Are you asking the right interview questions to your clients?
A potential recruit might have the right technical skills for a job, but that doesn’t mean that they’re the right fit for the job that’s on offer.
A survey by Career Builder claims 74% of managers think they’ve hired the wrong person for the job.
Looking at the technical skills of the candidate should be only the first step in the candidate evaluation process. The next step in the recruitment process should be to understand if the candidate has the right soft skills and possess emotional intelligence for the job.
Here’s a list of 10 questions you should include in your one-on-one interview with a potential candidate:
- Tell me a little bit about our company and why you want to work here?
Why you should ask this question:
You may think that all the candidates will do their homework before coming for a job interview, but you’ll be surprised that many applicants will not even know which type of business the company engages in. This question will help you assess candidates who are sincerely looking forward to the job.
- Can you tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with a colleague and how you handled the situation?
Why you should ask this question:
This question will help you understand the candidate’s conflict resolution abilities. What tone does the person use when they’re talking about the people involved and how did they handle the situation, did they find a common ground, how did they overcome the problem — these questions will help you understand how the candidate finds solutions to problems at work.
- Can you tell me something about yourself that others might be surprised to know about you?
Why you should ask this question:
This question allows you to assess the internal motivations of the candidate, and understand what is important to them other than the qualifications they have on their resume
- What is your ideal position and why?
Why you should ask this question:
It offers the candidate an opportunity to share their skillset along with the leadership qualities that they have and why they might be the best fit for the position. It also gives you a position to analyse whether the candidate has the soft skills required for the position on offer.
- What are your strengths and what skill set can you bring to this position?
Why you should ask this question:
This will help you assess the candidate’s self-awareness about how their profile and skill set will fit into the role on offer. Also, the candidates will have to think critically and give on-the-spot answers about how their abilities will benefit your team.
- Tell me your biggest success story at work related to a skill set that you have.
Why you should ask this question:
This gives the candidate a chance to give an elevator pitch of why you should hire them. You’ll also know out of all the qualifications the candidate has, what they think has helped them the most at work. Also, a candidate that can’t think of a success story on a prompt can show you an early red flag.
- Tell me about your biggest failure related to work.
Why you should ask this question:
The purpose of asking this question is to ensure that the candidate has enough self-awareness to assess their shortcomings. It also helps you find out if the candidate learnt what the takeaway was and how to avoid the recurrence of mistakes they’ve made the first time.
- What could your current company do to be more successful?
Why you should ask this question:
This will help you assess if the candidate can see the big picture of what works in their organization and help you understand why they are leaving their current job.
- Can you work best alone or do you prefer working in a team?
Why you should ask this question:
Does the candidate like working alone? Are they okay with sharing the spotlight with their team members? These are important questions to ask to assess if the candidate is the right fit for the role.
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
Why you should ask this question: Does the candidate have lofty aspirations? That’s great, but see if the candidate sees the job as an opportunity to grow in the company and not just as a stepping stone for other jobs.
Bonus question: Do you have questions for me?
This wraps up the interview. A candidate who is interested in the position might have a few questions for the hiring manager. However, it is also possible that if the discussion was long and detailed, the candidate may have already asked their questions.
Interviewing new hires with these questions will help you understand if the candidate has the soft skills required for the position offered — because having the right technical skills is important but it is equally important to have soft skills and traits of emotional intelligence to cope with the demands of the job.
Author Bio:
Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager for Jobsoid – Applicant Tracking System. She is responsible for leading the content and social media teams at work. Her expertise and experience in the field of HR enable her to create value-driven content for her readers – both on Jobsoid’s blog and other guest blogs where she publishes content regularly.
