Interview Questions
The interview is often the first time you’ll meet a prospective employee. They’ll likely be nervous and may not react well under the pressure of an interview but there are certain questions you can ask to put the prospect at ease and get them talking about themselves so you can see how good a fit they’ll be in your company. Here’s a few excellent questions to ask any new prospective employee:
What do you feel is your biggest achievement within work?
This question lets you know what the prospective employee values and believes to be important. It also gives us some insight into what they feel is an achievement for them.
What is one obstacle or problem that you’ve had to overcome and how did you overcome it?
This is a great question that can tell you a lot about an applicant. It will give you an insight into their problem solving skills, the way they work, what they see as potential obstacles and can also tell you how they communicate within a team.
What are the most important skills you feel you can bring to this position?
With this question the applicant will tell you the skills they feel they have relating to the job they’re applying for. You want them to have the necessary skills but you should also try and dig a little deeper and try and uncover some skills that may not seem relevant to the job but can give an insight into the applicant’s overall skillset.
How would your current boss describe you?
This question will give you an insight into how they feel their current boss regards them. It can also inform you on how they get along with management and how they’re likely to react to criticism and feedback.
Where do you see yourself in five year’s time?
This is quite a general question but will let you know how ambitious they are and if they’re likely to be a good long term fit for your company. Having clearly defined goals for the next few years can show someone who has commitment and integrity and is not likely to jump ship when another opportunity comes along.
Do you have any questions for me?
As well as asking questions you need to allow the applicant to ask questions themselves. An interview shouldn’t be one-way traffic. The questions they ask you are often as important as the ones you ask and give an insight into what they consider important.
Asking the right interview questions is a skill that you will improve over time as you experience more interviews and see the success or failure of your new hires. There are many more questions you could ask in an interview, some more elaborate ones that get the applicant thinking creatively and some simpler, straight to the point questions. However, the questions laid out above are tried and tested to give you a good insight into what type of employee the applicant might turn out to be.