There are no wrong answers, especially when an employer is asking the right questions.
Every hiring professional knows the value of a productive interview experience. After the time (not to mention expense) spent recruiting and sorting through candidates, it is crucial that every single interview question helps complete the picture of an individual.
On paper, candidates appear as static collections of numbers, achievements, skills and experiences. Very little comes across in terms of critical thinking, motivation or cultural fit. The blueprint for differentiating the pool of candidates lies in the interview questions. This is the time to put the “human” in human resources.
We’ve put together a list of 20 tried-and-true interview questions that will help you craft an insightful, meaningful interview. With the right questions, you can find great candidates — and ultimately, the best long-term fit for your organization.
1. Tell me about yourself.
It’s not a question, per se, but it’s a good opener. It gives you a chance to see if your candidate can communicate confidently and concisely. While you’ve seen their resume, this is an opportunity for an open-ended response, which lets your candidate add more color to their work experience and explain why it’s relevant to the open position. Obviously, the candidate shouldn’t take this opportunity to talk exclusively about their personal life, but by leaving it general, you can evaluate how they navigate the question.
2. Why do you want to work here?
This question will help you determine if the candidate is a good fit for your workplace culture, and it also tells you if they’ve done their research. Do they have a solid understanding of your company’s history and culture? Ideally, when the candidate answers this question, they’ll draw some parallels between your company, their values and their career goals.
3. What interests you most about this position?
This one’s important for a couple of reasons. First, your candidate’s answer to this question should demonstrate their understanding of the role. Secondly, if your candidate seems genuinely excited about the position, it’s a good indication they’ll be engaged in their work. Above all, this helps you assess if the candidate’s expectations meet the realities of the role.
4. Why do you want to leave your current position?
Sure, this has the potential to make your candidate squirm, but it’s a reasonable question. Regardless of their situation, they should be able to answer this question professionally, without being negative. If they don’t, it’s a red flag. Listen to their response closely. You want to be sure they have good rationale for leaving, and it’s a well-thought-out decision. That way, if you decide to hire them, you can feel confident they won’t leave for unfounded reasons.
5. Pretend I'm a prospective buyer. How would you pitch our company, products and services to me?
This isn’t an exercise to save for sales and marketing candidates only. This is designed to discover how much research a candidate (for any role) has done on your company. Does the candidate understand what your company does in a fundamental way? Furthermore, do they understand what sets your company apart? This is also a way to assess a candidate’s critical thinking and business sense.
6. What single career accomplishment are you most proud of?
Instead of asking the predictable “What are some of your strengths?” question, this gives your candidate the opportunity to illustrate their strengths with a specific example. In their answer, you can discern skills or character traits that are relevant to the job they’re applying for. This can also reveal what’s important to your candidate, which may tell you whether they’d be a good fit and thrive in your work environment.
7. What is your definition of hard work?
You want to see if the candidate’s idea of hard work aligns with your organization’s. If the answer is in alignment, then you may have a good fit. You can also assess if the candidate isn’t able to reach full potential in their current position. Perhaps a slower moving organization or a mismatched role is suppressing a hard worker’s potential. Either way, a good answer reveals that a candidate knows what it takes to get the job done.
8. Who is the smartest person you know personally? Why?
This kind of question forces the candidate to reflect on personality traits that they aspire to have. This can be very enlightening. It will expose how much value the candidate places on principles, ethics and intellect.
9. What is something you would be happy doing every single day for the rest of your career?
Of course it’s important to hire for expertise. But, it’s also important to find someone who is in it for the long haul. This question will allow you to see what a candidate truly enjoys about working in the industry. The answer will help you gain an understanding of a candidate’s core competency. Do they understand what is being asked of them in the workplace and do they have a passion for it?
10. When have you made a mistake? Describe this time in your career.
This question is an alternative way of asking “What are some of your weaknesses?” Since employers often ask about weaknesses, candidates know to prepare for that. By asking them about a time when they’ve made a mistake, you’re more likely to get an authentic answer that reveals a real weakness (rather than a canned response where they put a positive spin on a shortcoming).
11. How do you manage your workload when you have conflicting deadlines?
By asking this question, you’ll gain insight into whether the candidate is competent at prioritizing tasks. Additionally, you’ll get an idea of how the candidate performs under pressure without explicitly asking them. Most likely, they’re going to deal with competing priorities at work, and their answer to this question will indicate whether they’re proficient in managing their time.
12. What's a challenge you've had to overcome at work? How did you deal with it?
While this can be a difficult question to answer, it’s an effective way to learn about your candidate’s problem-solving skills. Inevitably, everyone deals with challenges at work, especially when they start a new position. By understanding how your candidate has managed difficult circumstances in previous positions, you can get a sense of whether they’re well-equipped for the role.
13. What is the most important decision you have had to make in the last year?
It doesn’t matter if the answer refers to a personal or professional situation. What you want to look for is the decision-making process. Did they come to a decision quickly or instinctively? Did they analyze possible outcomes? Did they involve other people to help them arrive at a decision? Or did they defer to somebody else? While not every decision in the workplace will be the most important one of the year, this kind of insight will let you know how a candidate approaches choices.
14. Think of a complicated topic you are very familiar with. How would you explain it to me in five minutes or less?
This is an IQ test in disguise. You want to see if a candidate is capable of understanding complex subjects, but you’re also checking that the candidate can break a subject down into common language or relatable metaphors. A person who can articulate a subject with passion and knowledge (even if it’s not work-related) has the capability to demonstrate enthusiasm in the workplace.
15. How would you explain the best professional relationship you have had? The worst?
You’re trying to ascertain how a candidate interacts with others. If you read between the lines, the candidate will be telling you what kind of people they want to work with. This gives you the opportunity to gauge if the personality traits they value sync with your own team. This can be especially enlightening if the rationale they give includes measurable on-the-job achievements. For example, did a certain relationship compel the candidate to meet higher reaching goals?
Asking a candidate to explain their worst professional relationship may cause them to shift in their seat. It’s unlikely a candidate wants to bad-mouth a colleague, but it’s a good way to shine a spotlight on a candidate’s value system — and to see how well they navigate a tricky topic of conversation.
16. If we polled your former colleagues, how would they rate you on a scale of 1-10? Why?
The actual number that the candidates provide isn’t too important (unless it’s extremely low). You’re trying to get a sense of why they chose the number. This is a chance for the candidate to show if they have self-awareness. By seeing how a candidate perceives themself, you can gauge how much or how little impact they have on people around them.
If there were instances of conflict in the candidate’s past, what were the causes? A clash of personalities could just be two passionate people expressing their points of view. But, fundamental incompatibility with others could be a red flag. When putting together a team, it is critical that the team members know how to position themselves within the framework of an organization. Look for this “compatibility factor,” as it impacts everything from employee fit to retention, team dynamic, productivity and more.
17. What are your long-term career goals?
With this question, you can determine if your candidate’s professional goals align with what your company can offer. Your goal is to find a candidate who will thrive (and stay) with your company, so it’s important to understand how your open position fits into their long-term plans. If the role you’re hiring for is part of their larger career strategy, they’re more likely to perform well and maintain motivation.
18. Why should we hire you?
This question gives your candidate an opportunity to sell themselves and leave the interview on a high note. If they’ve done their research and truly feel they’re qualified for the position, they should be able to clearly communicate how they’d add value to the company. This is also a good, final opportunity to assess the candidate’s self-confidence in their qualifications for the job.
19. What has surprised you about this interview process so far?
Nowadays, the interview process has gotten to a point where a candidate can prepare for just about any kind of question. Here’s a chance to shake things up and keep the candidate on their toes. It will be interesting to see where the candidate takes the conversation because there’s plenty of material for them to choose from. Above all, you’re looking for an insightful, confident response in front of a decision-maker (you).
20. Do you have any questions for me?
This one may sound cliché, but there’s a reason why interviewers frequently ask it. Not only does it indicate an applicant’s interest in the company, but it also shows preparedness (or lack thereof). If your candidate asks a question related to something discussed during the interview, that’s a good sign too, as it demonstrates they’re engaged and can think on their feet.
Find your next, best hire
Asking the right questions in an interview is crucial because it allows you to get a more thorough look at a candidate's qualifications, skills, experience and fit for the role and company culture. That said, the above 20 questions are just as important to the candidate as they are to you. A thoughtful line of questioning tells a candidate that you are genuinely interested in understanding their capabilities and potential contributions. It’s a win-win. The candidate feels valued, and you are well on your way to finding the next, best hire for your organization.
At B2E Solutions, we understand that there’s a lot of work that goes into finding and managing employees. That’s why we offer a variety of solutions and services to help you with everything from recruiting to applicant tracking, employee retention, benefits, compliance and more. To learn more about how we can help, contact us today!
Editor's Note: This blog was originally posted on July 22, 2019 and has been updated with new content relevant for 2024.
