if their interests align with the core of the job.
4. Is There a Job You Don’t Want To Do?
Use this to follow up on the previous question. It further assesses whether they’re the right fit for your company. Ask them the type of jobs they don’t like working on.
It’s a type of open-ended question to help you relate their motivations to the position. When they mention certain tasks and jobs, see if these are important to the role. If not, it’s a good sign they’re a suitable candidate.
It also means you have to view their answer with an open mind. For example, it’s acceptable for someone to say they won’t do store staff work if they’re interviewing for a managerial position.
It doesn’t mean they see the role as inferior. It might mean they want to learn new skills to help them advance with their career.
5. What’s Your Dream Job?
This question determines the candidate’s outlook for their future. Do they have the ambition to reach higher goals?
Having ambition is a good sign. It can be their driving force to work harder and to commit to their role.
It also helps determine if they can stay with your company for a long time. Do you have a position similar to the candidate’s desired work? If things go well for both parties, expect them to stay and reach their career goals.
6. What Would You Do Differently in Your Career if Given the Chance?
It’s a unique question the candidate most likely hasn’t prepared for. Asking this question allows you to gauge their impromptu thinking.
People shouldn’t dwell on regrets about the past. However, this question doesn’t determine their regrets.
Instead, it allows both you and the candidate to explore their past mistakes and some of their major decisions. Urge them to state both the positive and negative aspects.
Learn how they dealt with their mistakes and how these affect them today. Their answer reveals how they make calculated decisions. It also indicates whether they learned from their past experiences.
7. How Do You Delegate Tasks to Your Staff?
If you’re hiring for a team-handling role, you must learn more about their managerial style. This question allows you to learn if they have the right management approach. It’s also a great question to determine whether they fit in the company culture.
They have to know the right tasks to delegate. Delegating is an important skill. CEOs that know how to delegate effectively generate around 33% higher revenue.
This skill empowers employees and boosts morale when done right. Analyze if the interviewee has this kind of ability before hiring them.
8. How Would You Overcome Communication Challenges in Remote Working?
The recent health crisis forced many industries to shift to remote working. Now that the workforce is coming back to their offices, will this continue?
Post-crisis, a study found that at least 16% of employees will continue working at home for at least two days per week. Many employers also adopted a revised scheme for their employees.
It means remote working is here to stay, making it an important point to talk about. Ask how they will overcome the challenges this set-up presents, particularly about communication.
Their answer determines how they communicate with their team. It also reveals how they see a challenge and their handling strategies.
9. Can You Teach Me Something in Five Minutes?
Is quick-thinking crucial to their applied role? Test their ability and let them teach you something in five minutes.
It can be about anything: something they’re passionate about, a topic they learned last night, or anything else. It can be professional or personal.
It demonstrates how fast they think. It’s also a small peek at their knowledge base. It makes the interview more fun, too.
Who knows what you can learn after a whole day talking to applicants?
10. What Was the Color of Someone’s Shirt?
This “someone” could be the receptionist, the secretary, or anyone they encountered in your office. It’s an unexpected question, but it tells you a lot about their attention to detail.
It might also seem like a simple question, but many applicants surprisingly fail. A candidate answering this correctly often pays attention even to the tiniest of details.
It’s not a deal-breaker if someone gives the wrong answer. After all, applicants can get nervous about interviews. Still, it’s a good thing to consider, especially if the job requires high attention to detail.
Tips for Interviewing and Hiring Someone
The questions above will only be effective if you prepare beforehand. What are you going to do with their answers if you don’t know why you’re asking these questions? Here are some interview tips to keep in mind.
Know What You’re Looking For
You can’t ask all of these questions. It depends on what you’re looking for. It’s best to list the qualities, qualifications, and skills you’re looking for to best gauge their answers.
Be Consistent
Your questions have to be consistent with every applicant for the same role. It makes it easier to review and compare their answers.
Go With the Flow
You have to be consistent, but don’t be afraid to go with the interview’s flow. Ask different follow-up questions depending on their answers.
Don’t deflect their questions if they have some. However, don’t stray too much since it causes you to miss the point of the question.
Don’t Focus Too Much on Unique Questions
Of course, you want to know if they’re the right fit for the role and your company. However, you must have enough time to gauge their qualifications as well.
Focusing too much on behavioral questions might leave you with no time for technical and general questions. For instance, asking if they have experience with a specific task, like using the WorkBright Onboarding Software for employee onboarding, should be a priority too.
Hire the Right Employee Soon!
The interview questions above should help you with hiring someone possessing the right attitude, ambition, and skills for the position. However, avoid expecting a specific answer. Focus on the qualities demonstrated instead.
Hiring employees can be a long, hard process. Taking the time to gauge each candidate is the smart thing to do. Learn more through our other posts today.
