Interview Questions to Help Find Quality Hires

Interview questions need to be developed so the answers provide a company the necessary information to decide if the potential hire will be a good fit. The candidate’s job experience, background, interpersonal skills and professionalism all need to be revealed during the interview. If the right questions aren’t asked, you could miss out on valuable information.

While job specific questions are always necessary, there are other types of questions whose answers can inform hiring managers about the candidate’s values and work ethic. Let’s look at some of those.

What are the most important skills you believe you would bring to this company? This question will inform you about what the candidate sees as important when considering their skill set. It will also give a better understanding about the qualities they feel are important for being successful in the position. Candidates need to have a strong understanding of the responsibilities for the position in order to answer this question thoughtfully.

What interested you most about this position? Knowing what interests a potential new hire also gives some insight as to what motivates them. Highly motivated employees are usually the most successful, and tapping into that motivation can benefit all members of the team in the long run.

What kind of support would an “ideal” boss provide you? Finding a candidate to fit into the existing culture of the company is as important as finding one that has the right skill set for the job. This question will tell you if the individual is self-directed or needs more guidance when it comes to starting and completing projects. If the leadership likes to micromanage its employees, a self-starter might not be the right fit.

What do you consider your greatest career achievement? There are several pieces of information you can get from this question. If the applicant struggles to answer, it may be a sign they haven’t done anything they consider an achievement. The answer will also tell you what they consider important and what they value.

As an employer, you need to decide what information you want to receive from potential hires and fashion your questions so the answers will give you that information. Knowing the purpose of the questions will help you get the most valuable information from the answers.