Best Interview Questions to Ask Candidates

You’ve selected your top candidates and it’s time to find the perfect match to fill the position. The interview process is an essential step in recruitment. It’s the time when the candidate and employee meet and assess each other. Every new hire is strategic. You are looking for a person to fill a vacancy, but a good interviewer is looking for more. They know they are also looking for long-term potential, adding new people to the talent pipeline, and identifying leaders.

General Guidelines

  • Preparation will help you make the most of this opportunity. Assess the organization’s position, culture, and long-term needs, then draft a list of questions with each requirement in mind.
  • Not only are you assessing the candidate, but the candidate is also assessing your company. This evaluation is especially critical during the current shortage of qualified candidates. Exemplify the culture with your professionalism and give the interviewee your undivided attention.
  • Inexperienced or infrequent interviewers should review Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines. All interviewers must ensure that their questions do not solicit information about a candidate’s age, race, religion, gender, or disability status.
  • Questions should be open-ended and meaningful. Make sure you do not lead the interviewer to the expected answer. Avoid filling the silence and give the candidate time to answer the question fully.
  • The best interview questions allow potential employees to reflect and provide insights into skills and intrinsic motivation, values, and a commitment to ongoing learning.

Twenty Great Interview Questions

  1. How would your skills and experience contribute to the success of this company?
  2. Describe the type of work environment where you thrive.
  3. Tell me about a work accomplishment that makes you proud. Walk me through the steps you took to achieve success. What did you learn?
  4. Describe a project that did not meet the targets. What did you learn from it? How did you use the experience in future projects?
  5. Describe a challenging professional relationship and the steps you took to improve it.
  6. How would your coworkers describe you?
  7. How do you engage your team when developing strategies and plans?
  8. What motivates you?
  9. How would you describe your leadership style?
  10. Tell me about a project where you had to influence peers to get the job done. What worked? What were the challenges?
  11. What was your very first job, and what did it teach you?
  12. How would your current boss describe your work and contribution?
  13. What prompted you to apply for this position?
  14. Walk me through the process you use to make decisions.
  15. Tell me about a time when you had to coach or mentor an employee for poor performance. What steps did you take? What was the outcome?
  16. Who was a mentor at a key stage in your career? How did they impact your career?
  17. What do you think are three important characteristics of a leader?
  18. If you are offered positions with more than one company, what factors will influence your decision?
  19. Describe the best boss you ever worked for?
  20. Describe a time when you knew your boss was wrong. How did you handle the situation? What was the outcome?

For more great interview questions, check out this resource from TANDIUM.

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TANDIUM’s knowledgeable staff can partner with you to make the most of your recruitment effort from recruitment strategy and support, development of interview criteria and guidelines to reference verification and background checking.

Today’s business owners have found the solution with TANDIUM Corporation, a complete human resources service organization offering PEO, ASO, HR consulting, and payroll services. Contact us today to learn how we can personalize our services for your business.