If you were to jot down a list of moments that make or break candidates, the interview almost certainly makes your top three.
The interview is where a sheet of paper becomes a personality, stated skillsets are given context and the mindset of an individual can be determined. Given this, it stands to reason that the questions we ask candidates must be strategic and precise – whether they are being phone screened or sitting across from a hiring manager.
While the organization you recruit for may have specific questions they prefer, it is always helpful to see what other experts choose to ask to determine the suitability of a candidate. To help you find the right people for your organization, we distilled some of the best interview questions from across the web:
According to an interview with Inc.com, Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Zillow Group, always asks candidates the following questions:
1. “What are you most proud of so far in your career?”
2. “What do you love about your job and what do you not like about your job?”
3. “If you were running your company or institution, what are a couple of things you would do differently at the company?”
Hubspot puts these questions forward to determine a candidate’s grit, drive to learn and ability to be a team player:
4. "Tell me about a time you set difficult goals. What did you do to achieve them? Walk me through the process and purpose."
5. "Tell me about the relationships you have had with the people you have worked with. How would you describe the best ones? The worst?"
6. "Is it better to be perfect and late, or good and on time?"
7. "What is something you would be happy doing every single day for the rest of your career?"
About.com recommends these questions to help you determine how well a candidate will mesh with a hiring manager and the company culture:
8. “What kind of oversight and interaction would your ideal boss provide?”
9. “How do you believe that your current skills will contribute to the accomplishment of our company's goals and mission as stated on our website or in company literature?”
10. “How do you go about continuing to develop your professional skills and knowledge?”
Another article from Inc.com suggests you can use these leading questions to identify “toxic” people during an interview:
11. “What are five things you liked least about your last (or current) company?”
12. “Can you describe an experience in which things did not turn out as you hoped?”
13. “Where do you see yourself 5 and 10 years down the road?”
14. "Why shouldn't I hire you?"
CareerBuilder suggests these options to gauge how well a candidate will cope in your work environment:
15. “What circumstance brings you here today?”
16. “How do you alleviate stress?”
17. “What type of work environment do you prefer?”
18. “What is your typical way of dealing with conflict?”
Huffington Post shared the following, which can be used to examine whether a candidate can grasp the bigger picture:
19. “Tell me about a recent project or problem that you made better, faster, smarter, more efficient, or less expensive.”
20. “Discuss a specific accomplishment you have achieved in a previous position that indicates you will thrive in this position.”
21. “What questions do you have for me?”
Consider sharing this list with your hiring manager or incorporating some of these into your own list of questions for candidates. If you are interested in learning more about acquiring the best candidates, check out Cielo’s article on how top-performing organizations leverage four best practices to thoughtfully hire based on cultural fit – Hire For Fit: The Art & Science.
What are your go-to questions during candidate interviews? Share them in the comments section below!