5 Of The Best Interview Questions To Ask Interviewees

The hiring process is long and arduous. It is estimated that it takes anywhere from 24 days to two months to hire a new employee. Considering all of the work you have to go through, like posting an opening, accepting applications, ranking resumes, screening candidates and setting up interviews—it’s vital to ask the best interview questions once your top candidates are in front of you. Ask pointed questions to determine what motivates them, how they communicate, what they’ll bring to the team, if they’ll fit in with your company culture and what are their career aspirations.

  1. What motivates the candidate?
  2. How does the candidate communicate?
  3. What will the candidate bring to the team?
  4. How will they fit in with your company culture?
  5. What are their career aspirations?

Understanding what motivates your employees helps to keep them engaged, productive and happy. Some employees are motivated by having the freedom to balance their work and home lives, living life to the fullest outside of work by taking vacations and trips or growing professionally. Understand what motivates the candidate by asking questions to determine what drives them, whether that is family, work or hobbies, and just to learn more about them so if you end up hiring them you can keep them engaged from the start. Consider questions like:

  • What do you like to do outside of work?
  • What career accomplishment are your most proud of?
  • What is something you love that isn’t on your resume?

Whether it is engaging with team members, managers or clients, you want to make sure your candidate’s communication skills are up to par. Poor communication can drag leaders down and even affect a company’s bottom line. Fleshing out how the candidate communicates with direct questions allows you to determine their conflict resolution abilities, personality and potential for future problems, according to Robert Half. Ask questions like:

  • Tell me about a past conflict with a co-worker and how you handled it.
  • How would your co-workers describe you?
  • How would you troubleshoot a problem with a client?
  • Describe your communication skills?

Let’s face it, you’re not just hiring a new employee, you’re hiring a new team member. Employees who work together toward a common goal will focus on what needs to be done, benefiting your company with better problem-solving, greater productivity and a more effective use of resources. Ask them questions like:

  • What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
  • What skills will you bring to the team?
  • How do you handle tight deadlines?
  • Tell me about a win you and your co-workers had.

Simply said, company culture is important. The type of culture your company has affects your recruitment, retention and engagement. When it’s great, it makes your employees productive, happy and is likely what drew the candidate to you in the first place. Ask questions during the interview to make sure your company’s culture will be a fit should the candidate become a new employee. Ask:

  • How do you like to be managed?
  • What type of work environment do you enjoy most?
  • How do you like to be recognized?
  • What do you like most about where you currently work?

In an age when employees stay with a company an average of 4.2 years, businesses need to focus on helping their employees with career mapping. Creating a succession plan for employees reduces turnover, reduces any risk from having a skills gap and is cost effective. Ask candidates questions that will help determine if they’ll stick around for the long haul and how your company can help them achieve their career goals. Consider asking:

  • Where do you see yourself in five years?
  • How important is having development opportunities to you?
  • Why are leaving your current job?
  • What could your company do to be more successful?

These are some of the most insightful questions to ask an interviewee. Interview questions should be about getting to know the candidate on a deeper level than a resume can portray. Ask the right questions, and make the right hire.

BirDogHR, an Arcoro Company, offers an ATS solution that helps HR departments recruit quality candidates from the get-go with an easy-to-use, mobile system. It does the work of screening and ranking candidates to put the best ones in front of you when it comes to interview time. Use Olivia, our AI recruiting assistant, to schedule interview times that work for everyone, even sending reminders. Improve your recruiting game so when it comes to interview time you’re ready for the home stretch of hiring your new employee.